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Global Issues Lesson Plan

Running head: GLOBAL ISSUES LESSON PLAN


Rhodora Dela Cruz

TESOL 507

December 23, 2013

Mrs. Cindy Perez

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Global Issue: Taking Care of Our Earth

Grade level: Pre-Kindergarten (3, 4, and 5-year-olds)

Duration of Activities: 90 minutes

Content Areas: Language Arts, Science, Social Studies

Illinois Early Learning & Development Standards (Aligned with Common Core State Standards):

2.D.ECa With teacher assistance, discuss illustrations in books and make personal

connections to the pictures and story.

5.B.ECc With teacher assistance, use a combination of drawing, dictating, or writing to

narrate a single event and provide a reaction to what happened.

5.C.ECa Participate in group projects or units of study designed to learn about a topic of

interest.

12.E.ECb Participate in discussions about simple ways to take care of the environment.

14.A.ECb Contribute to the well-being of one’s early childhood environment, school, and

community.

Key Vocabulary: Earth, environment, reduce, reuse, recycle, pollution, problem, solution

Materials:

Dear Children of the Earth, by Schim Schimmel

Sheet of songs about Earth (see Appendix A)

Anchor chart paper

Markers

Students’ Writing Journals

Colored Pencils

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Computer with Internet connection

Globe and world wall map

Learning Goals: Students will become aware of issues related to the environment. They will be

able to identify problems and generate solutions to taking care of the Earth. Students will

collaborate and gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to make positive changes to nurture

Mother Nature.

Content Objectives:

1. Students will be able to identify problems with the Earth’s environment on a local, national, and

international level.

2. Students will be able to design a plan to solve these environmental issues.

Language Objectives:

1. SWBAT use new vocabulary to sing and tell about problems and solutions with the

environment.

2. SWBAT write (with teacher assistance) and draw their problems and solutions for the Earth.

Principles That Guide Culturally Responsive Teaching (Chartock, 2010):

2. Utilization of diverse learning strategies.

4. Positive perspectives on parents and families of culturally and linguistically diverse students.

6. Reshaping the curriculum.

7. Culturally mediated instruction.

Instructional Content:

1. Motivation: (Building background)

Sing “The Earth is Ours” (see Appendix A), which is among the songs the students have

been practicing for the upcoming school assembly.

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2. Activate prior knowledge:

Based on the songs and stories read so far, have students share what they know

about the Earth. Create a word web together to record the students’ ideas.

3. Read aloud Dear Children of the Earth, by Schim Schimmel.

4. Ask questions to guide comprehension: Who is telling the story? What is Mother Earth

telling us? What problems does She tell us we have? How can we solve those problems?

5. Sing “Love Our World” (see Appendix A) as a brain break. Have students stand and stretch

before sitting down again.

6. As a class, collaborate to create a Problems and Solutions Chart on anchor chart.

7. Show pictures from the story as well as photographs of environmental issues (see Appendix

B) including pollution, littering, filled landfills, polluted animal habitats, dirty water, etc. to

help students generate ideas for “Problems.”

8. Use role play, gestures, and photographs (see Appendix C) to assist students with generating

ideas for “Solutions.”

9. Ask the Questions of the Day: What will you do to help save our Earth?

10. Students Think-Pair-Share their ideas.

11. Students transition to Centers Time by verbally sharing their ideas with the class: Students

will work in small groups with teachers circulating and facilitating in the following centers:

Library: Includes books about the Earth, Recycling, etc.

Housekeeping Area: Converted into a Recycling Center, where students can sort

recyclable materials and pretend to recycle materials.

Art: Students can paint the Earth at the easel or make Earth sun catchers out of reused

materials. Make signs about how to keep the Earth clean, which will be posted around the

school and community.

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Writing Center: Students write their ideas about how to help the Earth in their Student

Journals. Teachers will discuss their pictures and ideas and act as the scribe as students

dictate their problems and solutions in their journal entries.

Science Center: Students can plant seeds in recycled containers.

12. Cleanup Time.

13. Gather students on the rug for Circle Time. Sing “We’ve Got the Future in

our Hands” (see Appendix A).

14. Show students the globe. Point out the country from where the global pen pals originate (to

be determined upon registering with iEARN). Announce to the students that we will be

making friends on the other side of the globe. Get students excited about making friends from

another country. Ask if anyone has been to this country or knows anything about it. Point to

it on the wall world map. Explain that for the rest of the year, we will all be writing letters

and collaborating on projects to help the environment in our respective regions of the world.

Let students guess how they will talk to students who are so far away. We will be meeting

them tomorrow in the computer center using iEARN Skype video-conferencing. Students will

introduce themselves and sing the Earth songs to their new friends. Teachers will act as

facilitators but allow students to begin interacting and carrying the discussions. They can use

the Problems/Solutions Chart to help generate ideas about their plan to save the Earth.

15. Recess: While outside, students will have the option to help clean up the playground. While

playing, teachers will discuss any students’ ideas for further projects, such as cleaning up the

community, recycling, and parading around the community.

Modifications and Accommodations for Students with Special Learning Needs:

1. Use gestures, facial expressions, visuals, and an appropriate rate of speech.

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2. To make concepts more comprehensible, use music and movement and the five senses to make

connections, and cooperative learning.

3. Strategies include scaffolding learning and differentiated instruction.

4. Provide visuals with labels, including posters, photographs, and an interactive bulletin board,

along with real artifacts to investigate.

5. Stop to ask questions and discuss the details of each page to check for comprehension.

6. Reinforce vocabulary with repetition, appropriate rate of speech, visuals, and pointing to

examples in the book.

7. Small-group and one-on-one assistance, particularly with writing dictations.

8. According to IEPs and Behavior Plans, students may need brain and movement breaks

during Circle Time and extra incentives such as a sticker chart and a visual sand timer.

Assessment Plan:

1. Head Start utilizes the Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment System. Teachers document

students’ progress in meeting objectives through observations during classroom activities.

Documentation includes photographs, videos, and anecdotal notes. Teachers select which

objectives the documentation reflects, and complete a Checkpoints Rating Scale to indicate where

each student falls along the performance spectrum (see Appendix B).

2. Students’ Journal writing will be evaluated based on a teacher-created rubric (see Appendix C).

Ancillary Materials:

1. Songs about Earth: see Appendix A.

2. Visuals for Environmental Issues: see Appendix B.

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3. Visuals for Solutions to Environmental Issues: see Appendix C.

4. Teaching Strategies GOLD Performance Rating Scale: See Appendix D.

5. Writing Rubric: See Appendix E.

Extension:

In subsequent lessons, students will extend their learning by regularly collaborating with their

classmates and with their global pen pals. They will learn about environmental issues in each

country and what they can all do to take action and spread awareness. Students will sing the Earth

songs in the school assembly and during our parade around the community. Students will create

posters to carry and then post throughout the school and neighborhood. Student groups will also

cooperate to create a mural motivating others to keep the Earth clean, which will be publicly

displayed in the school and potentially the local public library. Students will enlist the help of

parent volunteers to initiate a school-wide Recycling Program, community cleanup, and a school

garden. Students will share these projects on the iEARN collaboration center, so the message can

be heard throughout the world.

Reflection

Global education aims to transform students into responsible citizens on a global scale. It

extends the focus beyond local and national levels to the human race, which shares the same

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world. Suarez-Orozco (2007) explains that global education bridges “the gap between what is

taught in schools and the realities of the world” (cited in Focho, 2010). The curriculum

considers global issues and how it affects Americans on an international level. Students discuss

what problems exist, and how they could be solved. Teachers emphasize cultural pluralism,

interconnectedness, and interdependence as a planet. Students develop an appreciation for the

similarities and differences of world cultures and viewpoints. Students are empowered to act as

citizens at local, national, and international levels, working toward positive change in our

“multicultural global village” (Brown & Kysilka, 2009, p. 10).

The global issue addressed in this lesson plan is the environment. Students will learn

about the issues facing our planet including pollution, littering, overflowing landfills, the lack of

water and natural resources, and polluted animal habitats. They will consider the causes and

effects of these issues and collaborate to come up with solutions. The three and four-year-olds in

this author’s classroom are learning to take responsibility for themselves and are beginning to

extend this responsibility toward others. In one instance, a student threw away trash she found

on the school playground. The other children followed her lead and excitedly began cleaning up

as well. They have demonstrated an interest in keeping the school clean. In this unit, the

children will extend this responsibility to the community, country, and world.

The biggest challenge in teaching these students about issues with the environment is that

the concepts may be abstract for three and four-year-olds. The idea of the environment and

helping others they have never met and will never meet is new to them. Every effort will be

made to make concepts concrete. The teacher will differentiate instruction, which is tailored to

students’ needs, strengths, and interests. English Language Learner strategies that will be

implemented to teach this global concept include utilizing manipulatives, realia, visuals, videos,

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hands-on learning, interactive activities, cooperative learning, project-based assessments, and

experiential learning. By interacting with global pen pals via Skye, the students will develop a

connection with children on the other side of the world. This will expose them to multiple

perspectives and establish a sense of interconnectedness with them. This sense of

interdependence can then be applied to the entire planet.

Teaching about the environment can easily be incorporated into public education and to

classrooms of all grade levels. This is an issue that is pertinent to all of humanity. While

teaching children to take care of the Earth is typically only addressed during Earth Day, this unit

aims to celebrate Earth Day everyday. The need to preserve our resources and nurture Mother

Earth is something that should be taught throughout the curriculum. This can be achieved

through on-going projects such as school-wide recycling, community cleanup, partnerships with

community and environmental organizations, performances and exhibitions of students’ projects

in the newspaper, public library, and other galleries in the city, murals, and continued

collaboration with global pen pals throughout the world. The curriculum should encourage

students to ask questions, debate, and investigate controversial issues. This global issue will

emphasize taking social action to affect positive change on our planet (Chartock, 2010).

The need to care for the Earth is a universal issue. The nature of how it manifests itself

may differ in different regions of the world. For example, the children in India or Africa may be

concerned with finding clean drinking water. Students in Japan may focus on the Fukishima

nuclear disaster and its effects on sea creatures and their food supply. People in the Amazon

may worry about the diminishing rain forest. While the particular issues may be different around

the globe, the pressing need to make change is the same. Citizens of the world must cooperate to

care for the Earth.

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With this global issue, the activities develop students’ self-affirmation. As they generate

their own ideas and participate in projects, they will develop confidence in their knowledge and

skills to successfully engage in projects that benefit others. The lessons also teach the concept of

empathy. While communicating and collaborating with classmates and with their global pen

pals, students will be flexible and open to other viewpoints. They will be exposed to thoughts,

feelings, and opinions from multiple perspectives. Students from both countries can discuss

global issues that affect both homelands and the world at large. Recognizing the negative effects

people have on the world as well as the potential to nurture the Earth will develop the concepts

of co-responsibility in a global society. They will use creativity and critical thinking skills as

they set and achieve goals (Brown & Kysilka, 2009). The experiences working on an

international level will demonstrate the concepts of interconnectedness and interdependence.

Students will feel empowered to participate in making positive change for the Earth.

The activities in the global issues lesson plan are effective for preparing a culturally

responsive community. Among the principles incorporated that guide Culturally Responsive

Teaching (Chartock, 2010) include: 2. Utilization of diverse learning strategies. The lesson plan

incorporates differentiated instruction and multiple modalities, including music and movement,

literature, art, science, writing, and dramatic play to get all students engaged in learning. The

students are able self-select the Centers activity that interests them. They are able to work in

pairs, small groups, and to collaborate as a class and with their global pen pals. 4. Positive

perspectives on parents and families of culturally and linguistically diverse students. The teacher

works toward creating a classroom community, which includes knowing students’ and families’

culture, background knowledge, and experiences. In a culturally sensitive model, native

languages and cultures are viewed as resources. This will engage all students and involve

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parents, who are invited to help organize and implement school-wide and community-wide

projects. Parents and community members are also welcome to speak to students and share their

expertise on topics. 6. Reshaping the curriculum. The curriculum is interdisciplinary. This

lesson plan integrates Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. By beginning where students

live, play, and go to school, it is relevant to their lives. This helps them develop higher-order

thinking skills and make connections. They are motivated to extend their learning beyond

themselves to the country and to the world. 7. Culturally mediated instruction. Every student’s

culture is respected as a resource for learning. This cultural appreciation is applied to the

cultures of their global pen pals. “[T]he classroom is used as a microcosm of the global world.

What is learned in the classroom about multicultural and global concepts is constantly applied

there as well as in the world beyond” (Brown & Kysilka, 2009, p. 31).

The activities in this lesson plan will give meaning and purpose to the subsequent

projects in this unit. Students will work collaboratively on projects that require higher-order

thinking skills and provide experiential learning, which will help them develop deeper

understandings and connections. Students will reflect upon and discuss issues with the

environment in their community and extend it to the entire planet. The most beneficial aspects

of the activities is that they encourage cross-cultural dialogue, investigation, shared

responsibility, and action to create a more just world.

Teachers will know that the lesson plan was effective in teaching about the environment

based on students’ interest and engagement in the projects. If they are able to identify Earth’s

environmental issues and come up with possible solutions, this indicates that the lesson was

effective. In addition, it demonstrates that they understand the purpose of the subsequent

projects in the community and with their global pen pals. Using the assessments, teachers can

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keep track of students’ progress. For the unit as a whole, if students are able to collaborate to

plan and implement projects, such as a community cleanup, a recycling parade, and a mural, the

unit was effective in meeting the objectives. Ultimately, the Thematic Unit of which this lesson

plan is a part, strives to develop students’ “knowledge, skills, and values to participate actively in

a complex, pluralistic, and interconnected world society and to work together for change”

(Brown & Kysilka, 2009, p. 11) to create better world.

References

Brown, S. C., & Kysilka, M. L. (2009). What every teacher should know about multicultural and

global education. Boston, MA: Pearson.

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Chartock, R. K. (2010). Strategies and lessons for culturally responsive teaching: A primer for

K–12 teachers. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Children's Songs and Action Rhymes for Earth Day. Retrieved from Holiday Zone website:

http://www.theholidayzone.com/earth/songs.html. Focho, G.N. (2010). Language as tool for a global education: Bridging the gap between the

traditional and a global curriculum. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching, 3(1),

140-153.

iEARN Collaboration Centre. Retrieved from iEARN website: http://www.iearn.org.

Illinois Early Learning Standards (2013). Retrieved from Illinois State Board of Education

website: http://www.isbe.state.il.us/earlychi/pdf/early_learning_standards.pdf .

Marshall, H. (2007, September). Global education in perspective: fostering a global dimension in

an English secondary school. Cambridge Journal of Education, 37(3), 355–374.

Music and Songs. Retrieved from Preschool Education website:

http://www.preschooleducation.com.

Teaching Strategies GOLD Checkpoints. Retrieved from Teaching Strategies GOLD website:

http://www.teachingstrategies.com.

Appendix A: Songs about Earth

Retrieved from http://www.preschooleducation.com and http://www.theholidayzone.com

The Earth Is Ours(to the tune of "This Old Man")

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The Earth is ours—Yours and mine. Ours to live on, ours to share,

Ours to guard, regard, and tend with gentle care. The earth is ours—Yours and mine.

Working on the Trash (Sung to: "I've Been Working on the Railroad")

We've been working on RECYCLING all the trash we can.

We've been working on recycling. It's a very simple plan.

Separate your glass and paper. Separate your plastic and tin.

Take the trash that you’ve recycled to your recycling bin!

We've been working on REDUCING all the trash we can.

We've been working on reducing. It's a very simple plan.

Don't go wasting any products. Use just exactly what you need.

Don't buy things in extra wrapping. Reduce and you'll succeed!

We've been working on REUSING all the trash we can.

We've been working on reusing. It's a very simple plan.

If it's a paper bag you're using, don't use it once, use it twice!

Give old clothes and toys to someone. To reuse them would be nice!

Pollution Song (Sung to: "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean")

The litter blows over the highway. The litter blows over the park.

Unless we do something to stop it, the world will be literally dark.

Pick up, pick up, oh pick up the litter you see, you see.

Pick up, pick up, oh pick, the litter you see.

The cars that drive over the highwayare spewing exhaust in the air.

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We're leading our world to extinction.And just don't seem to care.

Bring back, bring back, bring back a clean word to me to me.

Bring back, bring back, please bring back a clean world to me.

Bring back, bring back, bring back a clean world to me to me.

Bring back, bring back, please bring back a clean world to me.

This Land Is Our Land! (Sung to: "This Land Is Your Land")

We must take care of the world we live in.We must not waste what nature has given.

We need clean air, soil, and water, too. This land was made for me and you!

Chorus:This land is our land. We must respect it. We must protect it, and not neglect it.

If we take care of what we've been given, this land will stay for you and me!

We breathe the air and we feel the sunlight. Our plants need water and soil to grow right.

We need both plants and animals, too. This land was made for me and you! Repeat Chorus

Pollution poisons our air and farmlands. It's not from nature, but from our own hands.

The health of nature rests on what you do.This land was made for me and you! Repeat Chorus

We've Got the Future in Our Hands(Sung to "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

We've got the world around us in our hands. We've got the world around us in our hands.

We've got the world around us in our hands. It's ours to take care of.

We've got the birds and the bees in our hands.

We've got the creatures of the seas in our hands.

We've got the tigers and the bears in our hands. They're ours to take care of.

We've got the future in our hands. We've got the future in our hands.

We've got the future in our hands. It's ours to take care of.

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Love Our World (Sung to "If You're Happy and You Know it")

If you love our world, clap your hands (clap, clap)

If you love our world, clap your hands (clap, clap)

If you love our world, really love our great big world;

If you love our world, clap your hands! (clap, clap)

If you love our world, plant new trees (new trees!)

If you love our world, plant new trees (new trees!)

If you love our world, plant new trees for birds and bees;

If you love our world, plant new trees! (new trees!)

If you love our world, recycle (recycle!)

If you love our world, recycle (recycle!)

If you love our world, then recycle and reuse;

If you love our world, recycle! (recycle!)

If you love our world do your part (do your part!)

If you love our world do your part (do your part!)

If you love our world, really love our great big world;

If you love our world, BE SMART! (be smart!!)

Appendix B: Sample Visuals for Global Environmental Issues

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Global Issues Lesson Plan 17


Appendix C: Sample Visuals to Generate Ideas for Solutions to Environmental Issues

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Appendix D: Performance Rating Scale Teaching Strategies GOLD

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Based upon observations, documentation, and anecdotal notes uploaded to the Teaching

Strategies GOLD system, teachers complete the above Checkpoint Rating Scale per child, per

objective three times a year. Children who are age cycle 3, are in the green color band, and age

cycle 4 is the blue color band. Based upon where students fall along the spectrum, teachers and

parents see where the child compares to expectations for their particular age cycle. Teaching

Strategies GOLD also includes specific activities and strategies to assist students with

developing each particular objective. Teachers can run reports to share with parents.

Appendix E: Rubric for Writing Skills: Used to Assess Writing in Journals

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Global Issues Lesson Plan 21

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