Topic: People and Society (Exercise)

This exercise is prepared by the Leaf Academy. It is part of the Spectator College programme and it is linked to the articles: Communities that lead by example and Delay in funding causing problems.

CONTENT
EXERCISE 1: Communities that lead by example
EXERCISE 2: Delay in funding causing problems
Recommended Usage and Format for exercises

EXERCISE 1 linked to the article: Communities that lead by example

Lesson Objectives
-Read text and demonstrate understanding (comprehension, analysis, connection, and transfer)
-Analyze position
-Respond to argument and work with evidence

1. Read article (10 minutes)

• Underline any words you do not recognize or understand.

2. Understanding: (5 minutes)

• Have each student share word(s) they don’t know and define them.

3. Summarize/Monitor Understanding (10 minutes)

• Have students identify the author’s main points in the article.

• *What are the community groups improving society?

• *How are these groups positively impacting their communities?

4. Focused Free Write: (5 minutes writing, 5 minute discussion)

• Prompt: Community change is the responsibility of the government. Agree or disagree with this statement and explain your position using evidence from the article.

• Have students share what they have written.

5. Discussion (10 minutes)

• Find common views and dissenting views about how people can bring about change in their community.

EXERCISE 2 linked to the article:Delay in funding causing problems

Lesson Objectives
-Read text and demonstrate understanding (comprehension, analysis, connection, and transfer)
-Analyze position
-Respond to argument and work with evidence

1. Read article (5 minutes)

• Underline any words you do not recognize or understand.

2. Understanding: (5 minutes)

• Have each student share word(s) they don’t know and define them.

3. Summarize/Monitor Understanding (10 minutes)

• Have students identify the author’s main points in the article.

• *What role does Zdrave Komunity play in Slovakia?

• *Why is this organization in danger?

4. Focused Free Write: (5 minutes writing, 5 minute discussion)

• Prompt: Zdrave Komunity is important not just to Roma people, but to all of Slovakia and therefore should be funded. Agree or disagree. Use evidence to support your position.

• Have students share what they have written.

5. Discussion (15 minutes)

• Find common views and dissenting views about the importance of providing health services through Zdrave Komunity.

Recommended Usage and Format for exercises

We believe a discussion-based format is best for achieving the learning objectives. We also believe that using the technique Writing as Thinking helps students to formulate their ideas and practice their writing in advance of the discussion. The degree of facilitator and adult involvement will vary according to student background and secondary objectives.

Writing
Model by being willing to write along with students and also to share your writing with the class.
Let them know before writing if they will be asked to share their writing out loud.
Here writing is first thoughts, so poor spelling, punctuation or conventions are not the focus.
Focus on engaging with ideas.
They do not need to apologize for the quality of their writing.

Discussion
Set expectations for active listening and body language
Engage introverts and extroverts, be mindful of dominant voices
Be mindful of how much you are speaking
Manage time
Encourage students to respond directly to each other, and not through the facilitator, using evidence- I agree with Igor’s point because…
Encourage everyone to draw from evidence in the text to support their points, avoid generalizations

• Can you point to a line in the text…

• Can you help me to understand…

• Could you give an example…

Use techniques to encourage other voices

• Let’s hear some other thoughts…

• Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t contributed yet...

Techniques for managing time/discussion

• Put this in the parking lot and move on…

• Let’s pause here…

Parts of the lesson
Focused Free Write- an opportunity for students to write freely, but about a specific prompt.
Reflection- an opportunity to think about the lesson, what they have learned and hopefully how it will help them or how it connects to their life
Underlining words- this strategy is a good habit for students and it also allows them more ownership of their vocabulary.

This exercise is prepared by the Leaf Academy and it is part of the Spectator College, a programme created by The Slovak Spectator.