Students explore global deforestation and its causes and consequences and consider solutions that do more good and less harm for all. Recommended for grades 6 and up. Time: A few days to several days
Read more »
High School
Beyond “Us and Them”
This activity encourages reflection on how each of us creates mental barriers between ourselves and those we see as “them” and how that lens can be a barrier to humane education or changemaking work; and to share strategies for realigning our “compass of compassion” to include everyone. Recommended for grades 9 and up. Time: 30-45…
Read more »
Natural Value
Students reflect on an image that captures natural beauty and the intrinsic value that nature has in order to consider their own roles in protecting nature and to help nurture their sense of wonder. (As an alternative, students can do this activity focusing on an individual animal.) Recommended for grades 8-12. Time: 45 minutes
Read more »
In Your Face: Reclaiming Billboards
Billboards are omnipresent in most communities and on many roadways. These in-our-face ads can have a powerful influence on us. Students explore issues surrounding billboards and the values billboard ads promote and design new billboards that help reclaim their visual space and restore value in their communities and culture. Recommended for grades 9 and up….
Read more »
Where Are the People Like Me?
Students assess examples of media (catalogs, magazines, books, etc.) to consider who is (and isn’t represented) and to explore the impact of lack of diversity in media and their own rich experiences with diversity. Recommended for grades 4-10. Time: 45-60 minutes
Read more »
Magazine Scheme: Are We Here?
Students explore articles, images, and ads in magazines targeted to teen girls to explore messages about women and girls and the effect of those messages on young women and men. (The activity can also be modified to explore appropriate men’s magazines and messages about men and boys.) Recommended for grades 7-12. Time: 2 class periods…
Read more »
Great Peacemakers: True Stories From Around the World
“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it.” ~ David Suzuki “When you have a vision, when you know that what you are doing is good for the people, then you cannot be stopped.” ~ Wangari Maathai “To stop any suffering, no matter how small, is a great action of peace.”…
Read more »
A Gathering Crowd: Functions & Rates of Change
Is human population growth threatening to overshoot and jeopardize the earth’s carrying capacity? If so, what can be done about it? In this activity, students will be able to: describe and model human population growth during the past 600 years with an exponential function, considering both the total amount of growth and average and/or instantaneous…
Read more » We Have You Surrounded: Exploring Branding, Marketing & Globalization
We’re surrounded by marketing and advertising telling us what to buy, whom to be, what we need to be happy. Use this series of activities to help students explore issues of branding, marketing, and globalization. Recommended for grades 9 through 12. Time: Several weeks Common Core Standards for this activity (pdf): Download Common Core…
Read more »
Heroes and Enemies
We’re often told to look for heroes we can turn to for inspiration. How often do we seek out what we can learn from people we dislike, or those who’ve done evil? This activity explores what we can learn from both our heroes and enemies (what to do and what NOT to do). This activity…
Read more »
