VOICE
CONSIDER WHAT, HOW, WHEN, WHY, HOW AND TO WHAT END YOU EXPRESS YOURSELF CIVICALLY ONLINE
QUESTION three:
as i express myself, how will my
message spread ?
You can engage your students in the following activities in order to help them think about how to use their voice to spread messages or ideas with the aim of raising awareness about an issue that matters to them, changing the conversation people typically have about this issue, and/or mobilizing others to get involved.
Activity 1: Questions for Change Makers
(30-45 minutes)
First, have your students identify a civic issue or topic that is of concern to them and their community. They can draw on the list of issues surfaced in the Introductory Module or in Question 1 of this Module. You could have students work in pairs or in small groups. With that issue in mind, have students read through and answer the questions below imagining what they might do to raise their voices and respond to this issue.
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Depending on the age and level of your students, you could do a practice round by going through one or two of the questions and answering them as a whole class. You could also spend some time highlighting and unpacking complex vocabulary.
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For the purposes of this activity, we suggested focusing in on a few questions. However, if you would like your students to dig in more deeply you can have them explore all 10 Questions for Change Makers by exploring the following website: https://yppactionframe.fas.harvard.edu/.
Excerpted from the YPP Action Frame: https://yppactionframe.fas.harvard.edu/
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Click here to download this exercise as a PDF.
You could then have students share their ideas with another pair or group and gather feedback. For example, students could listen to their peers ideas and then share back one idea they think is strong and one suggestion they have that they think will strengthen the other group’s ideas.
Extension Activity: Social Media and the 2020 Presidential Election
(30 min)
Social media has become a space where you can share your views and your voice. It's a place where young people engage civically, and it enables young people to reach a larger audience. Check out this article that looks at some of the ways social media was used to engage the civic voices of young people.
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What are some new things you learned from the article about how impactful social media was for young people around the 2020 election?
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Do you engage with digital civic content through any of the platforms listed in the first figure? If so, which ones, and in what ways?
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Considering the argument made in the article, do you agree that media creation is important? Do you participate in media creation? What is your goal in doing so?
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Extension Idea:
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After students reflect on the 10 Questions, you could ask them to complete one step in the plan/process they outlined in the activity above. For example, students could share information about the issue on Twitter or Facebook in order to raise awareness.
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You could also use the ideas students generated from answering the 10 Questions and move into the Action Module. Students can then complete those activities thinking about the same issue and the same ideas they reflected on in the activity above.