This special is one of fifteen Service Learning Standards Based Models
For more
Service Learning activities Connecting Classrooms~Communities~Careers
visit bostonteachnet.org or contact  Barbara Locurto  IMPACT II @ School-to-Career
Boston Public Schools

Public Safety

Give Peace a Chance
Sharing Conflict Resolution Skills

Arts, English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies

Connecting
Classrooms
K-12 students
Communities pre-school, neighborhood 
Careers education, law & justice, law enforcement

 

Can Give Peace a Chance be the anthem of every child?  
In this model, students, supported by appropriate classroom materials and community involvement, develop and practice conflict resolution skills. Starting at the earliest school level, they continue their efforts through each educational stage. City and state officials become potential allies in promoting peaceful solutions. When older students meet and interview representatives from the fields of law and justice, they observe citizenship at work. They also gain insights on a wide array of career choices. Guided by mentors and tutors, a new generation advocates for community safety and well-being. Students create conversations and communities of peace while they share e-mail peace reflections, read biographies of historic peacemakers, design peace books and artifacts for younger children, and search the Internet for international peace initiatives.
Resources selected literature on national and international peacemakers; Sadako and the Thousand Cranes, Eleanor Coerr
Technology search Internet, exchange e-mail messages, word process stories
Web Sites  
Global TeachNet of the National Peace Corps; Cranes for Peace; Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
Community Partners
Representatives from local law enforcement & justice departments.



Learning Standards Classroom Activities Service Activities
o Connect reading with own & others' experiences (ELA)
o Use telecommunications to share information & ideas (ELA) 

 

o Read or tell the story of a teen who was the victim of violence (see above Web site Louis D. Brown Peace Institute) 
o Create a character web on this figure
o Begin peace reflections in journals 
o Retell victim's story & share character web with friends & family 

o Exchange e-mail peace reflections with another class in school 

o Understand & express different points of view (ELA: Social Skills)
o Collect, organize & describe data (M)
o Construct display, read & interpret data (M) 


o Agree to participate in peace campaign
o Compose & word process questionnaire on personal responses to conflict
o Tally questionnaire results 
o Organize results into charts & graphs 
o Distribute questionnaire throughout school & community centers
o Prepare peace bulletin board for school community
o Display questionnaire results & computer graphics 
o Analyze, interpret & evaluate literature (ELA)
o Understand & use the writing process effectively (ELA)
o Examine events & people given norms & values of the time (SS)
 o Read at least two stories of peace heroes (ex. M.L. King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt) 
o Compare & contrast peace heroes & coordinate their viewpoints in essays 
o Display point of view essays on schoolwide peace bulletin board
o Word process books & posters on peace heroes
o Share information with younger children in school
o Conduct historical & social studies research (SS) 


o Read Sadako and the Thousand Cranes 
o Research Internet for information on Hiroshima Peace Center 
o Make origami paper cranes 
o Visit kindergartners or first graders
o Role play Sadako's story & teach children how to make paper cranes
o Continue to e-mail peace reflections
o Employ various conflict resolution strategies (ELA: Social Skills) 

 

o Conduct & record classroom interviews on conflict resolution strategies with local police & youth workers 

 o Transcribe & word process interviews in class or school newsletter

o Engage in historical & social issues analysis & decision making (SS)


o Read & distribute brochures on local peace events (ex. Walk for Peace) to school & community  o Participate in peace event with family members & school community