Students Take Informed Action with Art Project
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EXTENDING THE LESSON…
Asking Students to Take Informed Action
The six hours of lesson plan materials provided by MHGE are all classroom hours and serve to meet the requirements of Michigan’s Public Act 170 of 2016 mandating genocide education including the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide. But the Arc of Inquiry that has informed the design of social studies instruction in Michigan classrooms challenges teachers to go beyond classroom instruction to communicate conclusions and TAKE INFORMED ACTION!
The most powerful experiences for students studying genocide and historic examples of genocide will take place in classrooms that also ask students to go beyond the six hours of classroom instruction to public discourse and informed action. Using the C3 framework and Arc of Inquiry as a resource, that could look like the following examples:
P4.1 Act out of respect for the rule of law and hold others accountable to the same standard.
Create a classroom Constitution that includes the expectations for the treatment of other students in the class, expectations that any language that is or could become problematic, such as language that classifies, separates, symbolizes, or dehumanizes any person.
Meet with the principal, student council, or other school officials to create expectations and accountabilities for language and treatment that does not classify, separate, symbolize, or dehumanize others.
Art & Writing Competition
The Kappy Family Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel Night Art & Writing Competitions seek to educate students about the Holocaust, engage them through Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel’s profound stories, and empower them to move from thought to action using creative expression.
P4.2 Assess options for individuals and groups to plan and conduct activities intended to advance views on matters of public policy.
Create and hold a model U.N. session, prepare student presentation at a school board meeting or other governmental meeting (city commission, etc.), or even in dialogue with local, state, or federal elected officials.
Create communication materials (i.e. story in school newsletter) that advances views on language and treatment of others in line with fighting the conditions that could lead to genocide.
Prepare public spaces with informational materials, from posters to murals, that advance views that help inform and fight the conditions that could lead to genocide.
P4.3 Plan, conduct, and evaluate the effectiveness of activities intended to advance views on matters of public policy.
Survey students in the school or individuals in the broader community on their experiences and views on the language and treatment of others and use the data to identify and target messaging on topics that would help inform and fight the conditions that could lead to genocide.