Personal and Social Responsibility

Introduction

Personal Awareness and Responsibility

1. Self-determination
2. Self-regulation
3. Well-being

Social Responsibility

1. Contributing to community and caring for the environment
2. Solving problems in peaceful ways
3. Valuing diversity
4. Building relationships

Consider all of these elements as you work through the assignments in this section.

Summary Explanation of Assignments

Here is a quick overview of the assignments for this unit.  However, be sure you read over the specific assignment instructions that follow for each one.  Review the marking rubrics for the assignments before you start.

ASSIGNMENT 1: News Report

You are the lead anchor on Global T.V. and you will be researching, writing, and reading the headline article on a topic that is in recent news

ASSIGNMENT 2:  Dear Ocean

Watch Shayne Koyczan's spoken word poem called "Dear Ocean".  Then write and/or perform a poem with the same theme.  This is time to do something about the state of our environment and the harm we have done to our earth.   Call people to action to do something.   You decide your environmental crusade.

ASSIGNMENT 3:  Digital Citizenship

Prepare a presentation for Grade 5 students on how best to maintain a positive online presence and good digital citizenship.  You're the teacher here.

ASSIGNMENT 4:  Public Service Announcement

Demonstrate your personal and social responsibility by developing a public service announcement to raise awareness, change public attitudes and behavior towards a social issue that is important to you.   It is also a good opportunity to further develop your expository and persuasive writing skills.

ASSIGNMENT 5:  Editing FORUM

Go through the 3 Grammar Resources listed under Course Resources.  These sites are from an online Grammar textbook called The Bare Essentials.  There are examples, practice exercises, and practice tests.

Do the practice tests in Unit 1 (WORDS) and Unit 4 (PUNCTUATION).  If you are not achieving 100% on these tests, review the lesson in the EXAMPLES and the do some practice EXERCISES to review.

In this forum, comment on which of the tests you found easiest.  Which one was most difficult?  Was there a concept in these practice tests that was unfamiliar to you?  How might you begin to apply these learning lessons into your own writing?  Can you see where you might use some of these conventions of language?  Provide a discussion of your results and their applications into your writing and spoken language.

ASSIGNMENT 6:  PROJECT:  Podcast

Develop a piece of writing (poem, short story, essay, speech, debate) that reflects your sense of social responsibility as you respond to the prompt:  "Culture is often expressed through the arts".  Review the key components of social responsibility as discussed in the introduction: 

1.  Contributing to community and caring for the environment

2.  Solving problems in peaceful ways

3.  Valuing diversity

4.  Building relationships

and then create your very own podcast.  Don't overthink the technology part of this assignment.  If you're having difficulties, ask your teacher right away.

ASSIGNMENT 1: News Report

Visual Organizer for News Report

Almost all newscasts or newspaper stories start off by answering most of these questions.  Try to answer these questions in your story.

• Who:
• What:
• When:
• Where:
• Why:
• How:

Lead Sentence (a sentence that includes some of the information above and that grabs the readers' attention)

ASSIGNMENT 2: Dear Ocean

Shayne Koyczan, https://www.shanekoyczan.com/ is a Canadian spoken word poet, writer, and member of the group Tons of Fun University. He is known for writing about issues like bullying, cancer, death, and eating disorders. (from Wikipedia)

Watch his poem "Dear Ocean".  It appears to be a call to action.

Write and/or perform a poem with the same theme.  This is time to do something about the state of our environment and the harm we have done to our earth.   Call people to action to do something.   You decide your environmental crusade.

Assessment:  Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.  

Learning Target: (Exemplary 6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective.  Poem succeeds in being a call to action. 

Written Expression (Exemplary (6/6):  Word choice is unique and powerful. Organization and flow is easy to read and adds to the message. 

Submission: 

Use the "4.2 Dear Ocean" link on the main page of this section of the course to upload your assignment to your teacher for marking.

ASSIGNMENT 3: Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is more than just a teaching tool; it is a way to prepare students/technology users for a society full of technology. Digital citizenship is the norms of appropriate, responsible technology use.  Too often we are seeing students as well as adults misusing and abusing technology but not sure what to do. The issue is more than what the users do not know but what is considered appropriate technology usage."

Source:  http://www.digitalcitizenship.net

Task:

Your task is to develop a presentation for 5th graders.  It will be very important for you to consider your audience when you are preparing your slides.  Watch for any bias in your information.  Make it easy to understand and follow.  Do research on digital citizenship and maintain a working bibliography as you did in previous lessons.  This handout on 9 themes in digital citizenship would be a good place to start. You should be helping these young technology users maintain a positive online "reputation management plan".

You should have at least 10 slides that incorporate information, visuals, and audio.

Assessment:  Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.  

Learning Target: (Exemplary 6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective.  Exemplary use of design processes and formats to communicate a visual presentation to a specific audience.  Careful research is included in a thoughtful and creative presentation that demonstrates the student's ability to access purposeful and accurate information for diverse purposes.  Explains ideas fully with depth and maturity, considering multiple perspectives and recognizing the significance of the selected topic.  

Written Expression:  (Exemplary (6/6):  Sentence structure and vocabulary are varied, skillfully written, and carefully chosen.  Work has been proofread and there are few or no errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar.  Content contributes to the central idea and makes insightful connections with logical organization.

Submission: 

Use the "4.3 Digital Citizenship" link on the main page of this section of the course to upload your assignment to your teacher for marking.

ASSIGNMENT 4: Public Service Announcement

A Public Service Announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest  disseminated without charge, with the objective of raising awareness, changing public attitudes and behavior towards a social issue.

The earliest PSA's were made before and during World War II to focus on the country's needs in times of war such as encouraging the public to invest their savings in war bonds. After the war, they were used to educate the public on a broader range of important issues. Sometimes organizations will enlist the support of a celebrity to read a PSA. One notable example is Crips gang leader Stanley Williams speaking from prison to urge youth not to join gangs. Another example is a public health warning sent from the World Health Organization.

An effective Public Service Announcement should persuade an audience to take a favorable action for social change. PSA's will create awareness, show the importance of an issue, convey information, and promote social change.

Two examples of PSA's that have become a part of our daily life are the ads for fire prevention and not using drugs. These 2 examples show the massive impact PSAs have on our culture.

Only You can Prevent Forest Fires

This is your Brain on Drugs

Now write your own PSA.

Task: 

1. Choose a topic that is important to you. Click this link for some ideas. Keep your focus narrow and to the point.
2. Research convincing and accurate information on your topic. You can use information for your area of focus.
3. Consider your target audience. Who do you want to rally to action? What are their needs and preferences?
4. Grab your audience's attention. You might use visual effects, an emotional response, or surprise.
5. Make sure your message is clear. Develop a script beforehand. A 30 second PSA will typically require about 5-7 concise statements.
6. Submit your PSA in your chosen final format. You could read it as an audio file, film it, draw it. It's your message, so you choose the medium.

Here is another site if you need some help.

Assessment:  Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.  

Learning Target: (Exemplary 6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective.  PSA is concise, grabs the audience's attention, and delivers a clear accurate message. 

Oral Presentation: (Exemplary (6/6):  Delivery conveys powerful emotions and appropriate tone using dynamic inflection. Delivery seems natural. Speech is easily understood without mumbling, muttering, or stumbling over words. Appears to have been thoroughly rehearsed. Pronunciation is accurate.

Submission: 

Use the "4.4 Public Service Announcement" link on the main page of this section of the course to upload your assignment to your teacher for marking.

ASSIGNMENT 5: Editing Forum

Task:

Go through the 3 Grammar Resources listed under Course Resources (on the side of the course). These sites are from an online Grammar textbook called The Bare Essentials. There are examples, practice exercises, and practice tests.

Do the practice tests in UNIT 1 (WORDS) and UNIT 4 (PUNCTUATION). If you are not achieving 100% on these tests, review the lesson in the EXAMPLES and the do some practice EXERCISES to review.

In this forum, comment on which of the tests/concepts you found easiest. Which one was most difficult? Was there a concept in these practice tests that was unfamiliar to you? How might you begin to apply these learning lessons into your own writing? Can you see where you might use some of these conventions of language? Provide a discussion of your results and their applications into your speaking and writing. Comment on another's post. Did you get other ideas for applying these grammar lessons into your own writing?

ASSIGNMENT 6: PROJECT - Podcast

Task: 

Produce a podcast. Develop a longer piece of writing (poem, short story, essay, speech, debate) that reflects your sense of social responsibility as you respond to the prompt:  "Culture is often expressed through the arts".  Review the key components of social responsibility as discussed in the introduction: 

1.  Contributing to community and caring for the environment

2.  Solving problems in peaceful ways

3.  Valuing diversity

4.  Building relationships

• Consider what that means to you.  What is your sense of personal responsibility?  How does your sense of self interact with those around you?  What art do you see being used to demonstrate social responsibility as it is defined above?  How is it being used?
• There is also a book on writing a personal narrative at the top of the course if you need some help brainstorming ways that people use art to express their living culture. 
• Synthesize at least 2 different sources into your response.
• Use the brainstorming graphic organizer to generate specific examples/moments.  Be sure to identify specific examples!!

Now, develop a piece of writing and record it. Your podcast recording should be 2-3 minutes long.  Make sure you reflect on your social responsibility as it pertains to the prompt. 

Be sure to look over the podcast criteria in the rubric before submitting.

Hey!  Here is an example podcast from the Banff Writer's Festival called Wordfest with Alexis O'Hara. Have a listen! 

Record your writing in podcast format using Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/,  GarageBand, iMovie or other recording software with capacity to edit sound. Add either sound effects or music or both to augment your voice reading.
Be sure to export as an mp3 format file and upload here...

Free sound effect and music sites:

1. https://www.pacdv.com/sounds/
2. http://www.findsounds.com/types.html
3. https://freemusicarchive.org/
4. https://freeplaymusic.com/
5. https://free-loops.com/
6. http://danosongs.com
7. https://incompetech.com
8. https://www.seabreezecomputers.com/tips/freemusic.htm#links … an example from this site:
9. https://www.taylorhayward.org/

Assessment:  Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.  

Learning Target: (Exemplary 6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective.  Final product reveals student's sense of social responsibility in a creative, thoughtful way.   

Content/Ideas:  (Exemplary 6/6):  Content contributes to the central idea and makes insightful connections. The content makes insightful connections to the prompt provided.  Content clearly reflects the student's sense of social responsibility.   

Organization:  Exemplary (6/6):  Format chosen is well-organized, easy to follow and includes a short introduction and conclusion. 

Technical Production:  Exemplary (6/6):  Spoken word can be clearly heard without distraction and is delivered with appropriate passion and inflection to support the overall message.  Engages and entertains the audience.  The audio is recorded in a quiet environment without distracting background noise.  Podcast length keeps the listener engaged and interested.

Submission: 

Use the "4.6 PROJECT - Podcast" link on the main page of this section of the course to upload your assignment to your teacher for marking.