TYWLS Harlem Social Studies teacher Hannah Givertz has been knee-deep into a Civics unit with her 7th graders. Teaching alongside the current election, Hannah walked her students through engaging topics like the balance of power through branches of government to voter suppression. Here are her thoughts on why she chose the Silent Graffiti instructional routine for remote learning.
I chose to use Silent Graffiti for this particular content because I wanted students to see a wide range of youth activists. We had been focusing on activism as a vocabulary word that week in order to better understand other ways we, as individuals or in groups, can change our government and our communities besides voting. Activism takes many shapes and forms. By using Silent Graffiti students were able to start with initial observations and then progress towards comparisons of multiple examples, thereby analyzing the complexity and variety of activism. Additionally, the activity hinges on student-led discussion, which seemed apt for a lesson on youth agency.
Check out Hannah's lesson slides below, as well her students' discussion from Silent Graffiti.