Blogging
Having the students share their thoughts and experiences during Project Justice is critical not only for the students to process and organize their thoughts, but also as a vehicle to share their voice with others. If you have never setup a classroom blog, I've included some links to help you get started. If you are not comfortable having students post directly to a blog or they have never done it before, you can collect their writing and summarize it on the blog.
What to Expect
If this group of students has never worked together before, you should definitely spend some time up front with team building exercises.
It is great to have an uninterrupted week to work with, but this project can be broken down over a period of time or even done with less time.
I have provided a list of national resources for the students to use to locate individual and organizations that help those in need that they can research and contact. You should probably supplement this list with local organizations. If you are time constrained, you could take on the task of coordinating guest speakers and field trips without impacting the overall goals of Project Justice.
If you are time constrained, you may need to provide more ideas and resources for producing a project. The ideal is to let the students have enough time to work through this step themselves, but your input is also welcome so long as you keep in mind that the students really need to work on something they are passionate about, not your favorite causes.
You may expect push-back from some parents about the idea of their children being exposed to “social justice” as in some circles it is almost a taboo subject. Thorough parent communication and administration support will be key to alleviate this issue.
You may want to add a component for the students to share their projects with the wider community, like holding a Justice Fair.
Every Project Justice will result in unique outcomes, this is what is great and also a little scary about starting one. It is a leap of faith, to hand creative control to a group of middle school students and really let them share what they are passionate about in their own way, but it is also immensely satisfying and I guarantee you will learn something and they will surprise you!
iCitizen - a project on citizenship in the 21st century
Standards & 21st Century Skills
International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE] standards that are addressed through the project:
Creativity and Innovation - Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
Communication and Collaboration - Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making - Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
21st-Century Skills [www.p21.org]:
This project will touch on many core subjects:
Language Arts through creation of blog posts and project plans
Arts through creation of a visually compelling final project
History through research into the root causes of social justice issues
Government and Civics through learning about programs and policies of governments that either help address social justice issues or may be a root cause
This project builds Global, Economic, Civic and Environmental Literacy skills.
The project also encompasses:
Creativity and Innovation through brainstorming and collaboration
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving through critical reflection of their experiences and facing their own stereotypes and preconceived notions
Communication and Collaboration through creating a compelling final project that will help to educate or advocate for their issue