Taking Informed Action

Way back in September, I said I was going to write periodic posts on the new standards. Thus far, it's been very periodic, with a post on developing questions (SS.K12.1) and one on resources to meet the new fourth-grade standards. (The short version, use our curriculum--now available online and soon available for purchase--to meet all but three of the standards.) So I figure it's time for another installment. 

The standard I've gotten the most questions about is "Take Informed Action" (SS.K12.6). When I first saw this standard, my thoughts immediately turned to political action: learning about a current issue of concern and then writing a letter to a political leader or the local paper, or otherwise engaging in lobbying. There's nothing wrong with encouraging students to use their voices politically (as long as you don't tell them which side of an issue to choose!) But taking informed action is so much more than politics. 

First, of course, is the adjective informed. Students must study a topic thoroughly before taking any action. The action part can take many forms. If you study hunger in your community, doing a food drive can be informed action. If you study pollution, picking up trash or recycling can be informed action. Many schools already do these things--or have students participate in other service projects. The trick is to make sure students are not just taking actions, but that they are taking informed actions.  

Here are some examples from the National Council for Social Studies article
Taking Informed Action to Engage Students in Civic Life: 

• After studying the impacts of a snowstorm on their community, students "created a paid snow-shoveling service."
• After learning about child labor, students raised money for "a school in Pakistan in honor of an anti-child-labor activist who was killed at 12 years old."

Closer to home, I remember a Plentywood teacher telling me that her students used their GPS skills to help map the community's fire hydrants (something the fire department wanted done). In Wibaux, students research people buried in their historic cemetery. With a greater appreciation for the role of the cemetery in their community and the importance of preserving community history, they participate in a cemetery clean up day. 

Sharing what you've learned to an authentic audience is also a form of informed action. For example,

• Third grade students in Helena used to (and maybe still) study the city's history and then take an adult in their life on a tour of the town's historical sites. (The adult completed a tour guide evaluation form and students were awarded "historic tour guide" badges for their efforts.)
• Many teachers have upper elementary students teach something they've learned to younger students. 
• In Corvallis, high school students created Then and Now history exhibits that were displayed in local businesses.
• In Townsend, high school students studied and interviewed veterans and produced a Veterans Day celebration.
• In Billings, high school students collaborated with the Western Heritage Center to create a museum exhibit.

I really like the way Craig Perrier wrote about taking informed action for C-3 Teachers. He asserts that informed action can include bringing student work into the public sphere, bringing viewers into the classroom, or even be "an individual growth opportunity or personal experience." My very favorite part of his post is the infographic he created toward the bottom of the post, that list a variety of verbs: "inform/explain; persuade/entertain; celebrate/memorialize..." 

Long before I ever heard about the C-3 and the standard "take informed action," I was a huge advocate of asking students to make genuine contributions while learning about history by participating in crowd-sourcing projects like History Unfolded: U.S. Newspapers and the Holocaust.  That's informed action, too. 

My action (writing this piece) was heavily informed by C-3 Teachers, the Montana Heritage Project, and--to paraphrase PBS--teachers like you. What concerns or excites you about this standard? How have you worked with your students to "take informed action"? Do you interpret this standard differently than I do? Send me a note and I'll share it out.