How can you help make the school a better place?

SS.1.C.2.3

Identify ways students can participate in the betterment of their school and community.


SS.1.C.2.3

Identify ways students can participate in the betterment of their school and community.

Correlated Florida Standards (See Full Text on Cover Page)

  • LAFS.1.SL.1.1

Essential Question

How can you help make the school a better place?

Learning Goal/Objective

  • Students will identify improvements they would like to see at the school and ways they can help make those changes.

Overview

Students will brainstorm and discuss problems or improvements they see at their school and will create a list of ways they can individually or collaboratively work towards fixing these issues.

Materials

  • Action Plan handout

Time

  • 15-20 minutes with additional time for extension suggestions

Activity Sequence

INTRODUCTION/HOOK

  1. Pose the following questions for discussion: What does it mean to improve something? Are there things you would like to improve at school?

ACTIVITY

  1. Pass out the Action Plan handout and direct student attention to the box at the top of the page.
  2. Work as a whole class to brainstorm a list of things the students would like to see improved at their school. Teacher Note: It will be important that this list includes issues that can be partially resolved by individual action. For example, creating posters to spread awareness about the importance of not littering.
  3. Choose two of the issues from the list to focus on.
  4. Break students into pairs and have students work with their partner to think of one way they can individuallyor collaboratively help solve each problem.

CLOSURE

  1. Have students share out some of the action items they wrote down on their handout.

OPTIONAL EXTENSION SUGGESTIONS

  1. Discuss with students why it is important to be involved in the school community and their role as a responsible citizen.
  2. Take students on a “field trip” around the school to observe and write down issues they see and improvements they would like to make.
  3. Conduct the same set of activities for the local community.
  4. Assign a research project on individuals working to improve communities in Florida.

Name: ______Date:______

School Improvements:
Issue One:
______
One Way I Can Help:
______
______
______
______
______
______
Issue Two:
______
One Way I Can Help:
______
______
______
______
______
______

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