Investigate Activities and Reflection
Activities
Great for in class reflection work, includes group and individual exercised
Values/Discovering My Community (~25 minutes):
Start with a group discussion. Have students share what community means to them and capture key words on a flip chart. Once you have a good list of words, ask students to write down the communities they are a part of on their own. Have them answer the following questions alone on a sheet of paper:
What communities do you belong to? Think about where you spend your time and with whom, what you value, and what you enjoy.
What one or two issues do you see these communities struggling with? Can you see yourself getting involved and working with one of these communities?
Based on the readings, how can you see an advocacy/community education project empowering this community?
"What, So What, Now What?" Activity (~ 25 minutes):
Ask students to work with a partner to answer the first two questions:
What? What did you take away from today's class? What issue do you feel most passionate about? What kind of advocacy project are you interested in pursuing?
So What? Why does that matter? To you? To the people you will work with for this project? To society as a whole? In the context of the class?
Now what? Who do you need to talk to and what resources do you need to ensure this project lifts people up and promotes positive social change?
Ask a few students to share in the last few minutes of class.
Identifying my community and values (~60 minutes):
Pass out Lifeline worksheets and explain the activity to students. Explain the purpose of this activity is to help students think about what communities have played an important role in their lives and to think about how they tell their own story and relate to other people's stories.
Allow them to work on their personal Lifelines for 30 minutes. This is a quiet activity done individually.
After 30 minutes, bring the students back for reflection questions. Ask them to turn their worksheets over and answer the questions on the back for 5 minutes.
Bring the students back together into groups of 4 or 5. Have each student take 10 minutes as a group to share their Lifeline, although if students prefer not to share, this is okay.
After 10 minutes, bring the students together for a group discussion. Have them answer the following questions:
What values did you see emerge from your Lifeline worksheet?
What communities do you see as part of your timeline? Do you still feel involved in these communities? Do you feel you have a part to play in helping any of these communities thrive?
Think of the work you put into your Lifeline. Think of how it felt to tell your story and share it with others. Now, imagine if someone else wanted to tell your story as a way to prompt social change or raise awareness about a particular issue you have experienced. How would you feel? Would you say yes? If so, what would you want them to know and do before sharing your story? If no, why not?
What did you learn from this activity that you can incorporate into your advocacy project.
Lifeline: 30 minutes
Personal Reflection: 5 minutes
Small group reflection: 10 minutes
Large group reflection: 10 minutes
Wrap-up: 5 minutes