Author(s): Miranda Paul and Elizabeth Zunon

Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/35xuPDz
Indigo: https://bit.ly/2SCsz8M

Social Justice focus: Environmental/Plastic pollution

Synopsis: “The inspiring true story of how one African woman began a movement to recycle the plastic bags that were polluting her community. Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred. The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change. Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person’s actions really can make a difference in our world.”

Lesson Plan: Aatiqiha Abdin

Primary/Junior/Intermediate Lesson Plan (Abbreviated Template)

Consecutive and Concurrent Programs

Unit/Topic: Reflective Writing on a Social Justice Issue

Grade: 4

Lesson: What is the focus of this lesson in relation to the unit?

To have students understand the impact that plastic has on the environment and challenges communities’ face with this issue. Students will be introduced to a story called, “One Plastic Bag” where they will acknowledge that one person’s actions really can make a difference in the world.

Curriculum Areas: What are possible connections to other curricular areas?

Drama:

B1. Creating and Presenting: apply the creative process to dramatic play and process drama, using the elements and conventions of drama to communicate feelings, ideas, and stories;

B2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing: apply the critical analysis process to communicate feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of drama works and experiences;

Curriculum Expectations: What Overall and Specific Expectations will be addressed?

Reading

1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;

Specific Expectations

1.6 extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them

Writing

1. generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose

and audience;

Specific Expectations

1.2 generate ideas about a potential topic using a variety of strategies and resources (including written text and videos)

Oral Communication

Listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes

Specific Expectation

1.2 demonstrate an understanding of appropriate listening behaviour by adapting active listening strategies to suit a variety of situations, including work in groups

Learning Goal(s): What are students expected to know, do and understand? We are learning to….

We are learning to

• Respond to the book being read and using it to support my thoughts and reflections
• Gather my ideas to write for an intended purpose
• Create a mime to communicate a scenario given
• Apply the critical analysis process to communicate feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of drama works and experiences
• Understand the book that is being read aloud and discuss what the story is about and the morale of the story

Success Criteria: How will students know they have met the learning goal?

I can….

• Collaboratively work with my peers to create a mime
• Use my listening skills and discuss questions related to the book being read
• Participate in big group discussions while respectfully expressing my thoughts
• Use reflective skills and write about an issue I would like to fix in my community
• Explain how Isatou inspires me and write about it

MODIFICATIONS / ACCOMMODATIONS:

How will I meet the needs of my students? Have I addressed any IEPs?
Accommodations

• The book will be read aloud which will accommodate students who have difficulty with reading
• The book is a picture book which greatly helps students who are visual learners
• The teacher can scribe for students who have difficulty with writing
• Students who feel really shy to perform their mimes can have the opportunity to opt out from presenting. This will be done in groups to make some students feel more comfortable in presenting.
• Chunking of information
• Extra time for processing information
• Modification
• Modified checklist (expectations are modified)
• Shorter paragraph

Minds-on: How will I connect to prior and future learning? How will I engage students and set the context for learning?

Minutes: How much time will I allocate? 20 minutes

Task: What will I be doing? What will students be doing?

The teacher will ask students to get into groups of 3 or 4. Each group will be given a scenario (They will be given different types of ecosystems). Students will be miming 3-4 characteristics of their scenario and present it to the class. Once presented, the teacher will ask students if they used any form of plastic today. The teacher will go over that plastic is something that is being used by us every day and that we have become too dependent on it. Students will then be asked to imagine how their skit would be different if there was the impact of plastic pollution. To show their reflective process, students will re-enact their original skit with the changes based on the scenario given to them. Once all groups have presented, the teacher will put on a YouTube video of the picture book, “One Plastic Bag.”

Assessment: What is the Nature and Purpose of assessment?

Assessment for learning: Teacher will gain insight into prior knowledge of students around the effects of plastic pollution, and how humans have impacted ecosystems.

Action: How will I introduce new learning / reinforce prior learning / practice learning / scaffold learning?

Minutes: How much time will I allocate? 35 minutes

Task: What will I be doing? What will students be doing?

After reading One Plastic Bag, as a class, students will be discussing the following questions;

1. What Problem did Isatou want to fix in her community?
2. What was her plan?
3. Who did she recruit to help her?
4. What was the result of her actions?
5. What do you think is the moral of this story? (how one person can make a difference)

These questions will be discussed as a class.

After, students will be asked to write a reflective paragraph on how Isatou is an inspiring individual. They will be asked to write an issue they want to fix in their community and how they plan on doing so. Students will be encouraged to connect their ideas to the picture book, their own experience, and also connect them to the world around them.

Assessment: What is the Nature and Purpose of assessment?

Assessment for learning: Teacher will observe students discussion on the questions.

Consolidation: How will I reflect on the learning goal? How will I have students reflect on the learning goal?

Minutes: How much time will I allocate? 5 minutes

Task: What will I be doing? What will students be doing?

Students will hand in their paragraphs and get into a learning circle. To wrap up, the teacher will ask if there are any students who would like to share what their action was or what problem they wanted to fix in their community.

Assessment: What is the Nature and Purpose of assessment?

Assessment for learning: A checklist will be used as an assessment tool to assess the reflective written paragraph. Can the student explain what the problem is they want to fix in the community? Can they reflect on the book and connect their ideas to the picture book?

MATERIALS: What resources and materials do I need? Where can I find them? In a perfect world what other resources might I need?

• Picture book: One Plastic Bag/Showing the video of it
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B6p04Zph04
• Scenario sheets for the mime activity (minds on)
• Anchor chart or Smartboard presentation with discussion questions.
• Reflective paragraph worksheet

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REFLECTION: Questions to determine the success of your lesson:

• Were my students successful in meeting the learning goals and success criteria? How do I know?
• Did my instructional decisions meet the needs of all students? If not, what are my next steps?
• What worked well and why?
• What will I do differently in the future when teaching this lesson? For the subsequent lesson?
• What are the next steps for my professional learning?