3.2 Reading Projects
CHOOSE: Research or Action?
Students who demonstrate social responsibility demonstrate a strong sense of community-mindedness, and take actions to support diversity and the environment. Will you become inspired through research or through action? The choice is up to you.
Once you've chosen your research topic or action project, look through the next three pages to learn about some choices for presenting your project.
RESEARCH: |
ACTION: |
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Choose an activity or organization that contributes to the community or cares for the environment, making the world a better place. See "Research Ideas” below or ask your home facilitator if they know of anything local. Research the topic. If you know anyone involved with the topic, call or email them with some questions. Narrow down the information you’d like to include. Try to answer 3-5 main questions about your topic. Imagine they are headings in an article or pamphlet. If researching an organization, you may answer some of the following:
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Choose an action or activity you can do to contribute to the community or care for the environment. Make a plan. What will you need? Who will help you? (This could be a great project for you to do with a home facilitator or a friend.) Take action. Be sure someone can take photos of you in action to add to your reading project. Tell about it in one of the suggested formats. |
RESEARCH IDEAS:Youth Organizations: Nature Kids BC / 4H / Scouts / Girl Guides / Cadets (If you belong to one of these.) / BC Youth Parliament National Day: Terry Fox Run. Orange Shirt Day, Pink Shirt Day Charity Sporting Events: Walk for Water Famous Canadian Difference Makers: Rick Hansen, David Suzuki, Craig Kielberger, Famous National or International Difference Makers: Malala, Greta Thunberg, Mother Theresa Local Ecology Difference Makers: Eco-villages, community gardens, trail building organizations, field naturalists, Sustainabiliteens Local Community Difference Makers: Ronald Macdonald Houses Canada, Service Clubs (Lions, Elks, Rotary, Kiwanis), Local Park Soceity Local or provincial businesses and initiatives (Think the World Differently, Sea Smart, Unbuilders, a Refugee Support Group, Snow Angels, nature conservation places)
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ACTION IDEAS:Random Acts of Kindness - Choose a few random acts of kindness and actually "do" them. (You can refer to the article from 3.1I for ideas. Remember, it had a massive list of ideas) Create your own "Kindness Rocks" kind of project. Visit someone who could use some company, such as an elderly neighbor or someone who may not get out of the house often. Arrange to visit a senior center and play a board game with someone. Organize a beach clean up with a few family members of friends. 11 year old Natalia had enough “stuff” but cared deeply for animals, so on her birthday, instead of getting presents for herself, she invited donations for her local SPCA. She and her friends had fun decorating animal themed cupcakes; she helped not only abandoned pets but local wildlife as well. 12 year old Gregory and his friend decided to volunteer at a downtown homeless shelter. They helped unload and unpack the food bank delivery, peel potatoes, prepare sandwiches, assist with kitchen clean up, and provided friendly interaction with the visitors. They also learned that for many of the homeless people that stayed in the shelter, the issue of mental illness was a problem as well as the lack of affordable housing. One student fell in love with trees. He dug a tree out of a lot that was slated for development and repotted it in order to save it. He then helped dig out invasive plants at a local nature sanctuary. One student had a personal connection to poverty because her brother had visited Uganda with his baseball team. She initiated a fundraising effort, creating and selling homemade crafts. She also made a video to document her journey of self-realization, comparing her life in Canada with life in developing countries. |