Lesson 1: What Makes a Good life?
Teachers: Allow two hours for this lesson. Preparation:
- Good Life Road cards: I have printed and chopped a pack of cards for your class - enough for eight groups. You will need to sort them into smaller sets beforehand, so that each group has one of each colour card.
- Share Journal (Google Slides template) with students in Google Drive before this lesson. See planner for link.
Learning Intention: We are reflecting on what we believe is important in order to have “a good life”.
Success Criteria: I can:
Success Criteria: I can:
- Explain what I think is important for someone to have a “good life”.
- Ask questions and clarify others’ understanding
- Express disagreement respectfully.
Think, pair, share:
1. What were some of the differences that the author highlighted between Riley and people?
2. What do you think is the author's message for us?
Now we are going to watch this ten minute clip:
Think, pair, share: Comments or reflections on this video. What did it make you think about, or feel?
Small Group task: "Good Life Road"
For this task you are going to be in a group of three or four. Each group will get a set of these cards.
Your task is to work together (in the WITH box!) and read through the cards one at a time, discussing in your group how necessary each item is for a person to have “a good life”. You then need to place each card in order, along a “Good Life Road” from one end (very important!) to the other end (not important at all!). Remember: It is ok to disagree! You need to discuss your opinions and explain why, and then work out how to come to a compromise for the sake of completing the task. Make sure you speak (and listen!) respectfully and accept other people’s different ideas and opinions. |
Once your group has decided on its final order of the cards, get ready to share.
Whole Class Share:
We are going to look at each group’s Good Life Road. You will need to share at least 4 of your decisions, explaining why you placed some cards in those particular positions along the road.
Discuss the trends:
Once we have looked at each group’s road, let’s see if we noticed any trends across the whole class:
- Is there a general agreement within the class about particular items?
- Are there differences between our answers and what you think other people might say?
- Do our lives actually reflect the things we have said are important?
- Are there any connections between the thinking in this activity and the people/characters in the book or video we read/viewed at the start of this lesson?
- Do you think that people living in poverty are able to have a good life?
Create a Discovery Journal:
Today you are going to start a Discovery Journal in Google Slides. You need to make sure this journal is located inside your folder of school work that your teacher has access to.
We will have time at the end of each Discovery lesson when you will be expected to answer some questions and reflect on the lesson in your journal. You can also add to your journal at any time, to reflect on an activity, or reflect on how your thinking about poverty may have changed as we learn and explore more.
At the end of the term, your journal will be part of your assessment.
(NOTE: You will not be expected to share your journal with other students!)
Journal Entry 1: "What makes a 'good' life?"
Create a new slide in your journal for today’s entry. You need to type the title: What makes a “good life”? then write about what YOU believe is important, in order to have a good life. You might also like to record any other thoughts or feelings about today's lesson, or answers to any of the discussion questions above.