She opened this presentation by explaining that each year CTAUN presents a Best Practices Award to a person or persons who have attended the previous year’s conference and developed an instructional practice or program inspired by some aspect.
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| Best Practices Exhibit |
The curriculum opens the school year with a unit on “How to Be Self-Directed Learners.” Among other units are an Islam unit that explores how Islam was a force for globalization in the Middle Ages, a unit on Renaissance and exploration and how that changed the world, and a unit on Africa with a focus on the geographic, cultural and historical reasons contributing to the present poverty crisis in many parts of Africa. During the final months of the eighth grade social studies course, students draw from their understanding of the historical context of globalization to view and analyze its impact on the world today. The year ends with a Model United Nations simulation on global poverty, in which students take on the roles of delegates from developing nations in Africa to introduce and pass resolutions that attempt to address the many facets of global poverty.
The eighth grade classes of 2006 and 2007 have collectively raised over $20,000 for both Heifer International and Ryan’s Well Foundation. Both of these organizations provide direct assistance to impoverished people around the world. This Model UN focus and the service project provide opportunities for students to transfer learning into action.