It Takes a Village (LS-GR-716)
The Learning Scenario “It takes a village” has been designed to offer learners an engaging and inspiring experience that can help them reflect on issues which are relevant to them and their well-being, and to society as a whole. It promotes the values of well-being, sustainability, and inclusion.
The title of the LS is a shortening of the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child, which has been attributed to African cultures. Its meaning is twofold. On the one hand, it means that an entire community of people must provide for and interact positively to ensure that children live in a healthy environment where they feel safe and welcome. On the other, it means that many people’s help or involvement is needed to achieve some goal in our communities.
We see, think and wonder
The works of art of the Europeana platform were used to initiate an Artful thinking process with my 25 fourth grade students, create a connection between works of art and curricular topics, and develop students’ thinking dispositions. After discussing within their group and with the whole class their thoughts and opinions concerning the paintings, students were asked to reflect on their habits and discover what makes them happy on Menti.
We explore
Then, learners split in 5 groups and explored 5 different resources, and their topic. The 1st group read the poem “Let’s Give the World to the Children”, written by Nazim Hikmet, and the 2nd group watched the story It takes a village. The 3rd group watched the video Pass it on, while the 4th group read the Picture My rights-Your rights, 1, and the 5th group watched the video Whoever You Are. The teacher facilitated the process, and students identified the values for a just, inclusive and peaceful society that the resources presented. Finally, they submitted their answers on a Coggle Mindmap.
We care about
Students used their findings as inspiration and engaged in creative writing. They read the mindmap they made and wrote what living in a peaceful and inclusive world is for them. They wrote messages for a better world. Then learners reflected on their menti and collaboratively wrote a poem on what it means for them to live in a happy, healthy and peaceful community. Finally, learners reflected on their collaborative work and evaluated their participation.
Reflect and evaluate
Students reflected on their work and did a Self Reflection task. The teacher evaluated the work of the students using an assessment rubric. After the lesson, the teacher, also, reflected on the implementation of the learning scenario with a reflective rubric. The teacher uploaded a wakelet presentation with all the stages and products of the class on their digital class.
Added perspectives
The Learning Scenario can be integrated in eTwinning projects, as it is or adapted. Activities of the LS were implemented by all the partners of the eTwinning project “World Buddies”, in which the Greek students participated. Students reflected on issues of contemporary reality and the violation of human rights due to the war in Ukraine. They wrote messages of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. They collected their messages creating a podcast which will be aired by the European School Radio. The LS can also be implemented in a SDGs project as it integrates the Sustainable Development Goals for a better future for all-SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing, SDG 4: Quality education and SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions.
Conclusion
The students had the opportunity to experience and appreciate Art, and develop thoughtful learning, focusing on a variety of thinking dispositions. The activities of the LS helped the teacher and the learners generate habits of mind that promote emotional well-being, and inspired them to reflect on and embrace values based on inclusive principles, such as equality, diversity, and respect.
Would you like to know more about this learning scenario? You can download it below:
Did you find this learning scenario interesting? You might also like:
- The Art of Happiness created by Csilla Németh
- The World We Want created by Sónia Mendes
- Stronger Together created by Brendan Buttigieg
Public Domain Mark 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Rijksmuseum.