So at my school here the children have a unit on getting jobs and doing interviews.
Then they learn about teenage millionaires. Then I thought a good idea would be to not only learn about teenage millionaires, but maybe also learn about people who help others. My husband works for the Canadian charity
Free the Children, which was founded by Craig Kielburger when he was 12 years old.
Very basically FTC is a charity founded by children to help children.
Free the Children Lesson Plan (takes about 60-70 mins)(good for ages 12-17)
First make a mind-map with the word 'charity'. (What is it? What charities do you know?, What do they do?)
Then does anyone work with any charities? Are there are any charities for children?
Then start talking about children charities, if they know any, if they have heard of one that is run by children. A charity where a child is the boss. Tell them briefly about FTC, that was founded by a child. That it is a charity for children. Then watch this video about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RiUHRCK0yw&feature=player_embedded#!
Then after the first watching ask what they thought about it. Ask a couple questions about the video:
1) Discuss what shameless and idealistic mean:to not feel embarrassed, ashamed, guilty, awkward, weird about something and idealistic: to believe that all things are possible, that the impossible is possible
2) Is FTC only interested in helping people in other countries? Or do they help people in Canada as well?
Then hand out the FTC movie sheet (see below!) and get them to answer those questions (Watch video up to 2x to make sure they get the answers)
Take up the sheet.
Using pre-prepared FTC sheets (see below) about the 4 campaigns mentioned in the video. Then ask them to get into groups of 3, they choose one campaign fact sheet, read it in their group and make a small presentation about the campaign. In their presentation they should include: -the name of the campaign -what it does -why it exists (why do they have this campaign) -could they do it at their school? Present to the rest of the group.
Have a closing discussion about the campaigns, which one do you like? Which one would you do? Do you think you will get involved in a charity?
*All pictures and information taken from Free the Children website* *Activity made by me though! ;-) *
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Free the Children Movie Sheet
When did Free the Children start?
Who founded it? How old was he?
Who said that she would build 100 schools?
How many countries is FTC active in?
How many Youth in Action Groups are there?
What are some of the Campaigns?
Where does FTC adopt villages?
What do they do in the Adopt a Village program?
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halloween for hunger.
In March 2010, 867,948 Canadians turned to their local food bank for a meal—the highest level of food bank use on record. And in 2009, over 50 million Americans struggled daily to put food on their tables.
In our own communities, many people face hunger as a daily reality. Families throughout North America and the UK are trapped by unemployment or low wages and by the crippling costs of housing and food. Under the stress of poverty parents have to make impossible decisions, choosing between a putting roof over their family’s heads and food in their stomachs.
Every year on October 31, since founder Jonathan White started the campaign, young people trick-or-treat with our Halloween for Hunger campaign, collecting non-perishable food items for local food banks instead of candy. One of Free The Children’s two local campaigns, Halloween for Hunger gives youth a unique opportunity to help end hunger in their own communities—and raise awareness of an often invisible local problem.
In 2010 alone, over 182,825 youth participated, donating 609,225.4 pounds of food to their local food banks. That’s enough to feed 119 families of four for a whole year!
Vocabulary
struggle- to try very hard to do something
reality-the way things or situations really are and not the way you would like them to be
crippling-causing great damage
poverty- to be very poor; to not have enough money to live
putting roof over their family’s heads- house; money for rent
non-perishable- food that lasts a long time; canned food items (e.g. soup, pasta, carrots and peas)
to raise awareness- to let other people know; to educate other people
youth- teens
invisible- unseen; can't see
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We won’t stand by while children are subjected to exploitation, poverty and the denial of their basic rights. Every day, millions of children are silenced by these abuses. But we can take a stand for children everywhere.
The Vow of Silence is Free The Children’s annual fundraising and awareness-raising campaign that engages tens of thousands of participants to stand up for children whose rights are not being upheld.
From Toronto to Mexico City, London to San Francisco, Beijing to Jakarta, Vancouver to Sydney and back, on November 30, 2011, young people will go silent for 24 hours in solidarity with children who are being silenced by poverty and exploitation. For Vow participants, being silent can mean refraining from speaking. It can also mean not using email, Facebook, Twitter or text messaging. It can even mean not using hand gestures, note writing or any communication at all. Participants like you can decide your level of silence based on what you’re comfortable with.
This campaign can be done as an individual, group, school, or even an entire city.
So take the Vow. Take action, raise funds and awareness for Free The Children. On November 30th, go silent in solidarity with children who are denied their human rights and denied their voice.
Vocabulary
exploitation- to not pay someone enough money for work
poverty- to not have enough money; to be poor
denial basic rights- to not allow a person to have the freedom to do what they want
abuses- violent or cruel treatment of another person
fundraising- to collect money for a charity
awareness-raising – to let other people know about something
upheld- to allow
solidarity- to stand together; to help others
refraining- to not do something
comfortable-feels nice
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celebrate for change.
Across the globe, there are millions of children who don't know when they were born and never get to celebrate their birthdays. These kids are denied their basic human rights because they were never registered at birth. They’re known by development professionals as “invisible” because their governments don’t have any official record of their existence.
The Celebrate for Change campaign lets you celebrate the birthdays of these children as you celebrate your own. Throw a party that raises awareness about these children and collects funds for Free The Children’s Adopt a Village program, which helps ensure that children around the world are awarded their basic rights.
There are two different ways to participate in Celebrate for Change:
Group party: Get together with friends at school or at your community centre and throw a general celebration for children around the world who aren't able to celebrate their birthdays.
Individual party: Throw a special Celebrate for Change party for your own birthday this year.
Instead of gifts ask your guests to donate money to Free the Children or other charities.
Vocabulary
globe-the world
denied basic rights- to not allow a person to have the freedom to do what they want
registered- to make a record of someone
development professionals- charity workers
invisible- unseen; to be unable to see
existence-is to be real
to raise awareness- to let other people know; to educate other people
funds- money
ensure- to make certain that something happens
participate- take part in; help
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local spotlight: one night out.
What is the first thought you have when you walk past a man sitting on the street, hand held up for change? How about the young woman on the steps of a community center waiting quietly for it to open?
Take one night out to dispel the myths and raise awareness of the realities of homelessness in your community.
Across North America there are millions of people who are homeless at one point or another, with an estimated 3 million people in the United States on any given night and between 200,000 and 300,000 in Canada. As we speak, there are millions more struggling to pay rent or mortgage to stay in their homes.
It is estimated that one in every seven people living in shelters is a child and 788,000 children in Canada live in poverty. Many of these children’s parents are working—the hidden homeless who have jobs but can’t earn enough to afford housing.
what you do:
1) Find out the facts! Learn about homelessness in your community.
2) Raise awareness in your community! Hold a one night discussion at your school to talk about the reality of homelessness and what can be done in your community
3) Take action! Organize a fundraiser for the homeless in your community.
Vocabulary
dispel- to get rid of
myths- fairy tales; stories that are not real
to raise awareness- to let other people know; to educate other people
homelessness- to live on the street without a house
estimate- to guess
struggle- to have difficulty in doing something
shelters- temporary housing; places for homeless people to go until they find a permanent home
poverty- to be poor; to not have enough money
earn- when you receive money for working at a job
fundraiser- to collect money for a charity
