Ways+and+Means

Education should not be the filling of a pail, **but the lighting of a fire.**   - William Butler Yeats

__**Grade 6 ICT / ELA Lesson Plan**__ **Adapted from** [|Video Utilising Email in the Classroom] (ICT Outcome Pr-1.3) and written text conventions. (ICT Outcome M-1.1) (ICT Outcomes G-1.1, G-2.1, G-2.2, G-3.2, ) []
 * Objective:** After this assignment, the student will demonstrate an understanding of editing electronic work according to established criteria
 * Introduction:** Students will work collaboratively, in pairs or small groups, on an assignment that involves sending a formal email.
 * Inquiry:** Students must research a local issue/situation that concerns them and creatively outline a possible solution to the problem.
 * Students must identify a local politician, business person, or community organization to whom their concerns should be addressed.
 * Students will create their correspondence following business email format and language as per curriculum standards. (ICT Outcome E-2.2, E-1.2)
 * Students will send their email in a timely manner.
 * In this correspondence, students will not reveal that their email is a school assignment, nor will they request a reply to their email - this is for the purpose of modeling a 'real world' situation.
 * If no response has been received within 1 week, students will send a follow-up email as per business protocol. (ICT Outcome C-3.1).
 * A response to the email is not indicative of a successful assignment.
 * Differentiation:** Student collaboration could be done via emails or utilising a wiki to share independent research information with group members.
 * Assessment:** See Rubric attached

Young people who participate in their communities often become more engaged at school. Seeing that their work has meaning in the wider community increases students' motivation to learn. Improved scores on standardized tests and other academic indicators have been attributed to students' civic engagement. As teachers, we must develop that engagement through ways that are meaningful in the context of their dramatically changing life experiences so that students feel empowered to continue actively contributing to their communities in positive ways.