Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way - Teachers College Press

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i. Recognizing that a new school was never built, how important is a “concrete win” in social action projects? ii. Given Schultz’s sensitivity about bringing in outside speakers, how can such “experts” impact a social action project? 9. Create a chart showing how Room 405’s social action project addressed state standards. In one column, list the standards that the project addressed. In a parallel column, describe the activities that enabled the students to meet each standard. To start with, align the following activities from Chapter 3 with standards: writing a persuasive essay (pgs. 57 – 60); analyzing quantitative data (pgs. 62 – 63); conducting research on the Internet (p. 68). Use this chart to discuss how teachers can address state standards through a social action curriculum. 10. Visualize a moment in Room 405 that you think is particularly intriguing. Then, visualize what you think might have come before that moment and what came after. What new details emerge in this process? How do you see Schultz and the students’ acting? 11. Envision meeting one of Schultz’s students in 20 years. Write or act out a dialogue that you might have with him/her about this project. 12. Tell a story of a time when you were a part of a community service or social action experience. 13. Create a Venn diagram comparing/contrasting your experience with social action with that of the students in Room 405. 14. Research organizations and curricular programs that offer social action experiences. Start with the Center for Civic Education (http://www.civiced.org) to learn about Project Citizen, the program that instigated Room 405’s social action project. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these programs. 15. Observe a social action project unfold. While this work can be rare within schools today, your colleagues may know of teachers who design their instruction around social problems and scaffold opportunities for students to address them. Alternatively, contact a community-based organization that enacts social action projects for youth and ask to observe their work. Journal on the key markers of the project including the problem(s) addressed by the students, the students' actions steps, and the impact of their work. Compare it to the project in Room 405. 16. Interview K–12 students and teachers about their experiences in social action projects and analyze how students can respond to such projects. Enacting Social Action Curriculum Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way promotes both thought and action. The activities below can aid you as you integrate ideas prompted by the book into your practice and plan for a social action project. This section, along with the following two, particularly addresses the interests of teacher education students, practicing teachers, and youth workers in community-based organizations. The prompts situate social action This Guide accompanies “Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way” (Teachers College Press: 2008). For more information or to order, please visit: http://store.tcpress.com/0807748579.shtml
projects within the broader world of curriculum design, leading you to identify the curriculum visions, learning objectives, and sources of knowledge that could be addressed in a social action project. You will also consider some of the possible student responses. Focus Question: How can I enact a social action curriculum? 1. Create a timeline reviewing main events of Room 405’s social action project. Star the events during which Schultz modeled a teaching move that you would like to integrate into a social action curriculum in your classroom. 2. Utilize a KWL chart to record your learning about social action curriculum. KWL charts contain three columns which record WHAT YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW, and WHAT YOU LEARNED about a certain topic. Begin by filling the first section of the chart with examples of what you know about social action as a result of reading Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way. Then, draft a list of questions about what you still want to know about social action curriculum in the second column. As you design and enact your own curriculum and/or pursue additional research on this topic, document what you learn in the third column. 3. Write a poem, narrative, or expository essay reviewing the values, assumptions, and theories that you would like to address in a social action curriculum. To guide your work, consider the following questions: What do I believe about the role of student voice in the curriculum? What do I believe about political participation for K–12 students? You may want to consider the values and ideals that Schultz shares on pages 11–16 to start. 4. Brainstorm the community-based issues that the K–12 students in your classroom might choose to address in a social action project. Study the local newspaper to explore how different social problems are being reported and how they may impact your students. 5. Draw a neighborhood map that identifies different sources of geographic concern or interest in the community. 6. Brainstorm various sources of knowledge (i.e., interviews with members of the community, books, the Internet, print and visual media sources) that you could introduce to the students to help them learn about their chosen issues from multiple perspectives. 7. Brainstorm the audiences that a social action project might seek to reach. 8. Review your state standards and identify those you would want to address within a social action curriculum. 9. Draft a list of 2 to 3 skills that you wish for students to develop in the context of the social action curriculum. These skills should reflect practices that adults regularly use in real-life contexts. For example, you may want your students to read the newspaper and understand the author’s point of view about a social problem. Then, draft a list of 2 to 3 products that your students could create through the curriculum that are also seen in real-life contexts. You might want This Guide accompanies “Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way” (Teachers College Press: 2008). For more information or to order, please visit: http://store.tcpress.com/0807748579.shtml
Page 1 and 2: Responding to Brian D. Schultz’s
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Page 9 and 10: you question your practice in this

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