Lesson 5: One Small Peace Practice
Time: 20 minutes
Objective:
To leave students with the ability to apply the lessons from this course in their daily lives.
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Identify ways in which they may have tendencies that go against peace.
- Explain their personal plan to promote peace in their community and the world.
Standards Alignment:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1 / SL.11-12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2 / RH.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas
Summary discussion (5–10 min)
Use three questions on the board:
- “What does peace mean beyond ‘no fighting’?”
- Make sure the discussion includes mention of: a culture of forgiveness, understanding of all sides of issues, community support, access to necessities, and protecting common resources.
- “How can anger become harmful, and how can it be handled differently?”
- Make sure the discussion includes mention of: community fragmentation, violence, hate, and Dennis’s story of the Holocaust memorial vandalism.
- Remind students that anger can be a useful tool in recognizing injustice.
- “How does checking information relate to peace?”
- Make sure the discussion includes mention of: inflammatory reporting and the necessity of being well-informed in order to meaningfully contribute to your community.
Invite brief answers and link back to the story, the anger fork-in-the-road, and the headlines activity.
Personal Peace Commitment (10–15 min)
Students complete a short “United for Peace – My One Change” card or slip to keep or hand in.
Prompts:
- One situation where I’m likely to get very angry.
- One way I will try to respond differently next time so my anger doesn’t become hatred.
- One “pause before posting” step I will actually use.
- One sentence: “For me, peace means…”
- Teacher may invite a few volunteers to share (optional).
Key Takeaway:
We all individually have the choice to contribute to peace or to violence and hate. Having the right tools and strategies can empower us to make better decisions.