space.template.Child+Soldiers

** Today, there are more than 300,000 child soldiers **
This 12 year old vs. This 12 year old

****Setting:** ** [[image:child-soldier5.jpg width="258" height="286" align="right"]]
==== As my 14 and 15 year old ninth graders are close to the age that Ishmael Beah was at when he was forced into a civil war of Sierra Leone, I want them to practice writing-reflections, critical thinking and opinion essays, narrative writing and also persuasive writing by exploring the harsh experiences of child soldiers. My class is made up of students from middle to lower class families, in a small suburban school district, with the predominant race being Caucasian and African-American, and also a small population of Latino-Americans. ====

** Why Child Soldiers: **
==== This topic is especially significant to me because I have a dear friend who is living in the Ivory Coast but has previously lived in Sierra Leone. I plan to have him share his experiences with civil wars and government disruption at some point during the unit. As students recognize its meaning in my life, they may also find connections and make meaning in their lives as well. I plan to have each of my students write a letter to Ishmael Beah at the conclusion of the unit to help solidify this reality. ====

**Activity:** One idea for this unit includes writing a newspaper that describes specifically the events of the Sierra Leone civil war and its young soldiers. The class will be divided into smaller groups for this project, where each student will have the option to choose their own form of writing. It could be a letter to a world, national or local leader, a journal, an article, or an interview with a victim or family member of a victim; the goal is to allow students to choose the work they want to do, but they have to know how they will be contributing to the overall product and also be considerate of their audience. Students will also be encouraged to incorporate images, surveys, facts and statistics, etc., to supplement the overall newspaper. In addition, students will put together a 10-15 minute presentation about their findings and deliver their message to other classrooms within the school, to other high schools in the areas and also to the middle schools.

Furthermore, class discussions will be prompted by students thinking about the roles they play in their households, and the roles their family members play. Once they have considered the significant contributions they and their loved ones make on a daily basis, I want them to think about the effects of losing a loved one, being forced to turn on your loved ones, and also abandon them to serve an unknown purpose, can have on individuals and communities. What if you personally were forced into war, and how would that differ from your sibling being forced into war instead? I had a discussion with my friend Leo about child soldiers and he has explained that school, work, and other day-to-day obligations are less taken for granted in Africa than they are in Michigan, because the United States has fewer fears of such devastations. Through this conversation I want students to think about how our daily lives would change if we had to live in fear, and I also want them to appreciate the freedoms that we do enjoy. Students will research former Child Soldiers and choose one whom they want to focus on through the duration of the event. The students will make personal connections to them by reading biographies and memoirs; watching interviews and studying photographs; researching the demographics, economic, political and social aspects of their particular culture, etc. As the students become more closely acquainted with these survivors, they will develop a stronger sense of empathy for them and their families. Knowing where they come from and the roles they play within their communities can transform their perspective of the overall devastation. I want them to pay particular attention to the ages at which they were taken captive, and also the time it took for them to escape. This will help them reflect on their own lives, and consider the daily activities that they partake in at the various stages of life. What if instead of going to middle school in 6h grade with all of your friends and fellow basketball players, you were drugged and taken away to fight for an unknown (cruel) cause? Students will explore these questions together as way to supplement each other's thinking and inquiry.
 * Event: **

At the conclusion of this event, students will present their findings to the class, sharing information about the victims' demographics, age and lifestyle, and compare it to their own. This presentation can consist of a homemade video, featuring the common activities of American youth in comparison to that of Child Soldiers; It could be a painted illustration or comic book story; a fictional narrative from the voice of the Child Soldier or even a poem written as a response and reflection on the overall event. In addition to the presentation, students will be expected to think critically about the 'Child Soldiers' in the U.S. While we do not have drug lords and civil wars in the U.S., we do face other devastations such as physical and emotional abuse and human trafficking. What devastations have you witnessed in your own community or observed in the media that you are aware of? Have you experienced anything personally? Research U.S. conflicts and learn about the 'Child Soldiers' of America.

// “Yes, sometime.” //

 * CCSS: **

The English Language Arts Common Core State Standards can be met through daily reflective journal entries. These journals will help students to organize their thoughts, construct questions, formulate ideas and opinions, prompt discussion and create ideas for further research. Students will also have to identify the source of the issue of child soldiers, by researching the central conflicts, the leaders involved, the geographical locations, statistics, etc. Students will be able to gain many facts from the class readings, such as cities and social settings, which will prompt research and stronger meaning of the topic. I plan to create a forum, using [], which will allow students to engage in online discussions. I also want students to be able to read their classmate’s essays so I plan to utilize []. This website helps the teacher to identify plagiarism, but more importantly it allows students to read each other’s work, provide comments or suggestions for one another’s writing, and also see how their writing and analysis compares to other students’. In addition, I want students to be able to discuss these issues in a non-traditional setting by using Facebook, or a similar social networking site. This way, students can share what they are learning with their friends and classmates, take ownership of the tasks and research, and be proud of the overall learning process. While many students lack interest enough to keep up with the reading, I intend to incorporate as much visual/technological aide to help maintain the student’s attention, focus on content, and also inspire them to dig into the reading on their own. Here are links to view interviews with Ishmael Beah, media type="youtube" key="WYFNVZgFQms" width="560" height="315"

learn more about the civil war media type="youtube" key="55SBoDT02VM" width="420" height="315"

and even sample the rap music that the boys from //A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier// loved listening to. media type="youtube" key="rKTUAESacQM" width="560" height="315" Also, for some students, it is easier to follow the story when they are able to listen to it being read while they are reading it. Here is a place where students and teachers can find audio books: []. It is important that students have the background knowledge necessary to understand the text. One way I can help my students is by provide short reading assignments (in or out of class), such as biographies of authors or victims. I also have several strategies to help students comprehend these reading assignments. Here is a biography of Ishamel Beah []. I also like this website because it shows students how this particular organization is making a difference in the victims’ lives. Here is an article from the BBC, which is described in //A Long Way Gone// [].


 * CCSS (continued): **

The newspaper project will help students improve their reading and writing skills and also meet the common core standards by writing arguments to support claims (W.9-10.1), write informative texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts and information clearly and accurately (W.9-10.2), produce clear and coherent writing (W.9-10.4), and develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, and rewriting to create more focused ideas and concepts (W.9-10.5). In addition, this assignment will help students practice researching and utilizing technology and other resources to help them better meet the criteria (W.9-10.6 and W.9-10.8). Daily journal entries and reflective essays will allow students to practice writing routinely over extended time frames for a range of tasks, purposes and audiences (W.9-10.10). I also want students to practice writing real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences. Once these techniques have been utilized routinely, they will also be comfortable incorporating them into their Newspapers (W.9-10.3). One advantage I have in teaching this unit is personal interest. When teachers are enthusiastic about course content, their students are much more likely to take interest in it as well. I plan to incorporate as many facts, ideas, true and fictional stories, visual and audio aides, and other supplementary tools to help this unit maintain its significance, and inspire my students so that they may become stronger readers and writers.