Week 4: Global Awareness and Concern

This term in 5/6R as we participate in our CCE unit, students will engage as active citizens as they develop a sense of global awareness and concern. Further, they will explore the action taken by other groups to address global issues and social injustice. This is a powerful part of CCE as it highlights making a difference and encourages a predisposition in students as they take action towards creating a more equitable world (Hosking & Tero, 2013).

The topic of our unit is poverty and although it may be controversial, it is extremely rewarding for students as they realise their potential to respond and contribute to one of the world’s biggest challenges (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2015). Students will address the following key questions (see Table 1).

Key Questions ·      What is poverty? ·      What causes poverty? ·      What does poverty have to do with me? ·      What can we do about poverty?

Table 1: Key questions.

Video 1: What is poverty? (World Vision Australia, 2015).

Students will participate in a variety of activities that will develop their empathy, as students gain an understanding of what it may be like to live in poverty. One example includes weekly tasks students will complete as ‘homework’ (see Table 2). Empathy is a crucial part of CCE as students develop a deeper understanding of global issues as they become aware of their roles and responsibilities as Australian citizens (ACARA, 2012). Feel free to join in on this experience with your child and complete as many ‘homework’ tasks with them!

Civics and Citizenship Homework
As part of our Civics and Citizenship unit, you have been challenged with the task of being more sustainable and gaining an insight into what it might be like to live in poverty. Each day complete the tasks below, so that we can contribute to a more equitable world.
Monday	Turn it off! Whenever you leave a room, turn off the light. Instead of using the heater, rug up with warm clothes and a blanket.
Tuesday	Set the timer! Shorten the length of your shower to two minutes. Turn off the hot water, and experience what it is like to only have access to a cold shower.
Wednesday	Waste less! Eat everything on your plate for dinner.
Thursday	Wrapper free! Pack your school lunch into containers. Don’t use any cling wrap etc.
Friday	Technology free Friday! Don’t use any technology, including iPads. At school, we won’t use the interactive whiteboard and will turn the lights off for the whole day.
Saturday	Furniture famine! People in poverty don’t have comfy couches or warm beds at night. Give up furniture for the weekend and have a campout in your sleeping bag.
Sunday	No more chocolate! People living in poverty have a very small income. Go grocery shopping with your parents and encourage them to buy only the essentials.

Table 2: Weekly tasks.

To go beyond a surface-level understanding of this topic, it is essential that students are involved in community projects outside of the classroom (Fox, 2010). Students will be shown a video of young children selling handmade items in response to people living in poverty in Haiti. Students will relate to these children which will encourage them to facilitate making a change. Students will act as investigative journalists and research a local, national or global organisation of their choice (see Table 3).

Video 2: Kids awesome reaction to poverty (PovertyResolutions, 2013).

Investigation questions: ·      What are the main features of the project? ·      What are some of the good things that have happened because of the project? ·      How has the project helped people living in poverty? ·      In trying to do good, will the project do any harm? ·      Do you think the project is worthwhile? Why? ·      If you were running the project, are the any changes or suggestions you would make     and why?

Table 3: Investigation questions for organisation (adapted from Hosking & Tero, 2013).

Once complete, students will create a brochure that aims to promote awareness about the organisation. The brochures will be distributed among classes and the school community, which authentically connects their learning to real-life contexts (Australian Council for Educational Leaders, 2016). As a whole class, one organisation will be selected and students will develop a fundraiser to support it. Research supports this idea as determination, planning, organising, teamwork, and problem-solving are required, in addition to fostering values, a sense of fulfilment and active citizenship behaviours (Cnaan, Smith, Holmes, Haski-Leventhal & Handy, 2010).

At the completion of the unit, students will recognise the significant role they have as individuals in bringing about change to global issues. They will understand the importance of uniting as active citizens to achieve a goal for the common good of humanity. Ongoing experiences are vital in order for students continue gaining a deeper level of understanding (Fox, 2010). Therefore, I encourage you to provide opportunities for your child to be involved in community events that will further promote active citizenship and continue on the fantastic work they will have achieved throughout the term!

Please see figures 1 and 2 for links to the curriculum.

 Figure 1: Year 5 content descriptor (ACARA, 2016).

Figure 2: Year 6 content descriptor (ACARA, 2016).

Word count: 498

References 

Australian Council for Educational Leaders. (2016). Authentic learning: what, why and how? Retrieved from http://www.acel.org.au/acel/ACEL_docs/Publications/e-Teaching/2016/e-Teaching_2016_10.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2012). The shape of the Australian curriculum: Civics and citizenship. Retrieved from http://docs.acara.edu.au/resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum__Civics_and_Citizenship_251012.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016, December 16). The Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (Version 8.3). (Humanities and Social Sciences, all year levels, all curriculum elements, all curriculum dimensions). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10

Cnaan, R. A., Smith, K. A., Holmes, K., Haski-Leventhal, D., & Handy, F. (2010). Motivations and benefits of student volunteering: Comparing regular, occasional, and non-volunteers in five countries. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f7fb/a2c5645170fdfd9bec2083905c785ee508bf.pdf

Fox, K. (2010). Children making a difference: Developing awareness of poverty through service learning. The Social Studies, 101, 1-9. doi:10.1080/00377990903283965

Hosking, K. & Tero, C. (2013). What matters most? Exploring poverty with upper primary students. Retrieved from http://www.globaleducation.edu.au/verve/_resources/What_Matters_Most_-_web_file.pdf

PovertyResolutions. (2013, December 18). Kids awesome reaction to poverty [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azhen9bojj4

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002329/232993e.pdf

World Vision Australia. (2015, September 14). What is poverty? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXpm7xDRWk4