What does it mean to be a citizen of the world?
This year we will consider the overarching question: what does it mean to be a citizen of the world? We will write, reflect, read, and discuss in order to arrive at what we believe the response might be for this question. We will first consider our assumptions and stereotypes of people from around the world. We will reflect what we think are major issues for all citizens. We will consider what we believe to be universal values and beliefs shared by all who inhabit this planet. Throughout our study, we will come back to this question and evaluate where we stand and how our texts have shifted our thoughts or shaped our opinions.
We will have several major projects along the way that help us to consider this question an the texts we read. The first major project is our reflective essay and visual on what it means to be a citizen of the world (click here to link to the document). This will be due at the first six weeks mark. The second major projects will ask us to consider what our culture and families mean to us. We will compose a poem entitled "Where I'm From" and complete a digital project that provides a visual for our words. By examining our own cultures and families, we will begin to see past our differences and find our common threads. The last six weeks is still to be determined, but I am possibly leaning towards a multigenre project.
A few on-going assignmets will be our journals, exit slips (bi-weekly reports on our learning. To see the first one click here), and multi-media Fridays. On Friday of each week, I will provide a film, a song, a poem, a paiting, or a podcast for us to pause and consider. We will write before and after many of the chosen "texts" in order to consider where we stand on the ideas presented and then to reflect on our interpretation of the text. We will later use these writing assignments and our exit slips to examine where our discussions, films, and texts have taken us through the year. We will examine how our thinking has shifted and changed. This will be part of our culminating project for the year.
My hope is for you all to explore your thoughts, explore the thoughts of others, and to begin to understand what it means to be a citizen of our global community. I hope that you find empathy where indifference once existed. I hope that you find clarification where misunderstanding once stood. I hope that you find your voice, while at the same time find an appreciation for the voices around you.
We will have several major projects along the way that help us to consider this question an the texts we read. The first major project is our reflective essay and visual on what it means to be a citizen of the world (click here to link to the document). This will be due at the first six weeks mark. The second major projects will ask us to consider what our culture and families mean to us. We will compose a poem entitled "Where I'm From" and complete a digital project that provides a visual for our words. By examining our own cultures and families, we will begin to see past our differences and find our common threads. The last six weeks is still to be determined, but I am possibly leaning towards a multigenre project.
A few on-going assignmets will be our journals, exit slips (bi-weekly reports on our learning. To see the first one click here), and multi-media Fridays. On Friday of each week, I will provide a film, a song, a poem, a paiting, or a podcast for us to pause and consider. We will write before and after many of the chosen "texts" in order to consider where we stand on the ideas presented and then to reflect on our interpretation of the text. We will later use these writing assignments and our exit slips to examine where our discussions, films, and texts have taken us through the year. We will examine how our thinking has shifted and changed. This will be part of our culminating project for the year.
My hope is for you all to explore your thoughts, explore the thoughts of others, and to begin to understand what it means to be a citizen of our global community. I hope that you find empathy where indifference once existed. I hope that you find clarification where misunderstanding once stood. I hope that you find your voice, while at the same time find an appreciation for the voices around you.