Billboards are omnipresent in most communities and on many roadways. These in-our-face ads can have a powerful influence on us. Students explore issues surrounding billboards and the values billboard ads promote and design new billboards that help reclaim their visual space and restore value in their communities and culture. Recommended for grades 9 and up….
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Students assess examples of media (catalogs, magazines, books, etc.) to consider who is (and isn’t represented) and to explore the impact of lack of diversity in media and their own rich experiences with diversity. Recommended for grades 4-10. Time: 45-60 minutes
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Students explore articles, images, and ads in magazines targeted to teen girls to explore messages about women and girls and the effect of those messages on young women and men. (The activity can also be modified to explore appropriate men’s magazines and messages about men and boys.) Recommended for grades 7-12. Time: 2 class periods…
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Using the five gyres of plastic pollution as a springboard, this activity encourages participants to explore the issues surrounding trash in our oceans and to develop solutions. Recommended for grades 3-5 Time: 3 to 4 60-minute sessions
Read more » We’re surrounded by marketing and advertising telling us what to buy, whom to be, what we need to be happy. Use this series of activities to help students explore issues of branding, marketing, and globalization. Recommended for grades 9 through 12. Time: Several weeks Common Core Standards for this activity (pdf): Download Common Core…
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This activity helps young students hone their basic math skills while learning about pet overpopulation. Recommended for: Grades 1-3. Time: 30-45 minutes Common Core Standards for this activity (pdf): Download Common Core for grades 1-3. Find out how some of our other activities connect to Common Core Standards (pdf): IHE activities for Common…
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We’re often told to look for heroes we can turn to for inspiration. How often do we seek out what we can learn from people we dislike, or those who’ve done evil? This activity explores what we can learn from both our heroes and enemies (what to do and what NOT to do). This activity…
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Words have enormous power and often assign value. This activity explores sample words in context and what kinds of value those words imply. Recommended for grades 4 and up. Time: 15-30 minutes Common Core Standards for this activity (pdf): Download Common Core for grades 4-5: http://bit.ly/1dFjnYv Download Common Core for grades 6-8: http://bit.ly/14QJcit Download…
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Many people view the world through a lens of black and white, either/or. In this activity groups of students work together to explore a variety of possible solutions to a global issues conflict. Recommended for grades 7 and up. Time: 45 minutes to several weeks Common Core Standards for this activity (pdf): Download Common…
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The biggest issues and challenges of our time go on trial as students serve as prosecution, defense and jury, and then develop a solutions-based sentencing. Recommended for grades 9 and up. Time: Varies Common Core Standards for this activity (pdf): Download Common Core for grades 9-12. Find out how some of our other…
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