TITLE
Muslim Youth
Civic Engagement at Andalusia School:
The Need for More
By Sonia Chinn
Middle School Social Studies
Image adapted from World Peace Summit
2007, Bratislava, Slovakia
INTRODUCTION
You are a middle school student at Andalusia School, the only
full-time Islamic School in Westchester County, New York. You are aware of the various problems that
are occurring in your immediate community and the world such as environmental
degradation, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, violent conflicts, natural
catastrophes and social injustices. You will
use your Islamic values to springboard you into action to become a positive
agent for change by increasing your civic engagement.
TASK
1. You will write a one-page letter to your
local newspaper editor about an issue that you feel should be addressed with a
solution, using the PPA steps.
2. You will create a list of at least five
youth organizations that you are eligible for membership which promote civic
engagement. Select at least one of these
organizations for which you will become an active member by attending meetings,
serving on one of its committee or becoming an officer. Write a brief explanation about why that
particular organization appealed to you.
3. You
will give a ten minutes oral presentation at a mock public town hall meeting to
discuss a community issue with a proposed solution.
What makes a civil society?
Nice article from Vancover Newspaper
·
http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/features/civilsociety/index.html
PROCESS
You will use PPA steps to write a succinct one-page, grammatically
correct letter to your local newspaper editor that you will actually submit for
publication.
2. Gather the Evidence Worksheet 2
4. Evaluate an
Existing Policy
6. Select the Best
Solution (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)
This letter must state the problem at the beginning of the
letter. You will explain why you are
concerned and propose feasible solutions.
In the body of the letter you must state clearly that you are a Muslim
youth at Andalusia School, a full-time Islamic School. The letter should have at least three
paragraphs. The first paragraph should
state the problem. The tone of the
letter must be cordial and contain your full time. Please see the rubric on what you will be
evaluated on.
List
You will search youth civic organizations on the internet.
On a sheet of white paper
Your
Name
Class
Title: List of Youth Civic Organizations
You must list 5 different organizations that cover at least 3
categories (environmental, social justice) with complete name of organization
with no misspellings, with hyperlink address, date cite was assessed, mission
statement, date established, membership requirements with costs for membership,
and current president
Select one of five organizations to apply for membership. Write a brief explanation of a minimum of 3
sentences but no more than 5 sentences of why you would want to become a
member.
RESOURCES
Here is a start you may find other sources
Youth Civic Engagement organizations
http://cyberspacei.com/jesusi/focus/co/cows/afsc/youthmill/activism/orgs.htm
Earth Force
National Wildlife Federation for Kids
Kids Go Wild
Otesha
Project
Youth Empowerment Center
Freechild
Volunteers of America
Guidestar
Oral
Presentation (see rubric)
Each student will give a 10-minute presentation in class on a
community issue where youth can participate in problem-solving. The class will serve as an audience at a town
hall meeting.
EVALUATION
Rubric for Oral Report
Oral
Presentation: Muslim Youth Civic Engagement
Teacher Name: Sonia Chinn
Student Name:
________________________________________
|
CATEGORY |
A |
B |
C |
D |
|
Comprehension |
Student is able to
accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
Student is able to
accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
Student is able to
accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
Student is unable to
accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic. |
|
Content |
Shows a full understanding
of the topic. |
Shows a good understanding
of the topic. |
Shows a good understanding
of parts of the topic. |
Does not seem to understand
the topic very well. |
|
Stays on Topic |
Stays on topic all (100%)
of the time. |
Stays on topic most
(99-90%) of the time. |
Stays on topic some
(89%-75%) of the time. |
It was hard to tell what
the topic was. |
|
Enthusiasm |
Facial expressions and body
language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.
|
Facial expressions and body
language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic
in others. |
Facial expressions and body
language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked. |
Very little use of facial
expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being
presented. |
|
Preparedness |
Student is completely
prepared and has obviously rehearsed. |
Student seems pretty
prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals. |
The student is somewhat
prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking. |
Student does not seem at
all prepared to present. |
Letter
Writing
Students will write a one-page letter to their local newspaper
editor outlining a community issue with a proposed solution.
Rubric for Written Report
Letter-Writing: Muslim Youth Civic
Engagement
Teacher Name: Sonia Chinn
Student Name:
________________________________________
|
CATEGORY |
A |
B |
C |
D |
|
Content Accuracy |
The letter contains at
least 5 accurate facts about the topic. |
The letter contains 3-4
accurate facts about the topic. |
The letter contains 1-2
accurate facts about the topic. |
The letter contains no
accurate facts about the topic. |
|
Sentences & Paragraphs |
Sentences and paragraphs
are complete, well-constructed and of varied structure. |
All sentences are complete
and well-constructed (no fragments, no run-ons). Paragraphing is generally
done well. |
Most sentences are complete
and well-constructed. Paragraphing needs some work. |
Many sentence fragments or
run-on sentences OR paragraphing needs lots of work. |
|
Grammar & spelling
(conventions) |
Writer makes no errors in
grammar or spelling. |
Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar
and/or spelling. |
Writer makes 3-4 errors in
grammar and/or spelling |
Writer makes more than 4
errors in grammar and/or spelling. |
|
Salutation and Closing |
Salutation and closing have
no errors in capitalization and punctuation. |
Salutation and closing have
1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation. |
Salutation and closing have
3 or more errors in capitalization and punctuation. |
Salutation and/or closing
are missing. |
|
Format |
Complies with all the
requirements for a friendly letter. |
Complies with almost all
the requirements for a friendly letter. |
Complies with several of
the requirements for a friendly letter. |
Complies with less than 75%
of the requirements for a friendly letter. |
CONCLUSION
Students will have gained knowledge and problem solving skills
using PPA steps
STANDARDS
Students acquire information on youth civic organizations
Gain knowledge on local government (public meetings)
Students gain knowledge on public presentation