Examining Issues of Social Justice: My World, My Change!

Toronto Star’s Classroom Connection Resource Examining Issues of Social Justice: My World, My Change!, by Robyn Ecclestone and Sarah Hill, is an engaging resource. It is a series of short activities designed to make students, Grades 6–10, think about various inequalities around the world. Some topics include: the environment, equity, and the examination of different perspectives. The resource uses a combination of articles, videos, stories and graphics to get the students to examine what is going on in the world, what they think about it and what can they do about it. As well, it includes a culminating activity at the end.

This summer, during my civics summer school class, I had a chance to use it. This resource comes in the form of a workbook, but I would not give it to the students to do straight through. Instead, I found it really helpful to break it up and do small amounts throughout the whole course. I made a PowerPoint with all of the video links on it and each day, we spent 10–15 minutes going over one or two of the activities. I found it to be a really good way to start the lesson, get the students thinking and get the conversation going. Other teachers piloted it with me, and they really liked the conversations that sparked from the prompts provided. Overall, students were engaged, and thinking critically about various social justice issues.

The resource can be purchased here.