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After my students developed informed opinions on the topic, taking action was the next step. We continued to follow our advocacy project lesson plan; this lesson plan helped organize the sequence of steps for our project. As we moved on to the action component of our project, I taught my students that writing letters to lawmakers and officials can have a significant impact on the laws and regulations that exist today. I reminded them of the importance of letting their voices be heard - both verbally and written - and speaking up when there are injustices we identify in the world. Taking action in this project consisted of writing letters to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and spreading awareness with posts on social media. For both tasks, students were expected to cite evidence from the articles we read in the conversation-related segment of our advocacy project.
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan
Before we moved on to the action component of our advocacy project, we looked back to our lesson plan to ensure we had followed the sequence of steps thoroughly. The lesson plan was constructed with several teaching goals in mind. The main learning objective of the lesson for students was to be able to define advocacy and be able to identify real-world examples of advocacy (as well as identification of real-world issues). The purpose of whole-class instruction combined with group activities throughout the project was to get everyone to be sparked by each other's ideas and become comfortable talking together about unfamiliar topics.
Why Take Action?
Why Take Action?
In the conversation-related segment of our advocacy project, students learned the importance of follow-through as it pertains to advocacy. I was sure to emphasize and re-emphasize that without follow-through, there is no advocacy.
Before students were asked to use their informed opinions from our conversation-related segment to help write letters addressed to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs demanding change, we had yet another conversation. This time, the conversation revolved around the following question: "Why is it important that we take action if we want change?"
video.MP4In this video, one of my students explains why she believes taking action by writing letters to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is necessary if we want to see positive change. She does an excellent job supporting her stance with three solid reasons, each of which she came up with on her own. I worked with her on revising her reasons and we practiced reading them aloud in a persuasive, strong manner. She did a nice job being concise, loud, and clear in her delivery.
Drafting and Sharing Letters
Drafting and Sharing Letters
Before we started drafting our letters to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, I needed to create a rubric for my students to follow. The below rubric is the rubric I created for my students to ensure they were crafting compelling letters with clearly identified issues/injustices that they have learned about, suggestions for change, at least two pieces of evidence from the articles, no grammar/punctuation mistakes, and correct formatting.
As a class, we watched this video before starting to draft our letters to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The video reminded students to how format a letter properly.
After watching the video, students started creating their first drafts, handwritten on lined paper. After they finished writing their first drafts, students read over one another's letters and provided feedback. I also provided feedback and suggestions for improvement, as is shown in the student sample below.
Student Sample - Rough Draft
This student did an excellent job on her first draft but needed some peer feedback and teacher feedback for her essay to get to a proficient score on the final draft.
Student Sample - After peer feedback & teacher revisions
This student received some strong feedback from peers and her teacher. It was evident she needed to cite more specific pieces of evidence from the texts we read in class. In addition, she needed to strengthen her persuasiveness by introducing herself and making clearer suggestions for solutions to the injustice she identified.
Students transitioned to the computers to type up their letters. Students participated in peer revision and feedback with one another.
Students were seated in pairs so they could closely work together and revised one another's letters on the computer.
Creating Final Drafts
Creating Final Drafts
Below are two student samples of their final drafts and their corresponding scores. I was very impressed with the level of detail and clarity that these two students demonstrated in their final letters. They did an excellent job during the revision process and incorporated peer and instructor feedback effectively.
Student Sample #1- Final Draft
Proficient
Final Letter_IR.pdf
Student Sample #2 - Final Draft
Proficient
Final Letter_NF.pdfUsing Our Voice!
Using Our Voice!
Students read their final letters aloud to one another during our revision process. Then students took turns reading their letters aloud in front of the whole class. The video to the right shows one student as she reads her letter aloud. The student did a nice job reading loud and clear - after much practice - but we are still working on speaking more eloquently, without it sounding like we are reading something!
video 3.MP4Sending Letters & Posting on Social Media
Sending Letters & Posting on Social Media
Students addressed their letters following this format and we put them in the mailbox in the front office of Wheeler Middle School to be sent to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in Honolulu.
In addition to writing letters to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, students posted on social media to raise awareness of the statistics and information they learned after analyzing our class texts.
This student did a nice job referencing a statistic from the text to raise awareness of U.S. takeover and its historical implications on the the environment and local population at Pearl Harbor. The post would be improved with a specific call to action (such as a link to donate) to the cause mentioned in the post.
This student made a post that is very aesthetically appealing in design but lacks specific pieces of evidence to support the call to action suggested in this post. In addition, students failed to provide an opportunity for the audience to get involved and advocate for Native Hawaiian inequality.
Conclusion
Conclusion
My students have learned the value of action during our advocacy project. In addition, my students have improved their communication skills. This will serve them well wherever they go in life. In the past month, my students became more informed on how Hawaiian history has shaped some of the injustices Native Hawaiians face today. On top of this, they practiced taking action against the injustices they identified.
My students understand that advocacy is a never-ending project; there are many injustices and thus opportunities for positive change in our world. After seeing this project through to completion, I feel confident my students gained valuable knowledge and empowering skills that have prepared them to be advocates for not only themselves but for others as well.
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