Learning Tasks for Monday, April 7

Essential Question:  How can students be active agents of change in their communities?

Objectives:  I can...
-research organizations that address a specific social issue.
-identify a cause that I am interesting in exploring.
-explain how societal issues are interrelated.

1.  Vote!
On a note card, indicate your first and second choice of an issue to address with our PBL projects.  You will be working on this project for about two weeks, so be sure to put thought into it!  Based on your responses, I will organize you into peer groups.

2.  Warm Up
Let's create a social web!  Each of you will be assigned a social issue for this game.  The first person with the yarn will toss the ball to someone (make sure you hold the end of the string when you throw!!!!) who he/she thinks his/her social issue is related.  Person #2 must describe how his/her issue is related to Person #1's.  The process will continue until we have created an awesome social web!

3.  Sharing Career Issues
Each person will share with the class the following information:

• Your intended career
• The three issues that someone in your profession would be interested in addressing
• Which of those three issues you are most interested in and how you would like to address that problem in your career

3.  PBL Time!
Ms. Jones will place everyone in groups based on their note card responses.

With your group, find three organizations that address the issue you have selected.  Try to locate at least one that works locally (that is, in North Carolina) and at least one that works globally.  In your Google Doc, identify the following information for each organization:

• the organization's SPECIFIC mission (quoting or paraphrasing from the website would be a good idea)
• list ways people can get involved with the organization
• who specifically benefits from the organization's work

After mulling over your findings, identify ways that you could get involved with one of the organizations.

1. Make a brainstorming list in your Google Doc to get all your ideas out.
2. Highlight the ideas that you think are the most feasible or interesting.
3. Narrow your ideas down to one; this is the project you will be working on during our PBL unit!
4. Write and label your winning idea below your brainstorming list.
5. Phrase your project idea as an Essential Question.  Example:  how can we raise awareness of human trafficking in North Carolina?

Create a plan that either raises community awareness of the issue or addresses the issue directly.  How you go about this is completely up to your group, pending Ms. Jones' approval.

Please keep this rubric in mind as you discuss your project.

4. Exit Ticket

Who needs your project and why?  What are their needs and interests?