Broken Squares

Can you put the pieces together?

p. 2 February 3, 2010Ubuntu Reflection

Objective: Students will build a supportive classroom community by participating in a challenge.

Do Now: What does this classroom need to be like in order for you to succeed in Civics?

(5 minutes)

p. 3 Your Class Community

+ (3 Things That are Going Well)

Δ (3 Things That Need to Change)

Desk Olympics!

Practice: Sliding into and out of partners.

Practice: Turning into and out of groups. (3 minutes)

Active Reading: Ubuntu

Listen to me read the handout on Ubuntu. As I read, follow along and annotate the text.

Underline important ideas, star things you like, put question marks beside things you don’t understand.

By the end of the reading, you should be able to answer the question: What is Ubuntu?

(10 minutes)

Doc Rivers on Ubuntu

(3 minutes)

MLK Said It, Too…

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Partnerwork

With your partner, fill out the web with words and sentences that describe what an “Ubuntu” Civics classroom would look like, sound like, and feel like. (5 minutes)

Share Out (5 minutes)

Try to make a square

Remember, a square has all equal sides and all right angles.

You must use all your pieces.No overlaps allowed. (2 minutes)

Work with your partner

Same rules as before. You must only GIVE pieces to your

partner… you cannot take them, or ask for them!

You must each complete your own square. Oh yeah—you can’t TALK while you’re

doing this. It has to be silent. (2 minutes)

Work with your group

Same rules as before. No talking! You must only GIVE pieces to your

partner… you cannot take them! You must each complete your own square. In order to be done, all four squares must

be complete. (5 minutes6 points to all groups who

finish!

p. 3 Broken Squares Reflection

1. What do you think this exercise was all about?

2. What things did you do in your group that made this activity easier or harder?

3. What kinds of feelings did you experience during this activity?

4. What could you do to improve future groupwork?

(5 minutes to write/5 minutes to share)

Lessons From Today, For the Rest of the Year

1. Pay attention to what your group members need.

2. No one is done until everyone is done.

3. If we all fail, it’s because we have failed each other. If we all succeed, it’s because we have all supported each other.

The Ubuntu Board

Create an artifact to add the the Ubuntu board. Your artifact should include:– A word, a sentence, a picture, or a

symbol that demonstrates what Ubuntu means to you.

– Color!– Neatness!– (15 minutes)

Show What You Know

What are three things YOU can do to help make our classroom community a supportive space for everyone?

(5 minutes)

p. 2 Homework

What can YOU, your classmates, and ME do to make our classroom an Ubuntu community? How will Ubuntu help us all reach our goals? (15 sentences)

Create an artifact that defines Ubuntu: A word, a sentence, a picture, or a symbol that demonstrates what Ubuntu means to you.Color! Neatness!