For Teachers
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I would clean the world by picking up trash and clean the rivers. I would put a net in the water and get the trash by scooping the gunk. Levi Sablick, age 8 Sebastian, Florida |
A Special Invitation to Teachers
If your students could change one thing in the world, what would they change?
Here’s your opportunity to find out. Just give them this fun writing and/or drawing assignment that will get their creative juices flowing while getting them to think about their places in the world.
The assignment is simple enough. As a free-writing topic, simply get them to answer a two-part question:
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be? And how would you begin?”
Begin with an age-appropriate discussion about current events. Talk with you students about the “big issues” that are happening in the world or in the country or in the state right now. Talk about the events and issues that are affecting them in their communities or their schools or their families. For older students, get them to consider the role of the individual in society. How responsible is one individual for what happens in the country or in the world? Are we truly living in a global village?
After you’ve gotten them thinking, give them the writing prompt and let their creativity blossom. Ask younger primary school students to write one or two sentences about what they’d like to change in the world. Then they can each draw a picture to illustrate their respective ideas. At your discretion, older students can be given a minimum or maximum word count for the assignment.
Some teachers have found it helpful to create a template for this assignment. At the top of the page is the writing prompt:
“If I could change one thing in the world, __________________”
Leave sufficient space for an answer, then the next prompt is provided:
“I would begin by __________________________________________”
This format keeps students focused on the topic and results in concise and insightful responses. (Make sure your template includes a place for the student to fill in his or her name, age, and address.)
After the essays and/or drawings are completed, you’ve now got a wonderful opportunity for in-classroom reading and sharing. Hearing the ideas from fellow students will spark lively and enlightening discussions!
The Persuasive Power of Teachers
Not surprisingly, teachers like you are proving to be the best sources for submissions for the IfICouldChangetheWorld.net website. Intrigued by the simple yet profound concept, teachers across the globe have assigned the “If you could change one thing in the world” question as a writing assignment to their students.
One mid-school teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, assigned the question to her students and received more than 70 carefully crafted responses. The children’s ideas for changing the world ranged from alleviating world hunger by starting a cooperative food-growing plantation to encouraging different types of people to meet each other so they can discover their common interests.
Please join your fellow teachers in assigning the If I Could Change the World question to your students. Then, once your students have completed the assignment, submit their words and pictures for posting on this website. Use the submission form on this site (just click on the Submit Your Idea crayon in the left navigation bar), or put all of the writings and drawings in an envelope and mail them to:
Randall D. Schultz
If I Could Change the World
8205 Spain Road NE, Suite 201
Albuquerque, NM 87109
USA
Thanks for giving your students the opportunity to think big and believe that they really can make the world a better place!