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Modifying Trading Card Games

Let students brainstorm issues in their community, then analyze the game played in the lesson below. How could it be modified, improved, and transformed? Write new instructions and explain to each other how to play, including the new issues as additional cards.

Holistic Word Problems

Consider how math presents itself in real life. Although we commonly address problems through word problems, these are often linear expressions on what are much more complicated issues. What would a math problem look like that’s more holistic, addressing a real problem in the community? Offer examples and brainstorm how many questions you’d need to solve.

Industrialization and Factory Impact

Explore and assess the impact of fast fashion production on the communities and cultures in developing nations where production is concentrated (eg., Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Turkey, etc.) .

How does production disrupt traditional cultures and ways of living? How does production connect developing nations to global markets? In what ways are these connections positive and negative for the people and communities in these areas?

Talent Show

So many people have unrecognized abilities. Hold a talent competition for a specific music, art, or culinary style. Showcase the talents of the competitors to the community.

Faith and Art

Analyze how various faiths around the world have been heavily tied to art, noticing how many great works have been as a result of faith-based initiatives. Compare the world religion’s different works and how they’re stylistically different.

Personal Challenge

Develop a plan to tackle a personal or community challenge. What steps will you need to take in order to get there? What actions can you take within a certain number of weeks to make a difference? Log your progress and take on the challenge!

New Social Media

Brainstorm and develop an idea for a new social media platform that brings people together. How would it function? Why would people want to use it? Use a UI/UX software like Figma to plan out and demonstrate your ideas.

Single Paths to Health

Instead of leading to lifelong health and thriving, does physical education and “gym culture” in school promote a single path to fitness that contributes to sedentary lifestyles in adulthood? Examine the ways adults stay healthy compared to how schools teach physical education? What are the biggest barriers to healthy living and fitness outside of school?

Moral Machine

Consider the use of self-driving cars, moral questions, and the "Trolley Problem" through this resource, reflecting on its other applicability in real life.

Collective Commitments

Use your collected value lists to generate a list of collective commitments - beliefs and actions agreed upon by staff and students - that can guide classroom decision-making and culture. Generate 3-4 commitments each for yourself, peers, and adults.

Scale

Consider the concept of scale. How much larger is a building in your community to a person? The land mass of your city to your country? Earth to Jupiter? Explore the mathematical possibilities of scale (and with it, distance!)

Collages

For students who struggle with illustration, art can be a daunting task. Challenge students to create collages using magazines and other print media, teaching the principles of design that let the artwork flourish.

Mathematics and Age

Check out excerpts of The Mathematical Essence of Aging from Theoretically Speaking. Think about how much mathematics is intertwined with the way we live every single day. Why does this knowledge matter?

Connections

There’s a lot of amazing people doing work to make change. However, they’re often not aware of each other and therefore not having as much of an impact as they could. Act as a community liaison, researching all of the community action groups and individuals doing work in a certain sector of your community, arranging meetings and helping these groups coordinate with each other.

International Negotiation

Negotiations on the world stage require many moving parts. Examine a recent international negotiation by your country, such as a trade agreement or defense agreement. Who were the key players? What was being negotiated? Did both sides get everything that they wanted? Did their respective populace agree with the compromise?

Animals and Hostile Architecture

Consider the impact that hostile architecture has not only on people, but on the environment. For example, spikes are added to the ledges of buildings to prevent birds from gathering and dirtying walls. How does this impact the ecosystem?

History of Shifting Goals

It is important to make plans, but various events will cause us to shift our goals. For example, activist and President of South Africa Nelson Mandela studied English, anthropology, politics, "native administration", Roman Dutch law, and was actively involved in ballroom dancing.

Look at various famous leaders, professionals, and activists throughout your country’s history. What was their upbringing? What did they do in school? If they attended higher education, what did they major in? Ultimately, how does this all compare to what they did historically?

Math "Soft Skills"

This article discusses the ways soft-skills are fostered in mathematics courses, Finding Soft Skills in Mathematics Isn’t As Hard As You Might Think.

Social Contract

Governments are vast systems that are upheld entirely by a social contract: people listen and act according to a series of laws they choose to uphold. How easy would it be to break these laws? Why is it that people decide to go along with them? Consider how laws are enforced, why people follow them, and what impact would be made if people introduced unreasonable laws or enforcement mechanisms.

Mediums of Art

Consider systems through mediums: how can art display itself in a variety of mechanisms: through illustration, digital design, music, video, dance, and more. How can the same concept be portrayed in these styles, and what impact does each style have? Are there advantages and disadvantages in each medium?

Art for Organizing

Getting started is often the hardest step in making a difference. Consider how different organizing campaigns have utilized art and marketing to spur others toward change. Then, utilize these ideas in your own action campaigns.

Modern Art

What makes modern art valuable? In the past, art was typically contracted — and the value of the materials and time it took to create determined its value. Now, it is up to the interpretation of the viewer and owner to decide its value. Have the class examine these contemporary modern art pieces: are they valuable? What makes them beautiful? Not beautiful?

Advances in Community

Consider how massive advances in your community have been made as a result of struggle and debate on a certain historical issue. Visit a local library, community center, or community activist and learn about what struggles the community has faced. Then, prepare a presentation on this issue, demonstrating to your peers why compromise is important.

"Creativity"

What does it mean to be “creative”? Many people describe themselves as “not being a creative” person, but there’s much more to this idea than simply drawing. Have students deconstruct the term, showcasing how “creativity” is utilized in everything from art to accounting, as well as in various cultures and contexts.

Audiobooks

Does listening to an audiobook count as “reading”? As one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment in the world, many argue that audiobooks are “cheating”, and that it isn’t the same as reading a book. Have a class discussion about audiobooks. Is it reading? If we say it isn’t reading, what about those who have difficulty reading books for a variety of reasons?

Neurodiversity

Learn about how body language presents itself for autistic people. Consider how this information differs from what was presented in the lesson below. How can we use this information to inform others about neurodiversity? How does this challenge our assumptions? 

Educating on Social Media

Reach out to members of your community and survey how they use social media. What are your findings? Summarize and display these ideas to educate others on how social media can be used for good (or perhaps not!)

Understanding Hearing Loss

Nearly 430 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss, making speech and the spoken word difficult to access for about 5% of the global population. There are numerous sign-language alphabets, research which one is used primarily in your community and learn to communicate the basics to improve your ability to interact with deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Alternatively, you can start a sign-language club to encourage others to pick up the language!

History of Math

Consider the rich history of mathematics in its various forms, such as geometry and trigonometry. Prepare a community presentation that details how different mathematicians expanded on our understanding of the world.

Diets, Exercise, and Well-Being

Consider the "trolley problem" in the context of health, exercise, and well-being. Observe a series of various diet options, exercise routines, and lifestyle changes. Have students consider the pros and cons of each of these choices, weighing these decisions and deciding on what outcomes work best for their lifestyle.

Housing Data

Compare housing data to various environmental outcomes and conditions. Consider: what did prices used to be? What are they now? Why?

Control and Social Media

In adopting an internal locus of control, a huge barrier in today’s age is social media. The expectations we set for ourselves based on “the algorithm” distorts realistic expectations. Analyze this study on the impact of social media, isolation, and happiness.