Lesson Plan April 15, 2020
Under-reported Stories of Resilience: Printable Lessons for Students
State:
Grades:
Textual Analysis and Discussion: Alaska Native Women Organize for Justice: Students analyze reporting about Alaska Native women in Nome who are fighting to end impunity for sexual assault in their community and dive deeper into women's rights advocacy around the world.
Exploring Youth Activism Against Plastic Pollution in the Amazon: Students explore reporting on Indigenous youth activism in the Amazon, analyze the causes of plastic pollution, and consider how they can make a difference in reducing waste in their own communities.
Finding a Common Thread: How Young People Spend Free Time Around the World: Students make connections with their counterparts around the world by exploring what young people in different countries do in their free time.
Women and Nonviolent Resistance: Students explore the theme for 2019's Women's History Month — “Visionary Women: Champions of Peace & Nonviolence.”
The People Behind the Stories: Students will do a deep dive into the lives of the people whose stories they hear about in the news and will develop a deeper understanding on how one individual can have a global impact.
Pulitzer Center is committed to supporting educators and students as they make efforts to transition to remote learning in difficult and uncertain times. To that end, we are revising some of our most popular lesson plans to create printable/fillable activities for students to explore. In this collection, we feature stories of resilience, communities coming together, and individuals affecting global change at home.
Below, find printable/fillable PDF and Word documents for the following lessons, as well as all the reporting resources associated with each unit.
1. Exploring Youth Activism Against Plastic Pollution in the Amazon
In this lesson for elementary and middle school, students will explore reporting on Indigenous youth activism in the Amazon, analyze the causes of plastic pollution, and consider how they can make a difference in reducing waste in their own communities. The original lesson was written by Pulitzer Center education intern Pauline Werner and can be found here.
2. Women and Nonviolent Resistance
In this lesson for middle and high school, students will explore the theme for 2019's Women's History Month — "Visionary Women: Champions of Peace & Nonviolence." It uses resources about women around the world leading nonviolent movements to fight against violence and injustice. The original lesson was written by former Pulitzer Center education intern Devani Lemmon and can be found here.
- Full lesson for students: [PDF] [Word]
- Reporting:
- The Rising Voices of Women in Pakistan by Alice Su and Saya Hylton
- The Woman Risking Her Life to Save a Village from Lead Poisoning by Deborah Bloom
- In Post-Conflict Colombia, Imprisoned Ex-Combatants Help Maintain a Fragile Peace by Verónica Zaragovia
- The Saudi Women Who Fought for the Right to Drive by Sarah Aziza
3. Finding a Common Thread: How Young People Spend Free Time Around the World
In this lesson for elementary school, students will make connections with their counterparts around the world by exploring what young people in different countries do in their free time. All 5 excerpts explore common themes of resilience, community, and family across the world. The original lesson was written by former Pulitzer Center education intern Shona Barton-Negreiros, and can be found here.
- Full lesson for students [PDF] [Word]
- Reporting and other materials:
- PDF: Photos
- PDF: How Schools in Brazil Are Teaching Kids to Eat Their Vegetables by Ritu Chatterjee
- PDF: Tibet is Going Crazy for Hoops by Louie Lazar
- PDF: Ballet and Bullets: Dancing out of the Favela by Frederick Barnas and Rayan Hindi
- PDF: Vising Day by Jaime Joyce
- PDF: In Syria, All Girls Want is Safety and School by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
4. Textual Analysis and Discussion: Alaska Native Women Organize for Justice
In this lesson for high school, students analyze reporting about Alaska Native women in Nome who are fighting to end impunity for sexual assault in their community and dive deeper into women's rights advocacy around the world. The original lesson, written by Pulitzer Center education intern Pauline Werner, can be found here.
5. For "The People Behind the Stories"
In this lesson, which can be adapted for any grade level, students will do a deep dive into the lives of the people whose stories they hear about in the news and will develop a deeper understanding on how one individual can have a global impact. This lesson was written by the Pulitzer Center education team in collaboration with Sharna Marcus, a History and English teacher at the Walworth Barbour American International School in Israel. The original lesson can be found here.
- Full lesson for students [PDF] [Word]
- Reporting options and other materials:
- PDF: Worksheet
- Jamal Khashoggi (podcast linked in lesson)
- PDF: Nabil al-Hakimi (from "AP Investigation: Food Aid Stolen As Yemen Starves" by Maggie Michael and Nariman El-Mofty)
- PDF: Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun (from "How Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun Embodies the Struggles of Many Saudi Women" by Sarah Aziza)
- PDF: Suham Noh (from "This Yazidi Family Escaped Genocide in Iraq. Their Next Challenge Is Building a Life in France." by Jeanna Carstensesn)
- PDF: Mohammed or Riyadh (from "In Inferno of Yemen's War, Child Soldiers Are the 'Firewood'" by Maggie Michael and Nariman El-Mofty)
- Ibraheem Sarhan (podcast linked in lesson)
