…equals PSAs (public service announcements). Or at least this is how I have pitched the final component of the research essay to my sophomores. The assignment was for them to pick an issue around the world (since our focus is on world literature) that they felt strongly about. Research about topic and compose an essay. Finally, create a PSA in which you would ideally show during a morning assembly to your peers telling them a bit about your issue, why it’s a problem, and what you think can/should be done to solve the problem.
Yet, I didn’t consider…why NOT show the PSAs to the school (we have an assembly every morning)? AND, believe it or not, many of the students liked that idea and were hoping they would be showing them to the others!
I think next year I will look to add this component to the project. I guess the main reason I didn’t think of it this time around is simply because of time (we only have two more days of school left before exams). However, the fact that kids were talking about showing their work off to their peers reminds me of why and how technology can act as a venue to get students’ voices out there…so that they can see their voices matter, too, in the bigger scheme of things.
Tomorrow the kids will give their presentations to their class. Pretty informal presentation designed to simply give a bit of background about their issue, why it mattered to them, and then show their PSA. Topics will range from movements to go green, terrorism, STDs, poverty, and animal cruelty. PSA mediums will also range, including videos, podcasts, posters, glogs, cupcakes, etc.
I love “presentation/project” days because kids get to really show what they’ve learned, help others learn, too, and have a chance to showcase their work. Plus, I’m always amazed at how creative their hard work turns out to be as well!