Third Grade Celebrates Changemakers
January 25, 2024
Third graders are wrapping up a unit on Changemakers. A Changemaker is one who desires change in the world and gathers knowledge and resources to make that change happen. Over several weeks of study the students learned that everyone has the potential to make a positive difference. Changemakers demonstrate empathy and courage. They believe in a better world and see themselves as having the power to improve it - and that conviction is a great trait to nurture in students.
The essential questions for the unit were:
- Why do people create change?
- How can I make a change in the world around me?
- How can understanding the past help shape the future?
The students engaged with numerous resources and identified, researched and wrote about a Changemaker they found inspirational. Some stand up for environmental issues, animal rights, women’s rights, civil rights, and human rights.
To share their learning, the third graders presented to Lower School students at Town Meeting about what Changemakers are and how to be one. Some third graders visited other classrooms to share more information.
On January 19, third grade hosted a March for Change around the Shorecrest campus. Lower School students were encouraged to make signs sharing their passions of the change they wish to see in the world and proudly carry them. Along the walk students chanted, “Be you, and be the change!” They paused in front of Upper School’s Landy Hall, the Middle School quad and the Shorecrest centennial sculpture as central points to share poems, songs and short essays of the Changemakers they selected to study. Students from other divisions felt inspired to listen in as well. It was an opportunity for Chargers to express themselves, while showing support and respect for each other’s passions and beliefs. As a direct connection to our Core Values, the Chargers learned how to responsibly display knowledge, integrity and compassion while respecting each other’s differences.
