7. Global Action

Global Action

Income and history

• Young people identify themselves as global citizens.
• Young people see interconnections between themselves and other citizens of the world.
• Young people understand better the roots of today’s local and global problems (historical/geographical/economic contexts, etc).
• Young people reflect on the consequences of their own actions and take account of the needs of present and future generations in their choices.
• Young people see themselves as being able to make a difference in the world and can identify what they can do collectively or with others to enact change.

There are two types of cards, “country profile cards” and “country description cards”. Each of the country profile cards describes the key characteristics of a country, for example, population, literacy rates, etc.

On the country description cards, there is a description of the main historical, geographical and political processes which have influenced the development of those countries, leading them to the situation in which they find themselves today. These cards will not give the name of the country concerned.

Ask the pairs/groups to move around the room talking to the other pairs in order to find the card that corresponds to their own.

• Country profile cards are available online to download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz4TxJP1Bc_hYkUxQzBtaGdybVk/view?usp=sharing
• Country description cards are available online to download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz4TxJP1Bc_hbFpUYmx5cGNxNTA/view?usp=sharing

Global Action

I have some awareness of how to do this.

I can explain how my actions might impact on others across the world, both positively or negatively.

I believe that individuals and groups can make a difference locally, nationally and globally.

I am willing to take a stand on a global issue.

I understand why participation is important.

I know the world is interconnected and can evaluate how my actions can impact positively or negatively on others across the world.

I believe that people can make a difference in the world.

I am willing to work towards a more equitable future and get involved in activities supporting social justice or democratic engagement.

There are three possible activities which can be used to evaluate their responses. The stimulus can be anything related to a global issue they have been learning about (for example, a news report, web page or something from a textbook). One source of such stimulus are the short video clips about a number of important global issues located in the Explore Global Issues are of the SFYouth website.

Activity 1: Bees and flowers

• Place around the room on large sheets of paper the following statements:
  • Nothing can be done to address this issue.
  • Politicians can do the most to address this issue.
  • Businesses can do the most to address this issue.
  • The public can do the most to address this issue.
  • I can do the most to address this issue.
• After you have shown them the stimulus, ask learners to move around the room to discuss any of the statements they choose. Encourage them to either be a “bee” which means moving between different ideas, or a “flower” which means staying to discuss one idea in more depth.
• At the end, ask learners to move to the statement they feel most strongly about, and ask learners to explain why they chose that statement.
• You can use where learners stand and what they say to assess both the group and the individual responses.

Activity 2: Dartboards*

1. Draw three “dartboards” on large sheets of paper and put them up around the room with one of the following statements on each dartboard:
• I feel as if I can make a difference to global issues.
• I understand how politicians and business leaders can affect global issues.
• I think the world is full of solutions to global issues.
2. After showing the stimulus about the global issue in question, ask each learner to go to each dartboard and make a mark (for example, a dot or cross) in the “level” which corresponds to how they feel.
3. By looking at where learners have put their marks, teachers can assess the degree to which the class feels that they can make a difference (as global citizens), understand political/business processes and feel positive about change.

*A dartboard activity is a way of assessing quickly how “close” learners are to achieving a learning outcome. If a learner feels they totally agree with the statement, they put a cross/mark in the middle. If they feel very far away from agreement they put their cross/mark near the edge, or somewhere in between, depending on how strong their confidence is.

Activity 3: Personal response

1. After showing learners the stimulus on the global issue in question, explain that they are going to write down their personal viewpoint on that issue, outlining the potential they see for change.
2. Give learners the title “The potential for change: can [issue XXXX] change, who can help, and what is my role?”
3. Ask learners to write a personal statement responding to this title.
4. Assess the statements using the Understanding change scoring grid – either completing this yourself or asking learners to peer-assess each other’s work.

• Large sheets of paper (to be stuck up around the room)
• Marker pens to write on the paper
• Pens/sticky dots for learners
• Understanding change scoring grid (see below)

1. The first two activities are designed to give you a sense of how the whole class generally feels about how change happens and their own sense of being a global citizen. The third is more individual, and also less interactive/more formal. Teachers can choose how to use the activities (or adapt them) depending on the group and what they want to focus on.
2. Any of these activities can be conducted at the initial stage of learning about a global issue, and then further into the learning once problems and solutions have been discussed, to see if the discussions have had an impact on learners’ understanding of change and of their role within it.