Making the Moose Out of Life
Author: Nicholas Oldland
Grade: 1st-3rd
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Summary:  This book teaches children about living life to the fullest, or in the Moose's case, taking life by the antlers/horns.  This moose feels like he is missing out on something in life, as he constantly sits back and watches his friend have fun.  He deciders to go on a adventure, where he learns to fend for himself.  He sets out for a trip on the sailboat, where he gets caught in a storm, and ends up on a deserted island.   Instead of being fearful, he makes the best of his situation, building a shelter, getting food, even making a new  tortoise friend!  Eventually, the tortoise and the Moose are saved by a ship cursing by.  They aboard the ship and partake in all the ship activities, and indulge in the buffet.  The ship soon returns them home where the Moose is reunited with his old friends, but he isn't the same old moose anymore.  He doesn't sit on the sidelines anymore, instead he partakes in all the fun activities.  This book is great because it teaches children to step outside their comfort zone and to not be afraid to try new things.

Element 5:  Making the Moose Out Of Life is great for children.  It raises awareness and encourages students to make the most out of life.  They shouldn't be shy, curl up in a ball and cry, rather this book will teach children to make the most out of all situations.  No matter what challenge or situation the moose met, he faced them without fear.  Children will learn to do the same, encouraging them to take chances and live their life to the fullest.

Activity: One activity is for children to think and write about a time where they had to take a chance, and face their fear of something with courage.  They will brainstorm, write, peer edit, revise, and share their stories with other classmates.  They also will create a drawing that goes along with their story.

The Kid's Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Barbara A. Lewis

 

Grade Level: 5-6

 

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Summary: 

                                                                                                        

This particular children’s book provides five-hundred social action/service idea projects for children who want to make a difference.  The book supplies step by step instructions on how to create several documents such as a flyer, a petition, a proposal, etc. However, the bulk of the book provides ideas that are kid-friendly. The social action/ service idea projects are separated into several topics, which ultimately allow the students to choose what action they would like to take, whether it is to help the environment or raise safety awareness, this book includes it all.

 
Element VI:

Element six can be defined as teachers providing opportunities for their students to take action on topics that effect their communities, their world, etc. During this element students are learning the skills to make a difference.  Thus, this specific book is a perfect example for element six because it offers a plethora of ideas on how children can take social action on issues they feel passionate about. This book provides step by step instruction how to start to take social action, kid-friendly service idea projects and even legal restrictions.

Activity:

First, I would have a classroom discussion, where the students brainstorm on topics that affect their daily lives. Once, the class generates a sufficient amount of topics, I will have them choose one topic in particular that resonates with them and would like to take social action against. Once they have selected a topic, they will then revert to the book to look up their topic to find kid-friendly ideas they can participate in to take action.  Then once they have found an idea they will then complete the task to take social action.  

Author:  As told to Michelle R. McCann by Luba Tryszynska-Frederick
Illustrator:  Ann Marshall
Grade Level:  3rd through 5th

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Summary:  In this true story, “Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen, Luba Tryszynska-Frederick shares her heroic tale while living in Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp.  Taken from her home in Poland and separated from her husband and young child to be imprisoned for an unidentified length of time, Luba spent her first night in Auschwitz asking herself, “Why am I still alive?  Why was I spared?”  It was during this first night that she awoke to cries from young children off in the distance that lead her to her answer to these questions.  Discovering fifty-four children left for dead in the cold, she quietly escorted them to her bunk and along with several other women, they began to care for them as if they were their own.  Risking her life day after day, Luba’s bravery and courage allows her to fool the Nazi guards into thinking she is a camp nurse and travel to other barracks in order to gather food and medicine from other compassionate prisoners willing to risk themselves in order to help Luba and these children.   Why was she still alive?  Why was she spared?  Luba answers these questions as she sets forth to do whatever it takes to keep these children alive.  Both Luba and all fifty-four children lived to see the day of British Army tanks arrive and announcing, “You are free!  You are free!” 

Element 4:  Social Movement and Social Change:  "Luba:  the Angel of Bergen-Belsen," is a great example of a social movement or change.  In this story, Luba shows us that despite the risks, she decides that it is more important to care for these children than to leave them.  She exudes heroism and stands for what she believes is the right thing to do.  This book allows children to consider what lengths they would go to in order to do the right thing and the strength and courage that any one can possess, even in the darkest circumstances.  Luba expresses her reasoning for her actions, always hoping that if her son was one of these children, that someone would do the same for her son.  This book helps us take a look at ourselves a little deeper and makes us question, if it were me, would I do the same? 

Activity:  This book forces readers to consider what they would have done if they were Luba, would you sacrifice your life to save others?  While this question may be a bit more mature for elementary students, an activity that can be used to make this more age appropriate could be to discuss an issue with students that they can relate to, but would require them to make decisions based on what they think is right.  I would think about social issues children face on a day to day basis, such as bullying, and prepare role playing scenarios for groups of children to act out.  The students would be given a piece of paper with the scenario, for example, "You are at recess and playing on the playground with your friends.  You  notice a girl in your class being picked on by three older girls, she seems scared and upset.  Prepare two scenarios that you and your group members believe to be the right way to handle this." After each group acts out their two scenarios, as a class, we can discuss why students chose to react as they did and what suggestions could be helpful in order to make sure we all stand up for our classmates.  By participating in a relate-able, role playing exercise that forces students to think about what they would do in a situation and what they would sacrifice allows students to empathize with Luba and the decisions she was faced with. 

True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do To Save The Planet

Author: Kim McCay and Jenny Bonnin


Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books


Grade Level: 5th and up


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Summary: True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do To Save The Planet is the ultimate guide for children to become "an agent of change for our world." Upon reading True Green, students will learn about all the different ways that they can better the environment through vibrant text and photographs.  From at school to on vacation, True Green offers students a wide array of  opportunities to take social action on a very important issue for humanity.

Element 6- Taking Social Action: True Green represents Taking Social Action because it gives students the framework to make a difference. True Green focuses on why saving the environment is important and provides students with the background knowledge to carry out those tasks. Students are able to take an individual stand through small-scale activities as well participating in a collective movement in Teamwork projects. Students are also provided with the resources to join organizations in the community. What makes this book so great is its balance between individual and group involvement.

Activity:
Students can participate in several activities based on this book. On a smaller scale, students can keep an "Agent of Change Journal: Environment Edition" edition. In these journals, students would record the individual tasks from the book that they participated in to help save the environment. As a culminating activity, the class can play Agent of Change Bingo, where some of the 100 examples are used. Students would only be able to mark their bingo boards if they participated in the activity and logged it in their journals. The winner of Agent of Change Bingo would win the prize of Environmental Ambassador  of the classroom and be in charge of starting a correspondence with one of the local environmental organizations mentioned in the book. Students could also examine the Teamwork, With Friends, and at School sections of the book and write up a proposal highlighting the example that they were the most interested in. The finished products could be sent to the appropriate administrative office for consideration.

Author: Laura E. Williams

Illustrator: Craig Orback

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Summary:

In The Can Man Laura E. Williams tells the story of Tim, a boy who desperately wants a skateboard for his birthday.  Although his parents have made it clear they do not have the money to spare for impractical gifts, Tim is resolute.  When he sees the local homeless man, “The Can Man”, collecting aluminum cans to bring to the redemption center Tim sees an opportunity to earn his own money for a skateboard. 

Tim’s parents know The Can Man as Joe Peters, a former neighbor who lost his job and became homeless when he could not find employment.  His parents notice Tim is collecting cans that would typically go to Mr. Peters, and other members of the community notice as well.  “But I’m only going to take them until my birthday,” (Williams, 2010) is Tim’s defense of these concerns.

Two days before Tim’s birthday he runs into Mr. Peters on the street.  During their brief conversation, Tim learns that Mr. Peters is saving money for a coat to protect him from the coming winter and that collecting cans is his only source of income. The implication of their conversation is that Tim’s new skateboard suddenly seems less appealing.  The next day, as Tim prepares to get the cans to the redemption center Mr. Peters shows up and offers help.  They walk to the redemption center together, but before Tim is done Mr. Peters has gone.  With a paper bag full of coins in his hand Tim runs after Mr. Peters and gives him the money.  Although Mr. Peters tells Tim to keep the money he earned through hard work, Tim’s insistence prevails.

On his birthday, Tim heads outside to meet his friend, but first he finds a plastic bag with a soda can tied to the end.  Inside is a used, but carefully refurbished skateboard with his name painted on it.  Soon Mr. Peters approaches with his new jacket on.  Tim thanks Mr. Peters for the skateboard then goes for an inaugural ride with his friend.

Element 5: Raising Awareness

Written at around the third grade level, The Can Man uses accessible language and concepts to raise awareness of the condition of homelessness.  Williams takes a homeless man and gives him a name and a story.  She reveals Mr. Peters’ circumstances and motivations, and she creates a human being that readers can relate to.  Given the circumstances of the Great Recession, homelessness is a growing problem.  In urban centers this crippling problem has been even more acute.  However there is still often a dehumanizing effect that American society tends to place upon the homeless.  The Can Man reminds us that the homeless are very much a part of the American family.  It also illustrates that even children can make a difference by helping someone in need.

In the classroom, The Can Man can be used to segue into action.  During whole-class read alouds, students can brainstorm ways they might help the homeless in their local communities.  They can then break into small groups to begin to write proposals that share some of these ideas.  The use of writing prompts will help to get the ball rolling.  Upon completion, the students are ready to reconvene to discuss what can be done as a class to help the homeless and alleviate the causes of homelessness.

The Kid's Guide to Social Action

Author: Barbara A. Lewis

Edited by: Pamela Espeland and Caryn Pernu

Grade Level: 5 and up

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Summary:

          The Kid’s Guide to Social Action is a book that provides elementary/middle school students with the tools they need to become social activists about issues they care about. If children want to make a difference and change the world around them for the better, it is important for them to know that they can. This book encourages children to never give up on what they believe in, no matter how difficult the challenge. Not only does this book provide how-to tips, information about the government, and who they could contact to create a change, it also offers inspiration to children by giving real life examples of kids successfully taking action.

         The Kid’s Guide to Social Action is divided into five parts. Part 1, “Life Beyond the Classroom,” introduces ten tips for taking social action, including steps such as choosing a problem, doing research, brainstorming possible solutions, and never giving up, just to name a few. Part 2, “Power Skills,” kids are given tips on how to carry out certain tasks in order to be social activists, such as giving speeches, successfully petitioning, fundraising, protesting/picketing, and letter writing. Part 3, “Working with the Government,” proves children with information about the government. Kids can learn how to lobby, change a local/state law, amend constitutions, and write resolutions used to change policies on a local, state, or federal level. There are also examples of “kids in action,” where kids raise awareness about social issues and try to change it for the better, such as Kids Against Pollution (KAP). Part 4, “Resources,” provides the names and addresses of different activism groups/organizations and government officials, giving students the opportunity to reach out to those who can help support their cause. Finally, Part 5, “Tools,” provides kids with a variety of formats/ templates for brainstorming, taking surveys, writing letters, and many, many more.  

Element 6: Taking Social Action:

The Kid’s Guide to Social Action certainly represents the sixth element of social justice education, taking social action. It gives students the opportunity and inspiration to search within themselves, find the issues they care deepest about, and then act upon them. This book not only helps children believe they can make a difference by taking social action, but it also gives them actual resources, tools, and opportunities to take social action towards something they are truly passionate about. For instance, if a student cares deeply about the treatment of animals, wants to help and work towards reaching the goal of fair treatment for animals, he/she can simply go to the “Resources” section and find the address to one of the many animal welfare groups. They can write a letter, make a phone call, conduct a survey or interview, thanks to the guidance of this book. Students can actually do something to fight for what they believe in. With accurate use of this book, students can turn their passion into actions and create a change in the world firsthand.

Follow-Up Activity:

There are several activities for which this book could be used in a classroom. After teaching a unit on a social issue, teachers can use The Kid’s Guide to Social Action to guide students in creating a change for that issue. For instance, if the issue is about the environment, students can use one of the many methods given in the book to elicit a change, such as creating a petition as a class or writing a letter to a government official. Personally, I would use this book to help children find what personally intrigues them. I would use the brainstorming techniques provided by the book to help students search within and find which issue they would feel most passionate about. It is my belief that students learn best when they are dealing with a topic they are truly engaged/interested in, and what better way to ensure a student is interested than to give them the freedom to create a change for an issue they chose themselves and are truly passionate about? By using the methods given within the book, students can take issues learned at school or from their own personal desires, and create a social change. Then, after recognizing that they action really can make a difference in the world, hopefully students will be confident in their power and be encouraged to take social action in the future towards other important social issues.