Overview
In this class, students will have the chance to take on the role of activists/upstanders and will work in small groups to design a strategy to address a water or land issue that impacts human rights in their local, national, or international community. They will synthesize what they have learned in the previous modules to design their own service-learning project.
Grade Level
8th-12th Grades
Essential questions the lesson will address:
● How do young people use their power to create change in their community?
● What are some of the strategies to bring about change in communities?
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
● Identify a water or land issue that impacts human rights that they would like to see resolved
● Construct and design a strategy to transform the water or land issue
● Work collaboratively to map out their strategy, including tactics and roles
Common Core State Standards (9th Grade)
Water Warriors Glossary and Concepts
● Strategy: a careful plan or method; the art of devising or employing plans toward a goal (Merriam Webster)
● Tactic: is a device for accomplishing an end. (Merriam Webster)
International Document Reference
● Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):
● UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP):
Formative Assessment Strategies (What will you be looking for in their work, and how?)
● Group participation during the class discussion to narrow down and choose the human rights topics for their strategy and design work.
● Group collaboration once students are in their groups and begin to design their action plans.
Materials for Instructor
● Sample of a Strategy Worksheets
● Water Warriors Glossary Board (Physical or Virtual)
● Whiteboard/Blackboard and chalk/marker
Materials for Students
● Strategy Design Worksheet
LESSON PLAN
I. Opening Discussion (5 min.)
Explain to students that in this class they will be applying the knowledge they learned in this program to design their own action plan. Let them know that this is now their time to incorporate what they have learned about human rights to design a plan that incorporates:
● Building community and camaraderie to address water and land issues that impact human rights
● Utilizing resources that are readily available and safely accessible
● Creating solutions that can continue to be sustained even after the pandemic is over
II. Decide on 3-5 Issues (15 min.)
Tell students that in order to design their plans the first thing they need to do is to choose water or land issues they will address.
Step One (5 min.)
Ask students to share the issues they chose to write about in their Water Warriors Journals. List them on the board. Samples of issues may include:
● Mining Issues: Build awareness, Create a protest, Design Social media
● Polluted pond area: Organize a clean-up day followed by a picnic, Write a press release
● Polluted Water: Partner with local charities to ensure access to clean water in communities
Step Two (5 min.)
Students will choose issues they will focus on as a class. There could be as few as one, if there are complex elements that different student groups can focus on, or as many as five or so. Students will work in groups of three to five. In order to decide which issues will be focused on and which students will be in each group, a class discussion or vote can be exercised to determine class and individual student interests.
Step Three (5 min.)
Once the class has chosen the final topics write them on the board. Have students choose which groups they would like to be in. Divide the class into working groups by their topics, with; three to five students per group.
III. Identify Tactics and Begin Project Design (25 min.)
Step One (5 min.)
Let students know that in order to implement change we need to utilize tactics in our design to reach our project objectives. Go over to the Glossary Board and define strategy and tactic.
Step Two (5 min.)
Let students know that they already identified useful tactics in their self-reflection writing when they were asked to list different methods that can support their project’s desired goal.
Ask students to look back at their journal entry and have them popcorn tactics they wrote. Write them on the board. Examples may include:
Build an online social media campaign.
Create public awareness through digital posters, a video, etc.
Create an online space for like-minded people.
Hold a virtual roundtable discussion.
Create a space for people from different parts of the world to share their personal experiences and stories during the pandemic.
Invite the community to participate online.
Connect with existing activists/upstanders.
Contact a non-profit advocacy organization or group who is working on the same issue & find out what projects they may have going on.
Learn more about the non-profit’s work during the pandemic.
Find out if you can volunteer safely, or something more.
Step Three (5 min.)
Lead students through the Sample of a Strategy Worksheet.
Step Four (10 min.)
Have students sit in their designated groups and fill out a Strategy Design Worksheet.
IV. Teacher & Class Decisions
There are several options for next steps:
Students do not implement the plans, but only present their designs. Even though they have not experienced the manifestation of the project, they now have the tools to build other projects in the future.
Set up a network for students to implement the plans in the school community or local community.
The teacher organizes one or more of the plans as part of the community service or service learning project requirements of the school.
The class can design a fourth option.
Regardless of the outcome, make sure students have a platform to share their ideas. Their ideas can be developed into a newsletter or update that would be sent out to the school or shared through a social media platform, like Facebook. The newsletter could include photos or videos of their collaboration amongst their class peers or with peers globally. The ideas they create can impact others in their community and help spread awareness about water and land issues that impact human rights.