Students at NIST International School in Year 3 inquired into the central idea that “people’s actions can lead to sustainable change.” Students were acquiring an understanding of “communities and the relationships within and between them.” We explored this by learning about historical, global and local changemakers that made their communities better somehow. Then we reached out to our NIST and local community to find changemakers who wanted to share their stories.
In small groups, Year 3 students chose a “changemaker,” interviewed and photographed them, designed a template and wrote the content for a “Changemaker Profile.” These were then unveiled at an exhibition in our school library in which the changemakers, Year 3 parents and community members were invited. The profiles were left up and displayed on our school media screens to highlight the changemakers within our community.
The craftsmanship and quality of student writing in this unit was incredible! The type of writing required for a “profile” was something unknown to students and the writers within the groups produced thoughtful texts rooted in the information from the interviews. The designers also used new tools and apps with great resilience resulting in work that the teams were proud of.
Highlighting the amazing people within our community, and showing how that changemakers do not just exist in history but are all around us, gave students new perspectives and a sense of pride.
–Bryony Maxted Miller
It was a turning point for me to work with my mom at school about how she is a changemaker. I was a graphic designer and I had never done that before and I really enjoy doing it. We learned about how changemakers are all around us and everyone got to see what we wrote and created about them.
–Leonardo R.
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