Curriculum

Gone Too Soon

Students explore the impact of historical events on society by researching and writing about historical figures who were killed by gun violence.

Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon PP Presentation

Looking Upstream

Students examine the causes and effects of gun violence in order to brainstorm grassroots solutions to the problem.

Looking Upstream

Kids Count

Students visualize the impact of gun violence in Chicago by interpreting graphs and using percentages and fractions to represent data about Chicago homicides in the past year.

Kids Count

Kids Count PP Presentation

When the Bullied Become Bullies

Students draw conclusions about the relationship between bullying and school shooter cases using scientific inquiry, data collection, and statistical analysis.

When the Bullied Become the Bullies

To the Young Who Want to Live

Students interpret Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem, “To the Young Who Want to Die,” and use poetic devices to create their own anti-violence message.

To the Young Who Want to Live

Bowling for Columbine

Students identify characteristics of the documentary genre and create an audio-visual message of their own.

Bowling for Columbine

Art for Change

Students engage in art criticism techniques to analyze and interpret works of art for peace created in the Vietnam era and then create their own work of art with a non-violent of peaceful message.

Art for Change

Art for Change PP Presentation

Give Peace a Chance

Students explore how technical elements, mood, and meaning work together in a piece of protest music from the Vietnam era.

Give Peace a Chance

Give Peace a Chance PP Presentation

Ut Pictura Poesis

Students read and analyze poetry written about works of art and then create imagery-rich, art-inspired poems of their own.

Ut Pictura Poesis

Bullying Behaviors

Students practice identifying bullying behavior and role-play strategies for dealing with bullies using non-violence.

Bullying Behavior

Little Weapons

Students explore the issue of youth access to weapons through a close analytical reading and discussion of Lupe Fiasco’s song, “Little Weapons.”

Little Weapons

Walking Survey: Stats and Facts

Students gain, through a “walking survey,” an introductory look into the issue of gun violence and engage in critical thinking and self-reflection about the problem and how it impacts them.

Walking Survey

Walking Survey PP Presentation

The Right to Arm Bears

Students identify and analyze the persuasive techniques used in political cartoons and will use these strategies to create their own political cartoons.

The Right to Arm Bears

Bullying and Bullets

Students examine school shooter cases to determine the role of bullying, the profiles of shooters, and the causes behind shootings toward forming and supporting an opinion on the controversial “Zero Tolerance” policy in schools.

Bullying and Bullets

Hard Evidence

Students learn about the importance of supporting details in essay writing and will be guided through essay revision to include evidence to back up their claims.

Hard Evidence

Don’t Become a Statistic

Students identify concepts of responsible citizenship in relation to gun safety and gun laws on local, national, and global levels.

Don’t Become and Statistic

The Second Amendment Debate

Students practice their persuasive skills through a debate about the 2^nd amendment and simulate the operations of legislative branch through discussion of the right to bear arms.

The Second Amendment

The Second Amendment Debate Guns in Our World Part One

Students collect and present data about the impact of gun violence on youth by using tallying and a bar graph and analyze their graphs for form generalizations about the data.

Guns in Our World Pt. 1

The Second Amendment Debate Guns in Our World Part Two

Students self-reflect on the personal impact of gun violence and create line graphs to represent personal levels of emotion/fear in various situations.

Guns in our World Pt. 2