Malala’s Magic Pencil

Author(s): Malala Yousafzai

Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3iHeyTH
Indigo: https://bit.ly/2HGBYZn

Social Justice focus: Education rights; gender equality

Synopsis: As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil that she could use to redraw reality. She would use it for good; to give gifts to her family, to erase the smell from the rubbish dump near her house. (And to sleep an extra hour in the morning.) As she grew older, Malala wished for bigger and bigger things.

Contributor: Ceilidh Stidwill

Primary/Junior Lesson Plan

Grades 6/7    160 minutes 

Curriculum Area: Language Arts

Curriculum Expectations: Writing; Media 

Writing:

Overall Expectations: 

3.use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively

Specific Expectations: 

3.8 produce pieces of published work to meet identified criteria based on the expectations

Media Literacy:

Overall Expectations: 

3.create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques

Specific Expectations: 

3.4 produce a variety of media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques

Learning Goals:

I will draft a 6-frame comic about how I can change the world.

I will revise my comic and publish it using Pixton Comic Maker.

I will brainstorm different ways I can change the world.

I will include a minimum of 3 bigger picture ideas about how I can change the world in my comic.

Success Criteria: 

I can draft a 6-frame comic about how I can change the world.

I can revise my comic and publish it using Pixton Comic Maker.

I can brainstorm different ways I can change the world.

I can identify and use a minimum of 3 bigger picture ideas about how I can change the world in my comic.

Modifications/Accommodations

audio recording of the book; extra time; one-on-one time; use of iPad for writing tasks; 3-frame comic strip with level 2 criteria

Minds On (5 minutes)

Begin the class by explaining who Malala is.

Malala was born in 1997 in Pakistan where girls are not given the same rights or opportunities as boys. Her father was determined that she would grow up not having less than the boys and swore to give her every opportunity he could. Malala went to a girls school where her father taught but when a political group called the Taliban took power, everything changed. The Taliban banned listening to music, watching tv and no longer allowed girls to go to school. There were very harsh punishments for those who did not follow the strict rules. A year after the Taliban made the changes (2012), when Malala was only 15 years old, she spoke out on behalf of girls and their right to learn. After this Malala became a target and one day a masked gunman boarded a bus she was on, asked “Who is Malala?” and shot her.  Her family fled to England where she had to have many surgeries in order to recover and is now free to tell her story and stand up to the injustices she faced. She has now finished university in Economics and runs a foundation for girls who struggle for education the same way she did.

She wrote the book we are going to read called “Malala’s Magic Pencil”

ACTION (130 minutes

(15 min) Read the book “Malala’s Magic Pencil” aloud to the class.

Discuss what Malala would do if she had a magic Pencil.

Prompt 1:

What are some of the things Malala did with her magic pencil? (Erase the smell of the dump, snooze her alarm before school.)

What are some things you would do if you had a magic pencil?

 (20 Min) Brainstorm ideas for things we could do with our magic pencil.

List ideas on the board.

E.g.Draw food for all the starving children in the world, draw homes over the homeless, erase the trash from the landfills or erase dirt from drinking water.

(35 min) Students will then be given a draft paper to create sketches of how they would change the world with their Magic Pencils. These sketches will be used to create a digital comic strip powered by Pixton comic maker.

Explain to students that a minimum of 3 images must be related to the bigger picture of helping the world.

Go over Criteria

Prompt 2

What would make a comic not engaging? (If it has no colour, images, or text)

What could make an excellent draft? (Lots of detail, lots of ideas)

Hand out Rubric and draft paper.

(40 Minutes) Once students finish their drafts, we open Pixton comic strip maker build our personal Avatars (changing features and clothes etc..) and create our 6-image comic strip about how we can change the world with our magic pencils.

Consolidation and Connection (20 minutes) 

As a class we will project each of our comic strips one at a time and collaboratively discuss (in a constructive way) strengths and suggestions for each other’s work.

Prompts:

What do you see in this comic strip that you wish you would have included? What do you think is creative about this comic? How would you have added your personal touch to this comic? What do you like about this comic? What might you change?

Assessment Task/Strategy

Summative: Students will be graded on their drafts and final comic strips using a rubric.