Creating Our Future

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CREATING OUR FUTURE
ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH GLOBAL ISSUES
LESSON
40
Creating Our Future
How do we create a just and humane world
for ourselves and for future generations? Help
students identify and plan what they want their
future to look like. Using an action-planning
model, students visualize their desired future,
identify objectives, develop a plan to address
local and global issues, and implement their
vision through action and service learning.
OVERVIEW
• How do we envision and create a world we
want for ourselves and for future generations?
• What unmet needs exist in our local and
global communities?
• How do we identify structural solutions
to global issues?
• How can we work together to plan a
course of action?
INQUIRY/CRITICAL
THINKING QUESTIONS
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
• Visualize the future they desire
• Collaborate with their peers
• Identify issues they want to address, and
identify and prioritize objectives
• Present their findings
• Social Studies (World History,
World Cultures, Geography,
U.S. History, Civics/Government,
Economics, Global Studies,
Contemporary World Problems)
• Science
(Earth, Environmental, Life, Physical)
SUBJECT AREAS
GRADE LEVEL: 5–12
NATIONAL STANDARDS
CONSISTENCY
• NCSS: 2, 4, 5, 6, 10
• NSES: C, F, G
• Creating a vision
• Identifying local
and global issues
• Action/project planning
• Personal and
structural solutions
KEY ISSUES/CONCEPTS
FTF Related Reading
• Intermediate: Chapters 1 and 9 from
Global Issues and Sustainable Solutions
• Advanced: Unit 1, Chapter 1-3 and Unit 7,
Chapter 1-3 fromIt’s All Connected
Materials/Preparation
• Handout/Overhead: Action Planning
Worksheet, 1 per group of 3-4 students,
and make an overhead
• Butcher paper, 1 sheet per group
• Marking pens, colored, 1 set per group
TIME REQUIRED: 1.5 hours
1.5 hours for initial lesson; additional class time
for implementing the action plan. Whereas the
1.5 hour lesson can be completed in isolation,
ideally, students will have time to research
their issues through community interviews, the
Internet and books, develop their plans fully,
and implement their projects.
Creating Our Future
all of the quality-of-life issues identified
in the brainstorming exercise. Give them
the prompt: “In my vision of the future...”
Encourage students to focus on what they
want the future to be like, not what they do
not want it to be like. For example, rather
than saying, “In the future, people will
not use polluting fossil fuels,” say, “In the
future we will use clean, renewable energy
sources.” Tell them to provide as much detail
as possible in describing their vision. Have
students read aloud 1 or 2 sentences from
their free writes or have them share in pairs.
3. Explain that they will develop an “action
plan” to address 1 of the quality-of-life issues
in the list (such as food, water, health care,
the environment, etc.) using a model called
an “Action Planning Sequence”. Through
this process, they will assess how the issue
affects both local and global communities,
and develop a plan to address the structural
causes of the issue.
4. Give each student a copy of the handout,
Action Planning Worksheet, and show the
overhead of the same worksheet. Explain
each step of the action planning process to
the students, using the overhead as a guide.
5. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4.
Assign, or have each group choose, a topic
from the list of issues. Give each group a
piece of butcher paper and pens.
6. Give them about 20–30 minutes to follow the
steps outlined in the handout. They should
begin by discussing and agreeing upon a
shared vision. Circulate the room and assist
students as they are working.
7. After they complete the handout, have each
group transfer the information to a piece of
butcher paper. Encourage them to include
pictures, graphs, quotes, etc.
8. Have each group present their displays to
the class.
9. Bring the class back together for reflection
questions.
Activity
Introduction
1. Ask students what they think the world will look
like 20 years from now. Have 2 or 3 students
briefly describe the future as if it were a picture
(they may paint a picture of environmental,
social, and economic destruction).
2. Now ask them what they want the world to look
like in 20 years for themselves and for future
generations (Note: you may need to define
the difference between think and
think and
think want for this
want for this
want
part of the activity). Ask, “If this is the future we
want, how do we make it happen?” Ask them
to describe what they will see, hear, smell,
taste, and touch. Explain that in order to create
a world we want for ourselves and for future
generations, we need to first envision what
we want and then create a plan of action. This
activity provides a model for doing just that.
Steps
1. Explain that, in order to help focus their vision
of the future, it is helpful to think about specific
quality-of-life issues that are important to them.
Brainstorm and list quality-of-life issues (these
may include all or some of the following):
Food Transportation Elder care
Water Education Child care
Housing Environment Recreation
Energy Security Spirituality/
Religion
Employment Healthcare Entertainment/
Art
2. (Optional) Have students do a 5-minute
“free write” describing their vision of the
world in 20 years, addressing some or
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CREATING OUR FUTURE
ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH GLOBAL ISSUES LESSON
40
Creating Our Future
Assessment
Reflection Questions
For Intermediate and Advanced Students
• Does describing what you want your future
to look like help you realize it? How and
why is this an important step in creating a
world we want?
• Did the action sequence process work?
How could the process be improved?
• How well did you work together in your
groups? Did everyone participate? How
did you make decisions?
• What will you do next to
implement your
plan?
For Advanced Students
• In what other circumstances could you use
this action planning process?
• Once you have taken action on an issue,
it changes the dynamics of the issue by
producing unintended consequences or by
revealing new solutions. What can you do
next to address this issue and work toward
your vision?
260
© 2006 FACING THE FUTURE: PEOPLE AND THE PLANET www.facingthefuture.org
LESSON
40
CREATING OUR FUTURE
ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH GLOBAL ISSUES
Creating Our Future
Additional Resources
Films
• Pay it Forward, Mimi Leder, 2000, 123
minutes. Feature film about a young boy who
attempts to make the world a better place.
Books
• The Lemming Dilemma: Living with Purpose,
Leading with Vision, David Hutchens,
Pegasus Communications, 2000. A charming
story about a lemming’s quest for meaning,
aspiration, and value.

• The Complete Guide to Service Learning,
Cathryn Berger Kaye, www.freespirit.com,
2004. A wealth of activities, ideas, and
resources to encourage service learning in
K-12 and higher education.
• The Kid’s Guide to Social Action, Barbara A.
Lewis,www.greenfeet.com/kidguidtosoc.html,
This empowering book includes everything
kids need to make a difference in the world:
step-by-step directions for writing letters,
doing interviews, raising funds, getting media
coverage, and more.
Websites
• www.facingthefuture.org – For information,
research, and website resources on service
learning, and a framework for developing
service learning projects in your classroom.
Writing Connection
• Have students write a letter to an
influential entity (government agency,
newspaper, etc.) and /or a family member
or friend explaining their vision and
outlining the steps to realizing it.
Art Connection
• Have students create a mural at the
school (or as part of a local community
development project) depicting their
collective vision of the future.
Action Projects
• Have the class choose 1 topic, refine the
action plan for that topic, implement it as a
class project, and do a service learning project
that addresses the issues.
• Show students your local community’s
comprehensive plan (available through the city
or county planning department) and have the
students compare it with their action plans.
• Have the class develop an action project
database of local opportunities for youth by
researching issues, identifying and contacting
organizations, and publishing the information
on a website, in the local media, through
school networks, etc.
• Have each student commit to taking steps
to make their vision of the future a reality by
completing the Facing the Future Pledge on
page 22.
• Visit www.facingthefuture.org and click on
Take Action for more information and action
opportunities on global and local issues.
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© 2006 FACING THE FUTURE: PEOPLE AND THE PLANET www.facingthefuture.org
CREATING OUR FUTURE
ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH GLOBAL ISSUES LESSON
40
© 2006 FACING THE FUTURE: PEOPLE AND THE PLANET www.facingthefuture.org
www.facingthefuture.org
ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH GLOBAL ISSUES
Lesson 40 Handout:
Creating Our Future
Action Planning Worksheet - Page 1
Group members:
Issue we are focusing on:
Scope of the Issue
Who or what is currently being affected by this issue?
How does this issue affect our local community?
How does this issue affect our global community?
Visualize Desired Outcome
Brainstorm, discuss, and write a summary of the desired outcome for our specifi c issue:
Gather Companions
What is already being done to effect change on this issue? Brainstorm, discuss, and list the
people and organizations that share a similar vision and can help us meet our vision:



© 2006 FACING THE FUTURE: PEOPLE AND THE PLANET www.facingthefuture.org
www.facingthefuture.org
ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH GLOBAL ISSUES
Identify and Prioritize Objectives
What are the steps or parts that will lead to our vision? What does the vision look like? For
example, if the vision is “full access to health care for all people,” then the objectives might be
more doctors per person, more clinics in poor neighborhoods, or more reproductive health care.
Discuss, list, and prioritize 2 or 3 objectives that will lead to our vision.



What are some specifi c things that will need to occur in order to realize our vision and to be
sure that we are addressing structural solutions to the issue?


Identify Obstacles
Discuss who or what might get in the way of realizing our vision. List a few obstacles and
include ways we might address them:



Identify Resources
What resources will we need to get our vision going? Is it information, money, time? How will
we use these resources? Discuss and list information, resources, and other help we will need to
realize our vision:


Implement Action Plan and Follow Up
What steps will we take to start working on our vision? Who will be responsible for
implementing each step? List the steps we will take to start implementing our vision:



Keep the vision in mind and keep telling the story of the future you desire!
Lesson 40 Handout:
Creating Our Future
Action Planning Worksheet - Page 2