Overview
In this lesson, students will identify issues in their local community, the national community, or international community that they would like to address and transform in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have gained knowledge of the main roles of response and can now focus on how to implement strategies when choosing the human rights activist/upstander role.
Grade Level
8th-12th Grades
Essential questions the lesson will address:
● How can young people envision change in their communities?
● What knowledge, skills and actions do young people need to bring about these changes?
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
● Visualize a human rights issue in the community during the pandemic that they would like to see resolved
● Begin to strategize how to address a human rights problem
Common Core State Standards
unMASKing Curriculum Glossary
● Visualization: the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visible form; formation of mental visual images (Merriam Webster)
● Strategy: a careful plan or method; the art of devising or employing plans toward a goal (Merriam Webster)
Formative Assessment Strategies
The teacher can make note of:
● Individual student participation in the class visualization activity.
● Individual student participation while writing in their journals.
● Collaborative partner work as students pair-share their ideas on how they visualize bringing a positive influence to transform the human rights issues they have identified.
Materials for Instructor
● unMASKing Curriculum Glossary Board (Physical or Virtual)·
● Whiteboard/Blackboard and chalk/marker
Materials for Students
● unMASKing Journals
LESSON PLAN
I. Opening Discussion (5 min.)
Use the opening discussion to remind students of their role-playing experiences from the last class. Refer to the Glossary Board to remind students of the definitions of Perpetrator, Bystander, and Human Rights Activist/Upstander.
Entry point questions can include:
● Are there any memorable moments from the role-playing exercises that you have reflected on since the last class?
● Has any specific situation come up for you since the last class, and did you choose to take on the role of a human rights activist/upstander?
Tell students that in this class they will make a conscious choice to take on the role of a human rights activist/upstander and design a project that addresses an issue they feel is important to resolve in their local community, national community, or international community in regards to the pandemic.
II. Change Visualization and Short Journal Entry (25 min.)
This activity begins with a visualization exercise to guide students to identify a human rights issue they care about, especially during the pandemic, and begin to imagine how to initiate positive potential outcomes. After they have identified an issue they will then begin to investigate steps to resolve it.
Step One (5 min.)
● Explain that all change and all great projects begin with an idea.
● Share that they are going to use a creative technique called visualization to identify a human rights issue they care about and would like to change.
● Tell students they will then explore how to design a strategy to make that change happen.
Step Two (5 min.)
Ask students to remain seated and close their eyes. If they are uncomfortable having their eyes closed they can pick a point on the floor or their desk to focus on. Students can fold their arms and put their heads on their desks.
Guide students through the visualization:
● Think of a human rights issue in your community during the pandemic. This can include your school, your neighborhood, your state, or a national or international issue that you would like to change. All of these communities are a part of our global community.
● Once you have identified the issue, take some time to consider it closely. You may even imagine what it feels like to be affected by this issue or how it makes others feel.
● Think about this issue from different angles .
○ Where does it take place?
○ Who does it negatively affect? Does someone benefit from another person being victimized or mistreated?
○ What is the underlying cause of the issue?
● Now try to imagine what the human rights issue would look like if it was suddenly resolved.
○ If it is a lack of clean water for hand washing, do you now see it clean and fresh?
○ If it is a problem of increased unemployment during the pandemic, do you now see people with homes and jobs?
○ If there is a government rejecting science during the pandemic, do you know visualize a government that listens to science to protect its citizens?
○ If it is an issue around e-learning and access to technology, can you envision a world where all students have accessible and quality education?
○ If it is an issue of gender-based violence, can you see a time when everyone will feel safe in their homes?
● What is it like to see the human rights issue resolved?
○ Stay with this image. See how good it looks and feels.
○ Now, remember what it is truly like in reality.
○ Can you picture those two images side by side? Can you think of the two images as a “before” and “after”––the reality of the present and the possibility of a more positive future?
Step Three (15 min.)
● When you think you are able to articulate at least one of your ideas, open your eyes and write the name of the human rights issue on the topic of a page in your UnMasking Journal. Take a few minutes to write your idea and list the different methods you would use to address the issue regarding the pandemic.
● Then start to think of techniques you can use to make this change happen.
Examples may include:
● Build an online social media campaign
● Build public awareness through digital posters, a mural, a video, etc.
● Write an article or blog post
● Virtually gather like-minded people
III. Reflection and Sharing (5 min.)
Ask students to pair-share their chosen issues and propose ideas to address them. Let students know that in the next class they will begin designing their action projects.
Notes for Teacher- (Could include additional references and resources where teachers could find additional information; suggestions for how the lesson might be adapted/localized; less resource-intensive options in terms of materials)