Field Notes

Kids for Change

Pooja Patel

I went into teaching because I wanted to help students see their potential as change agents in this world. Luckily, working at the United Nations (UN) International School in New York City allows me to constantly remind my students of our obligations to the world and our responsibility to be global citizens who help those who don't have access to their basic needs. Along with motivating my students to be citizens of the world, however, I must also find ways to ensure that I am fully teaching the curriculum and that students are learning crucial academic skills.

The Curriculum, Common Core State Standards, and Other Frameworks

The 6th graders in my humanities and English class are required to learn about various ancient civilizations; economic, social, political, and religious systems; and these topics' links to the modern world, all while strengthening their critical writing, reading, and speaking skills. Common Core State Standard 6.8 requires students to introduce and support a claim about an issue while writing in a formal style that develops a topic with relevant and well-chosen facts attained from multiple print and digital sources with the aid of technology to produce and publish the writing.

In 6th grade, students are required to write a report and present on a topic. I wanted to teach the curriculum and skills in a meaningful way that linked the core values of the UN's mission and promoted making a difference in the world. To facilitate learning, I embedded the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) approach created by Karen Harris and her colleagues to support writing skills and Cathryn Berger Kaye's service-learning work into my lessons.

SRSD is a pedagogical framework that uses six stages to allow for gradual release of responsibility from the teacher to the student. The strategy employs best practices to systematically teach skills such as modeling; goal setting; explicit evaluation criteria; formative assessment; differentiated instruction; self-regulation; and self, peer, and teacher feedback. Students engage in learning by using various graphic organizers, checklists, and scoring tools (all of which are gradually removed) that teachers can access both in print and online (Harris, Graham, Mason, & Friedlander, 2008). By using SRSD, writing skills become accessible and attainable to students, and they are able to effectively communicate their ideas and make a social impact.

Cathryn Berger Kaye's work on engaging social action and civic responsibility through the curriculum reinforces the goals of service learning. Kaye stresses the importance of providing students with real-world applications of their learning while in school to highlight the purpose of learning and studying particular content (2010). Kaye's service-learning framework uses five stages: investigation, preparation, action, reflection, and demonstration. These stages allow students to engage in the process of learning from start to finish. Using this framework, students bring life to their curriculum and see its connections with the world.

Service-Learning Process and Effect

In the beginning of the 2013–14 year, the students learned about the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Each student became an expert on one of the goals the UN aims to accomplish by 2015, and with their groups, presented the information about the issue, its prevalence in the world, and the efforts that the UN and others had made to help remedy the problem. Some issues that the MDGs addressed were to eradicate extreme poverty; reduce child mortality; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; and ensure environmental sustainability.

Once students completed their presentations, they were motivated to make a difference in the world. They realized that they were lucky and felt obligated to take a stand and make changes. This is where our service-learning journey began.

Students then engaged in an experience where they chose, researched, and wrote about an issue prevalent in today's society. Students chose topics they were passionate about, such as child slavery, pollution, girls' education, malaria, homelessness, poverty, terrorism, cancer, or hunger (some topics, but not all, were linked to MDGs).

Once the students knew that they were going to draw attention to their chosen issue, they felt charged. They researched report formats, and when they found nothing suitable for their needs, the class created its own executive report template. With the organizational structure, tone, and purpose set, they began to learn about their issues, the discrepancies between accessibility, and the potential solutions others were already trying. Using the SRSD framework, students knew they needed to identify the crucial elements of the genre, the purpose of writing, and the audience before they wrote. When they created their own executive report template, they clearly articulated the report's essential elements and specific criteria. Their overall written organization and tone improved because they clearly identified it prior to writing.

Additionally, they thought about initiatives that 6th graders could implement to call attention to the issue and make a change. They revised and edited many drafts of their reports, created presentations for the class, and wrote letters to leaders related to their topics. As students revised and edited multiple drafts, their writing skills improved. They were able to refine their word choice and sentence structure by building more complex sentences. They continued to strengthen their written organization by referring to the template to ensure they included all elements with depth and relevant facts. They engaged in the writing process to strengthen their writing skills independently because the stakes of the final product were high. Finally, they created a website using their work as a model to show other students how to craft reports and letters to promote change.

Teacher's Role and Final Thoughts

The teacher's role is to empower students—to remind them that 6th graders' voices count and that they can make a change. Because they were sending the letters to leaders in the world, such as Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, President Barack Obama, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, I encouraged them to use their best writing and continue to revise their work until it was clear, articulate, and purposeful. They felt the responsibility to make sure the facts, their claims, and their ideas were clearly articulated, and many of them had a focus throughout the year that I had not seen on previous assignments. They believed that they could make a change and significantly strengthened their writing skills in the process.

This was the only project that all 24 students said they enjoyed and would not change. Many students reported that the project was one they would never forget and one that would continue to transform lives because of the website they created. They have asked me to keep them abreast of any news and comments we receive from our website and have provided a flurry of suggestions on ways to promote it. As a result, I can tell that they are committed to this project and believe in its lasting effect.

At the end of the year, my students had the honor of presenting their website, learning process, and reports to the UN's secretary-general. This culminating event strengthened the effect this process had on their lives. They learned and realized that their words do matter, can empower others, and can result in action. As a teacher, I could not have asked for more. My students became better readers, writers, researchers, presenters, and global citizens.

References

Harris, K., Graham, S., Mason, L., & Friedlander, B. (2008). Powerful writing strategies for all students. Baltimore, MD: Brooks.

Kaye, C. B. (2010). The complete guide to service learning: Proven, practical ways to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, & social action. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.

Pooja Patel is a middle school learning specialist who works as a 6th and 7th grade English and humanities teacher at the United Nations International School. She is an adjunct instructor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and presents on self-regulated strategy development both nationally and internationally. She has also coauthored a book on formative assessment and differentiation.

ASCD Express, Vol. 9, No. 22. Copyright 2014 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.