Demo Activity – Share the load

Rohit Goriwale March 20, 2024

INTRODUCTION

We are all a citizen of our country and as citizens expect certain values, amenities, rights and responsibilities to exist in our community, state, and country. Each citizen has a responsibility to make his or her community a decent place to inhabit. When you are a responsible citizen, it implies that you know your duty adequately and will volunteer for numerous things that are required by the community or the society in general.

But for that it is important to be aware and alert about what is going on in our neighbourhood, community, state, and nation. We as a citizen, are all accountable for the good or bad conditions of the nation. We need to shift our attention into action to procure positive impacts on our community and country. An individual action performed by a person can change a life, but collaborative actions have a positive impact on the entire nation.

In this activity, we will research and audit our surroundings with help of media reported articles, interacting with other students in school as well as parents/neighbours and then present it in form of a newsletter. This activity covers all the three aspects of developing an Actizen - Alert about the citizenship issues in the neighbourhood. Self-informed about our actions that may affect our habitat. Active and wilful to do duties as the Indian citizen to minimize such issues and reporting actions taken by others.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be alert to the general issues in their immediate environment that can help them make their neighbourhood, city, and country better.
Students will comprehend the process to report issues as well as actions taken for a given theme as newsletter.

OUTCOMES

Students will be able to describe the in their immediate environment that can help them make their neighbourhood, city, and country better.
Students will be able to articulate the process to create newsletter on the given theme.

SKILLS AND VALUES

Skills - Communication, Collaboration, and creativity

Values – Truthfulness, Responsibility, Spirit of Service

SESSIONS’ OVERVIEW

S. No.

Session Details

Estimated Time Required

Step 1: Introduction

Step 2: Group Activity

45 min

Step 3: Newsletter Creation

Step 4: Debrief of Activity

45 min

MATERIAL REQUIRED

Papers, pens, Newspapers (atleast1/2 per group – it can be of past 1 week) any available craft materials (optional)

Note: Teacher can also pre-inform few students to get old newspaper (in range of past 1 week) from home.

STEPS OF THE ACTIVITY

Session 1: For a 45 min session Step 1-2

Step 1 – Introduction

Time: 8-10 minutes

1. Ask students to think about any news they have heard and remembered in past few days.

2. Ask them the following questions:

a. What are various sources to be get information about events/actions that are happening around them?
b. What other ways can they adopt to find more information about it?
c. How can they share this information with others?
d. How can you ensure that news sources are reliable?

3. Take 2-3 responses and teacher will tell the students in today’s activity we will learn how to find more information about events/actions around us and present them in form of Newsletter on various themes.

Step 2 – Main activity

Estimated Time: 30 mins.

1. Divide the students into 4-6 groups to begin the activity, ensuring 6-8 participants in each group create an Actizen Club Newsletter.

2. Tell the students that each group will work on one theme as given below.

i. Values – List 4-5 values desired in their area. (For example: Equality, Justice, Unity, Secularism, etc.) Students can also refer to Preamble given in textbooks to select the values.
ii. Civic amenities - List the various civic amenities (at least 4-5) desired in their area. (For example: Well-built roads, working streetlights, traffic management, adequate drinking water, electricity, etc.)
iii. Technology facilities - List the various technology amenities desired in their area. (For example: Mobile networks, internet networks, healthcare technology, e-grievances registration, e-services like passports, traffic challan payment, etc.)
iv. Art & Culture preservation - List the various amenities and practices desired in their area to preserve Art & culture. (For example: maintenance of historical buildings, local handicrafts are promoted, organizing art and culture programs, etc.)
v. Rights and Duties – List the various Civic responsibilities that citizens of the area should have. (For example: protection of public property, respecting National symbols, Stay informed of the issues affecting your community, etc.)

3. Tell the students once the theme is identified and they have scoped the points they will work on as a group, now they have to research about it by doing the following tasks:

i. Newspaper Walk – Give each group any newspaper of that week and in their groups, they have to scout for 2-3 articles that represent the issues related to this theme. Group can then prepare brief note of 3-4 sentences of only 1 article showing how it represents the given topic of group. (Sample is given in Annexure 2)
ii. Divide students in group who will do School Walk and who will do Neighbourhood Walk for the given Questions – Questions: 1) What are few values/amenities (group theme) that you want to see around? 2) What are some steps/actions you have taken for it? 3) What actions you would like to take/continue taking for it?
iii. School Walk: Identify one another student (from class 6, 7 or 8) and ask the given questions in context to their theme. Ensure while dividing students decide the grade too to have representation.
iv. Neighborhood Walk: Ask the given questions to one elder in family/neighbors.

4. The newspaper task and deciding who will do School and Neighborhood Walk to be completed in the class itself. Tell them they will have 20-25 minutes to complete the task.

5. Whole group will do the Newspaper Walk. Half the students from group will do the School Walk and other half will do Neighborhood Walk as part of Homework. Every student of group interviews at least 1 person.

6. Tell them to discuss the materials they will need in next class to put the newsletter together.

Note: Reference of Newsletter Template is given in Annexure 1 and some examples in Annexure 2.

Homework:

Do the School/Newspaper Walk as decided in the group. Write the responses in 3-4 sentences and bring to next class.

Teacher will also inform that they can use photos, articles, and newspaper cuttings (article referred) to make their Newsletter more attractive. It can be decorated by drawing borders, using available materials following the best out of waste approach. Whatever materials the group needs they must bring it in next class.

Note: Please pre-inform the date of the next session for students to bring completed booklet.

Session 2: For a 45 min session Step 3-4

Recap: (5 min)

The teacher asks students to share about how they engaged as a group to help set context for the session.

Step 3 – Newsletter

Estimated Time: 30 mins.

1. Teacher will tell the groups to sit and work out the One Page Newsletter for their theme, basis the findings from Newspaper Walk, School Walk and Neighbourhood walk.

2. Share with students Guidelines and Template given in Annexure 1 and examples in Annexure 2 for reference.

3. Inform the students that they have 20-25 mins to work on it. Inform that group presentation should cover the following points on A4/A3 size paper as available:

a. Give title to Newsletter.
b. Bold headlines to each article.
c. Atleast 3 articles and max 5 articles – one based on Newspaper walk, one on School Walk and one from Neighbourhood Walk.
d. Add pictures/newspaper articles/drawings/stories to present the information. They can also include relevant slogan to make their newsletter more attractive.

Note: Students will not present the newsletter individually, but it must be a group effort.

4. Teacher will ask the students to display the pages of Newsletter on the Noticeboard and then summarize the discussion with help of debrief questions.

Step 4 – Debrief

Time: 10 minutes

Ask students the following questions to debrief the activity - to share the following:

1. How was your experience of creating the Newsletter?

2. What did you learn from the activity?

3. Why are these themes important? What role as ACTiZEN do we play in them?