Naomi Klein, No Logo Author, on Globalization.

Ayiti: The Cost of Life follows a family through four years as the parents try to support their kids and provide an education while balancing expenses with health, education, and happiness.

Each game comes with its own difficult set of choices that each player will have to make. While the choices might be easy in a game context, when considering them in a real life situation, complications and moral/ethical issues arise.

Ayiti: The Cost of Life http://ayiti.newzcrew.org/globalkids/

Third World Farmer: http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/

Part 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbcWUoIqX6g

Part 2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht-QVqy0u78&feature=related

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qOtE8cKDIU&feature=related

Starter topic: What are the implications of a global system based on inequality when faced with rising demands for social justice?

One of the hallmarks of effective substitute teaching as opposed to busywork would be higher order thinking.  Instead of asking students to list definitions, perhaps giving them a functional task where they are required to think would be beneficial.  To that end:

Considering global food and water production, a couple of video links. 

Bad Seed:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1TOss9Mslw&feature=related

Meet Your Meat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4  (warning, quite graphic and disturbing).

 The videos are short and direct in their viewpoint (and biased, so you could weave in authorial intent or critical literacy as well).

Activities related to each.

-Considering these two movies, list and explain 3 methods by which we can improve global food security?

- What is the message behind Meet Your Meat?  Or behind Bad Seed?  What are these films saying about global food security?

For those with more time available for preparation, it’s possible to demonstrate plate tectonics with a pair of pingpong paddles, three layers of brightly coloured clay, and if so desired, a few pieces of lego (to represent buildings on the surface).

Set the two paddles side by side.  These are your tectonic plates.

Separate the three colours of clay and roll them out into 3 relatively thin layers, then (carefully) lay them atop one another across both paddles, so that the bottom layer is anchored to both paddles.  You can be less careful if you don’t worry about retrieving the clay after.  Put the lego buildings on top, if desired.  This would be the area above your tectonic plates, brightly coloured for visibility.

Holding the paddles aloft, explain the three different types of tectonic plate movement (convergent, divergent, transformative) and how the plates move in relation to each other.  Then, perhaps while pointing to a real-world example as you do so, move the two pingpong paddles (and the clay on them) as if they are the plates that you are describing (push them together for convergent, pull apart for divergent, and slide in a transverse motion for transformative).

Consider (or ask students to consider) what happens to the layers above when the tectonic plates move.  How does the movement affect the surface?

Assignment Description:  The Balcony Scene (Act 2 Scene 2) in Romeo and Juliet is considered to be highly romantic for its time, with Romeo risking his life for a glimpse of Juliet.  In modern days, however, we might have different notions of a young man sneaking through a young lady’s courtyard.  Your task, then, is to help Romeo preserve his honour and recover some romantic meaning to his intentions.  Update the balcony scene to modern tastes!

  Your task can take any form you choose.  You can present your updated version as a graphic novel/comic strip, a movie, a Facebook or social networking conversation, an instant messaging conversation, or whatever you can imagine.  Your goal, however, must be to maintain the scene’s continuity and elements while modernizing it.  The scene must follow Act 2, scene 1, and Act 2, scene 3 must be able to follow without any logical breaks.  You cannot have Romeo kill Tybalt or kidnap Juliet, for instance.

 You will be assessed on the quality of your update in how well you convey the main ideas in the scene, as well as your respect for continuity- while artistic license is possible, your scene should fit in the greater context of the play as a whole.

  Happy Updating!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Materials: 4 sheets of paper

1 sheet of chart paper/whiteboard/display screen

1 marker

1 cup.

  Set up:  Introduce the concept of carrying capacity (the number of organisms an ecosystem can support at a particular trophic level) to the class.   It might help to refer to trophic levels in the environment, but the activity can be done without it.

Scenario: Divide the class into four teams.  Each team is an island nation sharing an inland sea with 50 fish.  The inland sea can hold a maximum of 50 fish, and the fish population will double each year (up to a maximum of fifty).  Once per year (or a turn, in this game), the island nations can go fishing.  Because they are all master fishers, they can catch any number of fish they want.  At the end of 10 years, the island nation with the most fish wins, but there’s a catch: If the number of fish in the ocean ever reaches zero, everyone loses.  So, everyone’s goal is to fish as much as they can without destroying the resource.

Method: Call up a representative from each group to tell you how many fish that group will take this year (they should keep this secret from the other groups).  Jot down the # on a separate sheet of paper (it might help to have a column for each group to prevent clutter).  Subtract the total number taken from the 50 fish, then double the fish population (up to a maximum of 50), and then tell the class how many fish are left.  Repeat the process until 10 turns have passed and someone has the most fish, or until the ocean is empty of fish.

Typically, everyone says they will take around 3 fish, they actually take 8, and when less than 50 fish remain there is widespread finger-pointing and blaming.  The game usually lasts 3 turns.

Afterward, discuss what happened.  What happened when the resource started to become threatened?  What steps did people take?  What steps would have resulted in a sustainable resource?  What caused the downfall of the resource?

Useful in a science, food science, and global geography courses to name  a few.

It is possible to search this blog chronologically, but it is also possible to search by tags/keywords.  Every lesson post is tagged with grade level where appropriate, (elementary, junior high, secondary) and with subject area (science, language arts, social studies).  Specific posts might find themselves refined with further subjects and topic areas (ex: Secondary, Science, Biology, Ecosystems).  It is advised that if you are searching for a particular topic, you start with a broad area and narrow your topic area down. 

Also, I am always open to feedback.  If you have comments for a lesson plan, or ideas for one you might like to see (or one to share), please don’t hesitate to drop me a line as I work on this over the coming months.

Perhaps it is more a concern of maintaining, as opposed to attaining.  What I teach will constantly shift, change, and evolve over time.  Therefore, my lessons must as well.  And I worry if by putting them out by timestamp, I am publicly subjecting myself to delayed obsolecence.  How will I use this in my practice?  Will this be a novelty or an essential?

I suppose, then, if it is to be useful, I must make it so in its conception and continuation, not just its initial appearance.