Making a Difference

Suggested Activities

This challenge invites students to consider what they can do to make a lasting difference to the environment around their school or community. To introduce the challenge, read aloud a story such as A Handful of Seeds, by Monica Hughes, which tells of a girl in Latin America who helps a group of street kids. Through a class discussion, guide students to understand what makes a lasting difference in contrast to a passing or short-term difference. Help students establish criteria for a desirable plan (e.g., makes a lasting difference to the environment, is important, is realistic). You may want to direct the discussion to include criteria that are sensitive to Aboriginal perspectives on living in harmony with the land. Students should then work with a partner to list possible actions that they might undertake that would meet these criteria. Invite pairs to share their ideas with the class. From the class list, suggest that the students (collectively or individually) choose and select something that would make the biggest difference in their school or community. Plan and implement the action. See Making a Lasting Difference (Modelling the Tools) for detailed suggestions on how to teach and assess the tools for identifying and planning an appropriate action.

Adapted from I Can Make Difference, edited by Mary Abbott, Roland Case and Jan Nicol (Richmond, BC: The Critical Thinking Consortium, 2002), 75–87.