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Module 2 - Session 5

DEVELOPING SOCIOPOLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CRSE) Across Learning Environments

Module 2 - Session 5 Program Cover - Illustration of multiple ethnic fists raised in the air with a an arm pointing a megaphone at them

GETTING STARTED

OVERVIEW

Welcome to TALE Academy Module 2: CRSE Across Learning Environments!

Goal – The goal of this module is to help teachers expand their capacity for effectively utilizing CRSE across learning environments.

Module Content – This module consists of 8 sessions that support culturally responsive-sustaining education across learning environments. Each session contains a variety of content and learning activities.

Session Content – You are beginning Module 2 – Session 5: Developing Sociopolitical Consciousness.

MODULE WORKBOOK

If you have not yet downloaded your personal copy of the TALE Academy Workbook for this module, do so now. See directions below. There is only one workbook for each module which contains activities for all sessions within that module. 

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Step 1: Create your personal copy of the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook.

Throughout this session, you will complete the session activities and take notes in the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook. You will have many opportunities to apply the knowledge and skills you learn using your digital workbook. When you click on the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook link, you will be prompted to make a copy of the workbook. Once you do so, your notes and your work within your workbook will be visible only to you. Please note that the workbook is fillable using Google Slides. We do not recommend printing a copy due to the length of the workbook.

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Step 2: Get familiar with the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook.

Now that you have your personal copy of the workbook, review pages 1-7 to learn about the workbook’s contents and tips for using the workbook. Don’t forget to add your name to page 1 to personalize your workbook!

 

Step 3: Review “Key Terms” for Session 5 in the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook.

Your last step is to review the key terms for Session 5. For every TALE Academy session, the key terms are listed at the start of each new session in the workbook. You can return to the key terms page(s) of your workbook throughout this session to add your notes.

GUIDING QUESTIONS & LEARNING OBJECTIVES

GUIDING QUESTIONS

  1. As an educator, how can I amplify student voice?

  2. What are some of the ways I can support students to engage with the social issues that matter to them?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this session, you will be able to do the following:

  1. Identify examples of student activism related to the curriculum and standards.

  2. Identify ways students can engage in youth participatory action research to prompt greater student activism.

  3. Describe ways current events can be integrated into student learning that can be leveraged to promote critical student dialogue and prompt greater student activism.

  4. Determine ways that students can present to peers, families, and extended community members across learning environments to illustrate the changes they want to see in their schools, community, country, and/or world.

  5. Identify opportunities for and revise an existing unit to include opportunities for students to build sociopolitical consciousness.

ENGAGE: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

LEARN FROM OTHERS: 
VOICES FROM THE FIELD

The following video highlights the reflections of New York State educators on how they are developing sociopolitical consciousness in classrooms across learning environments.

Video thumbnail of female and male teachers

WORKBOOK
ACTIVITY

To activate your prior knowledge on the topic, please complete the following steps:

  • In your copy of the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook, complete Activity 2.5.1 – The Influence of Historical Events and Political Movements.

  • If you have not already created your personal copy of the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook, you can make a copy of the workbook.

EXPLORE: TOPIC OVERVIEW

READ, WATCH, LISTEN

Select from the learning modalities below to explore an overview of the topic for this session. You may read a magazine-style article, watch a video, or listen to a conversational podcast.

 

You need to select only one option: read, watch, or listen.

As you read, watch, or listen, consider pausing and reviewing the key terms for this session in your workbook. You can add your own notes, ideas for application, or definitions of the terms in your own words.

READ

Dive into our Module 2 – Session 5 READ, a magazine-style overview of the session topic with infographics and links to resources.

WATCH

Tune into our Module 2 – Session 5 WATCH, a narrated, animated video that provides an overview of the session topic.

LISTEN

Settle in for our Module 2 – Session 5 LISTEN, a conversational, podcast-style discussion among educators about the session topic.

EXPLORE: CHOICE BOARD

Select one option from the choices offered below to learn more.

You need to select only one of the choices, but you are welcome to explore all the resources!

Youth Activist Toolkit

Synopsis: Read this toolkit for a comprehensive guide that provides a “soup-to-nuts” explanation of the who, what, where, when, why, and how of youth activism.

Format: Article 

Time: Varies based on user interaction

 

Teen Human Rights Institute Nurtures Student Activism

Synopsis: Read how high school students engage in participatory research in New York, learning how to create and build a social justice movement and presenting that movement to community members across their learning environments.

Format: Article

Time: 10 minutes

What’s With Youth Activism These Days? Encouraging Activism

Synopsis: Wondering what’s up with cell phone activism? Does it make a difference? How can you support your teen’s civic passions? Hear from DeNora Getachew, CEO of DoSomething.org, on bridging the generation gap.

Format: Video

Time: 30 minutes

Fighting Period Poverty in Schools (Scroll to episode 79)

Synopsis: Learn how a new teacher supported students engaging in youth participatory action research by creating a campus menstruation station and working together to change state policy.

Format: Podcast

Time: 35 minutes

ESTABLISH: REFLECTION FOR ACTION

WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

  • Return to your copy of the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook and complete Activity 2.5.2 – Bridges Between Curriculum and Student Activism.

  • If you have not already made your personal copy of the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook, you can make a copy of the workbook.

EXTEND: DEEPER LEARNING

Extend your learning by engaging in a longer workbook activity and/or accessing additional resources.
This section is designed to help you begin a journey into deeper learning on the topic area.

WORKBOOK ACTIVITY

Return to your copy of the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook and complete Activity 2.5.3 – Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). If you have not already made your personal copy of the Module 2 TALE Academy Workbook, you can make a copy of the workbook.

Time: 20 minutes

ADDITIONAL 
RESOURCES

How to Broaden Students’ Sense of History

Topic: The need to bring multiple perspectives and voices into the classroom – specifically, the history curriculum – and finding oral accounts to support content 

Format: Article 

Time: 5 minutes

 

An Equity Toolkit for Inclusive Schools: Centering Youth Voice in School Change

Topic: Building student capacity for change to make their school more inclusive  

Format: Gray Paper 

Time: 10 minutes

 

Social Justice Projects in the Classroom

Topic: Suggestions from a teacher for encouraging students to share their advocacy efforts; includes links to student-led social justice projects 

Format: Article 

Time: 15 minutes

 

Helping Students Make Sense of News Stories About Bias and Injustice

Topic: Ideas on how teachers can help students thoughtfully discuss what they see in the news and on social media

Format: Gray Paper 

Time: 7 minutes

 

Current Events in the Classroom

Topic: Guides, a webinar, and lesson plans that focus on current events and help students develop media literacy skills

Format: Resource 

Time: Varies based on user interaction

 

Activism Isn’t Just for Adults! See How These Students Are Creating Change in Their Own Communities

Topic: Highlights student activists who identified a need in their school/community   

Format: Article 

Time: 11 minutes

 

Including Voice in Education Addressing Equity Through Student and Family Voice in Classroom Learning

Topic: Strategies to help students and families have a voice in educational policies and practices across learning environments

Format: Gray Paper 

Time: 13 minutes

 

Making Space for Youth Activism

Topic: Strategies for school leaders (and teachers, to some extent) on creating policies and practices that facilitate student activism using real-world examples 

Format: Blog 

Time: 7 minutes

 

Student Proposals on How to Rethink School

Topic: Student voices on how they want school to be restructured to work for them 

Format: Podcast 

Time: 10 minutes

WRAP-UP & NEXT STEPS

This session gave you information and resources on how to spark and support sociopolitical consciousness in your students across learning environments. In the next session of this module, you’ll explore culturally responsive assessment practices.

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