Helping Children In Need

We have been learning how to give back this month. What I love about these lessons is that they not only combine Language Arts, Social Justice, Math and Technology, but they evoke selflessness and inspire young people to look beyond the latest video game, if only for just a few days, and see the big picture.

I asked students to visualize their bedrooms. They drew pictures of everything they had, adding labels and details such as their favourite comforter, or perfectly placed teddy bear in the middle of their pillows. They used the document camera and enthusiastically shared what they love best about that special room in the house. Whether they shared it with a sibling or their parents, each student felt safe and excited to share their room.

After sharing our bedrooms, I shared some images of children their own age who were not quite as fortunate to have a safe, comfortable place to sleep. I made sure that the images would make an impact, but were also age-appropriate and not be too shocking or upsetting. Students were then asked whether or not it was fair that some children didn't have a safe place to sleep at night.

Unanimously we agreed that it was not fair. I then posed several questions at each table, and gave each student a marker to have a graffiti-style conversation. The rules are: no one speaks, you remain focused on the question being asked, and you respond to the thoughts of other contributors. I couldn't have asked for more engaged, more on-topic conversations. Students were so inspired, that they filled four sheets of chart paper with thoughtful, inspirational suggestions on how they could help those in need.

 

Some of the ideas were to "invite children to come and stay in your house," to "send a helicopter in with comfy beds," and to "make a youtube video to help raise money."

I made a Shadowpuppet introducing them to Sleeping Children Around the World, (SCAW), a non-profit organization that takes a $35.00 donation and turns it into a bedkit for a child in need. My students were so excited with the concept, that they immediately wanted to spread the word with their own Shadowpuppets. 

Shadowpuppet is one of the easiest, kid-friendly apps I have come across. Students add pictures, and then are able to record their voices over the images to tell a story. It has countless uses in the classroom and at home!

I made an organizer, so that students could plan what they were going to say, and brainstorm 'Google' search terms that they would use to choose images for their puppets. Students needed to include the organization, a description of what a bedkit is, and use some persuasive language.

Check out our Shadow Puppets:

Jessica and Muskaan

Matthew  

Fatiha, Harini and Harani 

Asmiga and Ruhani

Aalam and Jujhar 

Mahwish 

Once we finished our puppets, we made an effort to bring in any change we could find around the house, and spread the word about children in need. Each day, students would count the money, and add it to our thermometer. We were learning how to add money, and what better hands-on way, then to count up for a worthy cause?

Some students went further, and created Pic Collage posters to advertise SCAW and how people can help those in need. This was also a modification for students who needed fewer steps and a more structured model. We posted all of their creations onto our blog.

 Pic Collages