7. Discussion
Create your own discussions/questions tailored to what’s happening around the world. Quite often they students are unaware of the bad things happening in the world so creating a discussion that raises their awareness of this can start their interest in different issues.
The following questions about the East Africa famine are based on information from the front page of UNICEF.
Instead of you writing the questions, give students a blank template for then to write. The questions my students write are usually a lot more original than mine.
8. Inter-cultural communication
Technology affords many teachers the opportunity to really talk to the world and get to understand other cultures. Try to team up with teachers and classes in other countries. Sites like Twitter are great places to start to arrange inter-class chats / discussions.
9. Support the less fortunate of the world
- Write to people in troubled situations or countries with letters of support and friendship. Start a pen pal project with people in another country.
- Skype them.
- Set up a web page that shows you care about people in less fortunate situations than yours.
- Create a Voxopop or Voicethread page for your students to reach out.
- Get students to tweet their support when people rise up against repression or show they are not alone when a natural disaster strikes.
- Provide opportunities to give. There are so many charities and organizations out there that need our support. Putting the logo, URL or live link on your materials will encourage students to give. Make it relevant to the content in the materials. Every little helps.
10. Student campaigns
- Make writing activities real by getting students to write to political leaders, UN representatives and other key figures who can help bring about change.
- Encourage students to use social media to make a difference. One tweet on Twitter or comment on Facebook can get a multinational scrambling into action to change its ways. Encourage students to believe they can make a difference.
- Get students involved in a project in which they create an awareness campaign – they have to make the posters, design the logos and website, create the aims and ideas, etc.
If you have success with any of the above, please drop by again and leave a comment to let us know about it.
