This I Believe Personal Essay PDF

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This I believe...about change. Unit 1 Summative: Personal Essay

Task Description: You will reflect on your learning about change in this introductory unit and write a short personal essay about your own experiences, beliefs and ideas about social change, modelled after the NPR’s essay series This I Believe, and record it as an mp3 to submit on Google Classroom. Think about the causes of social change - both external and internal - that we have explored this week. You will pick a social challenge, a problem facing Canadian society, and analyze it from a personal perspective - so it should be something you are passionate about changing so you can introduce it with a personal anecdote - a story that allows you to express your beliefs and thoughts on this problem and the barriers preventing change and your solutions for overcoming these barriers. Learning Goals We are learning to understand theories of social change, and apply them to social challenges in Canada by reflecting on our own experiences with social change and determining what is significant to us as individuals in a personal essay. We will be successful when we can: ❏ Clearly express our points of view about a social challenge in society ❏ Use personal anecdotes to connect with this issue ❏ Analyze the barriers in society that prevent change ❏ Provide ideas for overcoming barriers and creating positive social change ❏ Submit our essays as an mp3 and with a written component - through google classroom. Steps to success 1. Pick a time that a social challenge had a significant impact on your life. Respond to the following as you plan your essay: ❏ What social challenges have had a direct impact on your life? ❏ What are the external causes that have shaped this social challenge/problem? ❏ What are some internal causes that have shaped this challenge/problem for you personally? (optional) ❏ What are the main barriers that must be overcome to create this challenge? ❏ How would you overcome these barriers in order to create positive social change? 2. Write your essay modelled after the NPR style of “This I Believe” essays (we will generate a list of characteristics of this style of writing and its effectiveness. 3. Record and submit your essay (and process work) by: Monday, March 1

Curriculum Expectations B1. Foundations for the Study of Social Change B1.1 outline and compare the key ideas of major theories used to explain social change B1.2 describe various psychological, social, material, or cultural conditions that are used to explain social change

B2. Causes and Effects of Social Change B2.2 explain how various economic, environmental, political, or sociocultural factors cause change B2.3 explain various means of creating social change: direct action, protest, advocacy, community organization, revolution, political activism. B2.6 explain the impact of social change on individuals in Canada and on Canadian society

C2. Forces That Shape Social Trends C2.1 describe how trends are shaped by various socio-economic factors (e.g., extracurricular activity costs, access to transportation, access to computers, access to health care and education) Teacher prompt: “How do high fuel costs influence trends in tourism?” C2.2 describe ways in which culture, tradition, and language influence social trends

D. Global Social Change D1.2 demonstrate an understanding of various types of discrimination (e.g., racism, homophobia, ageism, sexism, hate crimes, individual discrimination, systemic discrimination, genocide) and their impact on individuals and groups.

Examples of Personal Essays: http://thisibelieve.org/ Jody Williams - land mine activist and nobel laureate http://thisibelieve.org/essay/7/ Leonard Bernstein http://thisibelieve.org/essay/16368/ Celia Munoz http://thisibelieve.org/essay/2/ Kim Phuc http://thisibelieve.org/essay/44965/ Yinong Young-Xu http://thisibelieve.org/essay/12459/...