Sierra Leone Teen Refugees

Due Friday 12/7/07

Since you heard two stories of teenagers who have immigrated here from Sierra Leone, your assignment is to go to to the site beyondthefire.net and listen to a third teen refugee story.

As we did in class, you are to document the following from the teens experience:

Home Life (Family Structure and relationships)
Education (Condition of schools and access to education)
Economic Conditions (Financially stability, access to jobs)
Social Life (Relationships with friends, quality of social life, social status)
Other information (Anything else that is interesting to compare)

With this information, compare the subjects experiences to your own. What differences and similarities do you see.

Also, once you watch the story on beyondthefire.net, you are expected to complete the activity. In order to do so, you must register with the site.

If you have any questions, please post them here or email me at iburgos2@schools.nyc.gov

Ms. B

Refugee Activity

DUE THURSDAY 12/6

My instructions in class were for you to define certain terms. After further consideration, I am asking that you complete the following assignment.

You are to post a "memoir" as if you are a refugee or an internally displaced person (IDP). Based on our class activity describe how it felt to be rushed from your home, how you decided what to take with you and if you thought the asylum process was fair. In addition, write briefly how you think a refugee or IDP crisis can affect other global issues like environmental destruction, poverty and education in particular. Post your responses here. They are due by Thursday 12/6.

I hope you enjoyed the yarn game. I also see that after this activity, you are getting more of an understanding of how all the world's issues are interconnected. Think about the following and be sure to post your reply here.

The interconnectedness of issues can often be the first step in solving problems. Interconnectedness is an important and key concept in “systems thinking”—a holistic way of thinking that takes into account the connections, interactions, and processes that link different elements together and form a complete “system”. By understanding that issues are interconnected, we can begin to see when and where we can intervene in a system to make change.

• Why else might it be helpful to understand how and why global issues are interconnected?
• How can understanding the interconnectedness of global issues help us find solutions to the problems surrounding these issues?
• How would life be different for you if you were affected by any of the problems we have discussed?• What are some examples of places we could intervene in a system and maximize positive connections between various issues? Identify not only where or when one could intervene in a system but how an individual’s actions can “snowball” – i.e. trigger other reactions in the system that build upon and sustain the positive effects of the original action. What kind of small action might snowball into a large result? How can small changes replicate and multiply to produce widespread and lasting change?

Ms. B

Global Issues Game Essential Questions

DUE FRIDAY 11/16/07

Hi kids:


As a follow-up to our class activity, I would like you all to answer the following questions based on the facts that were shared today.


1- What do you think are the most surprising
and/or shocking facts?
2- Discuss how the issues raised in the game
are connected to each other.
3- What issue(s) interest you the most and what
would you like to learn more about?

As a reminder here are some of the facts we covered:

The current human population of the world is 6.6 Billion.

The world’s human population in 1960 was 3 Billion.

The first to fourth most populous countries in the world are China, India, United States, and
Indonesia.

The world population is growing by about 80 million per year.

Roughly 40% of the world’s people live on $2 a day or less.

Roughly 20% of the world’s people live on $1 a day or less.

Because of urban sprawl in the United States, an area the size of Delaware is paved over each year.

In 1950, the average life expectancy worldwide was 49.

In 2000, the average life expectancy worldwide was 65.

Ms. B

Podcasts We Found

Post the podcast you have found here under comments. Also, remember to summarize the podcast.