Empowerment and Disempowerment

Author Judy Mac Donald, CBVRSB
Title Empowerment and Disempowerment
Grade Level Grade 7
Subject Area Social Studies
Overview of unit/lessons/activities (assumptions of prior knowledge/learning) To allow students to explore the general concepts of empowerment and disempowerment.
To investigate the various ways that people are empowered or disempowered and to ponder future solutions.
Students will cultivate:
  • Respect and appreciation for Canadian Democracy
  • Curiosity and interest in studying democratic issues
  • Critical capacity for inquiry and reflection
Correlations to ICT and curriculum outcomes Students will be able to
BOC 9.1      operate a wide variety of school media, computer, and other educationally appropriate equipment for learning, communication, and the representation of their learning, independently and safely with teacher supervision
SEHI 9.2     identify and demonstrate the values and techniques of mass media, popular culture, and electronic information environments, and evaluate the effects of these techniques
PTS 9.3     explore the curriculum through a wide range of print and electronic forms; accessing and processing information by means of the specialized techniques associated with the technology they select
CT 9.3     critically evaluate how style, form, source, and medium influence the accessibility, validity and meaning of information with independence
RPSD 9.2     create and use electronic charts, maps, tables, graphs, spread sheets and databases to collect, analyse and display data independently
RPSD 9.4     assess the quality, comprehensiveness, biases, and perspectives of print, media and electronic resources for use in their curricular studies, with teacher guidance

Students will develop:
  • Skills of inquiry and critical thinking
  • Presentation and research skills
  • Collaborative and cooperative learning skills
  • Analysis and understanding of empowerment and disempowerment
Projected timeline for preparation and for carrying out activities Two days to prepare activities, photocopy sheets and organize technology requirements Five classes to carry out activities
Equipment Requirements: (computers, software, etc)
  • 4 computers and printer
  • Microsoft Word or Excel
  • Digital file storage (floppies, flash drives, server storage)
  • Newspapers, magazines, photos, political cartoons
Teaching materials provided (Blacklines, worksheets, templates, teacher materials)
  • Venn Diagrams
  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Online sites
Resources available for teacher/student use (websites, references, etc) Please refer to the Resources document:
resources.rtf                        resources.pdf
Detailed instructions for each activity or lesson (teacher notes, activity information, learning strategies, teacher role, student roles) Please refer to the document entitled Lessons and Strategies
The teacher in this exercise is a facilitator and the student is an expert person in a group lessons_strategies.rtf                       lessons_strategies.pdf
Student products expected
  1. Completion of the Venn Diagram (see Lessons and Strategies)
  2. Completion a the four Charts (see Lessons and Strategies)
  3. A brief presentation to the class (written copy).
Samples (include teacher notes, assessment information, student work if available) Please refer to the rubric provided. rubric.rtf                       rubric.pdf
Logistics (organization, grouping, management issues, access to technology)
  1. Students are combined into groups of two or three
  2. Each person in the group will assume an expert role for one of the three stations.
  3. Groups will work in stations with approximately 20 minutes at each station:
  • printed text stations- newspapers, magazines etc.
  • computer stations/online sites: historica minutes, online images, online periodicals
  • photo stations- pictures, National Geographic magazines, political cartoons
Assessment information (e.g., rubrics for products and/or process) Students are required to complete printed copies of the Venn Diagram and Charts. Students are required to prepare a group presentation for the class based on the written report using visuals (Venn diagrams and charts) Assessment will be developed through the rubric provided. A class bulletin board summarizing student findings will also be developed.
Possible extensions Students can use a similar approach in each of the particular units in the empowerment section: Economic, Political, Cultural, Social, National.
Adaptations for students requiring additional support The words "positive" and "negative" can be substituted for "empowerment" and "disempowerment" when students cannot comprehend the meaning of terms. Students with limited computer skills can construct a poster to illustrate the outcomes.