Look at how sports, culture, and art all influence each other. For example, the graffiti and skateboarding “scene” has a specific “look” each decade. How does this compare to the look of say, golf? Tennis? Basketball? Why is it that different sports have different artistic and cultural styles?

What impact does the fast fashion industry have on a community's economic well-being? Answer the question: Is the fast fashion industry’s profit worth the human price? How would removing the fast fashion industry (or changing business practices such as wages) impact a company’s profits?

Perform an in-depth study on a job site, documenting what different employees do, why they do them, and what happiness they obtain from their workplace. Connect this to your interests — is this something that you (or someone else) would love doing?

Highlight an issue in your community, such as funding parks or fixing potholes. Using local news sources, have students conduct a cost-benefit analysis of incorporating these ideas. This can consist of financial data, but also data on how these improvements affect elements of community life.

Physical education can be a divisive subject because the types of activities in the class can instigate anxiety and social pressure, especially when designed through the teacher’s lens. Hold an open conversation about the purpose of physical education and student experiences in the subject, offering space to suggest new activities.

Using Nick Sousanis’ Blind Accessible Comics as a resource, redesign/remix existing art pieces to improve accessibility to art and culture for a range of impairments and disabilities.

Analyze global poverty as a wicked problem. How do we solve a problem that is so historically, economically, and culturally the norm in our world? What steps can individuals take in order to make a difference? Look at how various non-profits are attempting to solve this problem, offering students the chance to praise and critique different actions.

Research a concept of “future technology” by contacting an academic at a local or regional university. Find a topic that interests you, conduct an interview, and consider the ethical implications of incorporating this idea. Present this idea!

Our language evolves through slang. Determine how slang is used in sports and why certain phrases are used, such as in American football: “hut hut hike”, or how football (soccer) teams communicate to make plays.

Look at the impact that one person can have on their local community. Is there a famous organizer or leader in your school’s town? Demonstrate how they started and the lasting impact they made on your area.

Learn about the various ways that posture and body language play a role in presentation skills. How can we align our posture to change how others perceive us? How does posture help and aid our growth and development? What exercises or techniques can we use?

Create a list of mitigated risk activities that would occur in your community, such as public speaking, creating a public mural, and exploring a park. Consider your comfort level and preparedness for these tasks, then sign up for a wide variety of activities that challenge your safety level (within reason). Make a log of everything that you complete.

Are there economic practices that put cultural or environmental heritage at risk of being damaged or lost? What can be done to mitigate those concerns and preserve our cultural and environmental heritage?

Music is heavily connected to one’s culture and the entire concept of music theory shifts depending on where one lives. Learn about the differences between chords and key signatures across the world, such as quarter tone scales in the Middle East.

It can be a very difficult step to analyze bias and privilege in your daily life. Take time to learn about something specific that you hold a stereotype about. Analyze why you hold these beliefs and prepare a report on how they’ve changed as you’ve investigated further.

The concepts of rhythm, balance, repetition, and harmony are not only musical concepts, but ideas explored throughout art. Demonstrate how these ideas apply to visuals and challenge students to represent these ideas in their work.

Host a “Job/Career Fair” for students in your building to learn about opportunities in the community and connect students with representatives from different industries.

Stories in various mediums (such as books, movies, lyrics, and games) are one of the best ways to develop an emotional connection on perceived harms, bullying, and counteracting hate. Encourage students to share stories of when they’ve felt disrespected, either by other students or by educators, and give them private spaces to share these and learn from each other.

Emotions have a physical connection to how we present ourselves through body language. And of course, humans have also perceived emotion through art for thousands of years. Look at how artists present different forms of emotion through art, both through drawing and music, then have students present an emotion artistically.

‍

Our present conversations around race can get stuck in a reflexive defensiveness of language. What is structural racism? What is actually meant by white privilege? This article from Learning for Justice unpacks the history of the term and action steps to do better.

What is the language of the Internet? How does it differ from your local context? How does it contribute to society? How does it harm society? Analyze the language of the Internet through slang, grammar, memes, etc.

Have a business or invention idea? Prepare a formal presentation for your product or service. Utilize the concepts presented here, as well as other resources on presentation skills, to make a pitch deck on your idea.

We’ve seen what body language looks like through a few examples in the lesson below, but how else do we look when we experience emotion? Have students act out various emotions, from being tired and angry to joyful and gleeful.

‍

Arcology is a future-driven building initiative to create self-sustaining communities, usually in the form of large, multi-faceted skyscrapers. Check out this link which provides information about the practice. What stands out to students? Is this a viable practice? What would be the alternatives?

Create a resource for teachers to recognize childism and adultism in the classroom, advocating for yourself.

Consider the effects of social media on young people’s mental health and understanding of the world. Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth highlights these trends.

Have students write about one of their family traditions. Optionally, this can be shared with the class to create a shared story that highlights the diversity of students’ lives.

Consider how “proper English” has evolved overtime, and that one singular form of English hasn’t always existed. Most recently, a great example would be the APA making a singular “they” proper English. This was a result of gendered stereotypes about who would be speaking. Further, one can analyze modern interpretations of Shakespeare.

How do we break our perspective’s “bubble”? Assign a reading with reflection that goes against one’s opinion or preconceived notions. Of course, students may not change their mind — but challenging their perspective allows them to grow their ideas and consider new possibilities.

Continue the examination of cultural values with resources from Gallup. Gallup has tracked global well-being and happiness over time. What factors contribute to well-being? What is the relationship between GDP and well-being? Why do some regions of the world report higher levels of well-being than others?

Research methods of allyship and informing others on positive ways to counteract the stereotype threat, including having conversations, bringing people together, and practicing anti-racism.

Understand the intersection of math, data, and algorithms in the world of wicked problems. For example, is it always the case that the more problems something causes, the less likely we should do that thing? Or does it matter who the problem affects? Analyze how math connects to the humanities in making ethical solutions.