COURSE TITLE:
RISING UP IN PROTEST: Inspiring Students Through Social Justice Issues
NO. OF CREDITS:
3 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 2.00 credits]
WA CLOCK HRS:
OREGON PDUs:
INSTRUCTOR:
ANNEMARIE RUSSELL, M.A.
425/760-7325
mail@annemarierussell.com
30
30
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
How do we as teachers help create empathy in our students so they learn to identify with
marginalized people and protest injustice done to others and themselves? In Reading, Writing, and Rising
Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word, educator and reformer Linda
Christensen argues that “reading and writing are ultimately political acts” and that “people who lack
reading and writing skills have difficulty expressing who they are . . . their words are strangled and they
learn to be silent.” In this guided independent study course, participants will consider effective ways to
expose students to examples of injustice, to help them build empathy and concern about others, and
create classroom-ready writing assignments that allow students to develop and utilize a protest “voice”.
By implementing some of the strategies in the course in their own classroom, participants will:
• Begin to develop empathetic, socially conscious students, and empower them to identify with
marginalized people in their local and global communities.
• Explore issues and organizations on a local and global level that students can partner with.
• Help students use writing as a tool to protest oppression and injustice done to themselves and
others.
This course is suggested specifically for 6-12 language arts and social studies teachers, although any
6-12 teacher is welcome.
Students should purchase the course text, Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social
Justice and the Power of the Written Word by Linda Christensen. They are also encouraged to sign up for
a one-month subscription to Netflix in order to complete Assignment #7 (see syllabus for more details).
There are no additional fees to be paid to the instructor after registration.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
1. Decide for themselves if reading and writing are truly “political acts.”
2. Have strategies to develop empathetic, socially conscious students who respond to the injustices
they see around them.
3. Feel confident accessing local and online resources to connect students with key issues relating
to social justice.
4. Use writing as a tool in the classroom to encourage students to “rise up” in protest of injustice,
both in their communities and in the world.
5. Create lessons that can be used in their own classrooms.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute
does not award partial credit.
HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns
participantʼs their choice of 30 Washington State Clock Hours or 30 Oregon PDUs. The Heritage Institute
is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours and Oregon PDUs.
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UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires
75% or better for credit at the 400 level (Upper Division) and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level
(Post-Baccalaureate). These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.
1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments
30%
2. Completion of Learning Application assignments
40%
3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment
30%
CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education (CE) Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No
Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to
a “C” or better, 500 level credit is equal to a “B” or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.
AUS CE quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering determine
with your district personnel, department head or state education office the acceptability of these credits for
your purpose.
ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION
NOTES:
• You may work collaboratively with other teachers and submit joint assignments on all but the final
Integration Paper, which must be individually authored and submitted.
• Alternatives to written assignments (video or audio tape, photo collage, a collection of products,
letters to editor, brochure and Web pages) may be submitted as substitute assignments with the
instructorʼs prior approval.
• To maintain privacy, please do not refer to students in your papers by their actual names, but
rather use an alias or designation such as “Student A.”
REQUIRED TEXTS:
• Christensen, Linda. 2000. Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and
the Power of the Written Word. Rethinking Schools: Milwaukee, WI. ISBN: 0942961250. Used
from $8.50 at Amazon.com.
• Three films of your choice, selected from a list in the syllabus.
• Or three of your own choosing, with the instructorʼs prior approval.
MATERIAL FEE
• There are no additional materials fees.
HEADING REQUIRED FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS
A heading is required; please use the following format.
Your Name:
Course Number:
Date:
Assignment #:
Rising Up In Protest
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Instructor Name:
Course Name:
Level: Clock/ PDU/Credit (400 or 500)
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ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR HOURS OR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
A.
INFORMATION ACQUISITION
To gain a background in the subject matter, please complete the first seven assignments. Send each one,
as you complete it, to Annemarie Russell, course instructor (mail@annemarierussell.com).
Assignment #1: Reflect on Yourself
In 1-2 pages, introduce yourself and consider what groundwork you've already laid in an attempt to
connect your students with social justice issues. Start by introducing YOU―why you are taking this
course, why you are a teacher, and how you feel you might be able to integrate this course into your
classroom, now or in the future. Then reflect on the degree to which you have already engaged your
students in local or global social issues. What have or haven't you done? What has gone well? What else
could you do? What would you like to take away from this course?
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #1ʼ.
Assignment #2: Responding to the Text
Read the Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2 of Reading, Writing and Rising Up: Teaching About Social
Justice and the Power of the Written Word by Linda Christensen. After reading, please respond to the
following questions in 2-3 pages.
• Do you agree with Christensen that “reading and writing are ultimately political acts” (vi)? Use
your classroom experience as evidence and thoroughly explain your answer.
• How do you currently use writing in your classroom? Do your students like to write?
• Describe your students― do they empathize with issues of social justice? What values do they
hold? What matters to them?
• What issues or conflicts exist in your school that your students might possibly care deeply about?
• Choose two of the specific activities or lessons that Christensen describes in these sections and
predict how your students would react to them. What challenges might you face teaching a new
curriculum like this?
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #2ʼ.
Assignment #3: Connecting with Local Issues and Organizations
Begin to explore organizations in your immediate community that might be willing to form a partnership
with your students. Consider that most students learn to develop empathy from actual person-to-person
contact with an issue. What organizations close to your school might be compelling locations for your
students? Make some phone calls and find out ways that students could be involved. Check online or in
the newspaper to find events your students could possibly attend. Then compile a lengthy list of “Issues
and Organizations” that would be easily accessible to your students. Make sure to consider economic,
racial, environmental, and educational issues in your search.
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #3ʼ.
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Assignment #4: Connecting with Global Issues and Organizations
Once you've considered organizations in your local community, shift your focus to issues that are more
global. Start by exploring the Wiser Earth website (www.wiser.org). Take notes as you complete the
following tasks:
• Hover over the Explore tab and click on Issue Areas. Scroll through these and choose five that
might be compelling to your students and relate to the subject matter you teach.
• Acquaint yourself with some of the Featured Organizations in each of your selected Issue Areas,
and consider the way your students might interact with one of these organizations.
• Also check out a couple of the Related Portals to see what other related issues are also available
for exploration on Wiser Earth.
When you finish, write a 2-3 page reflection of your exploring, including the issues and organizations you
explored and a few ideas for integrating these issues/organizations into your classroom activities.
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #4ʼ.
Assignment #5: Reflect on Student Empathy in Your Classroom and School
In a 1-2 page paper, reflect on the ways your students do or don't show empathy toward those around
them—either fellow students or people in the world at large. Try and include at least one specific example
from a current or past student that illustrates your point. Also speak to your school culture—Do you
believe that your school as a whole provides opportunities for your students to develop empathy towards
others? What kinds of opportunities are provided? Finally, discuss ways you believe that teachers and
schools can help students develop awareness of social justice issues and a sense of empathy toward
marginalized people.
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #5ʼ.
Assignment #6: Developing Student Empathy Through Film
One way to powerfully connect our students with local and global issues is through film. From the list of
films in the bibliography, select three that you will watch (a one-month Netflix subscription is
recommended for this assignment!). As you make your selections, think particularly about films that might
help develop empathy in your students. For each film you watch, answer the following questions:
• Give a general summary of this film, highlighting the key “issues” being presented.
• Consider how this film could be used in your classroom to develop student empathy. Evaluate
how well your students might identify with the issues being presented.
• Discuss how this film could tie in to curriculum you already teach, or consider what type of new
curriculum you might create during which this film could be utilized.
Finally, decide which film would be the best fit for your classroom and students, and please explain why
you feel that this is so in 2-3 pages.
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #6ʼ.
This completes the assignments required for Hours.
Continue to the next section for additional assignments required for University Quarter Credit.
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ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED for 400 or 500 LEVEL UNIVERSITY QUARTER
B.
LEARNING APPLICATION
In this section you will apply your learning to your professional situation. This course assumes that most
participants are classroom teachers who have access to students. If you are not teaching in a classroom,
please contact the instructor for course modifications. If you are a classroom teacher and start or need to
complete this course during the summer, please try to apply your ideas when possible with youth from
your neighborhood, at a local public library or parks department facility. (They will often be glad to
sponsor community-based learning.) Or with students in another teacherʼs summer classroom in session.
Assignment #7:
(Required for 400 and 500 Level): Voice Poem
Re-read Chapters 3 and 5 of Reading, Writing, and Rising Up. Then select a “character” from a book or
historical event that you teach. This can either be an actual character in a story (like Hamlet in the
Shakespeare play, for example) or a character you create who might have lived through a particular
period of history (like a young girl growing up in Seattle who is sent to the internment camps, for
example).
• Write a Voice Poem from the point of view of your selected character, trying to enter into the
concerns of that character in his/her particular situation.
• After you write your Voice Poem, create a follow up activity to the poem―For example, a
series of discussion questions about the writing of the poem itself, an artistic activity that might
accompany it, or another way to extend the assignment as you teach.
• When youʼre finished, please email this assignment to Annemarie Russell
(mail@annemarierussell.com).
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #7ʼ.
Assignment #8
(Required for 400 and 500 Level) : Lesson Plan
Create a set of 2-3 lessons that integrates writing and social justice issues into your curriculum. Use some
of the resources you've discovered from Assignments 1-7 as your material. These should be lessons that
could actually be taught in your classroom. (I hope you consider actually using some of them!). The
specific focus and content of the lessons is up to you.
• When youʼre finished, please email this assignment to Annemarie Russell
(mail@annemarierussell.com).
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #8ʼ.
500 LEVEL ASSIGNMENT
Assignment #9:
(500 Level only)
In addition to the 400 level assignments, complete one of the following:
• Make an actual visit to one of the local organizations on your list from Assignment #6. Spend a few
hours volunteering or assisting the organization. As you spend time there, imagine how it would be
to bring an entire class of students with you. Write a 1-2 page report on the highlights of your visit,
and also reflect on how you might structure a class visit and subsequent journal write differently
after actually visiting the site.
OR
• Join WiserEarth.com and spend some time exploring all the site has to offer. Then, create a short
lesson plan in which you use WiserEarth.com as a tool to connect your students with global
organizations. Your lesson plan should combine resources available on the site with a few short
assignments requiring students to write about what they've experienced.
OR
• Another assignment of your own design, with the instructorʼs prior approval.
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #9ʼ.
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C.
INTEGRATION PAPER
(Required for 400 and 500 Level)
Assignment #10
Write a 2-3 page Integration Paper answering these five (5) questions:
1. What did you learn vs. what you expected to learn from this course?
2. What aspects of the course were most helpful and why?
3. What further knowledge and skills in this general area do you feel you need?
4. How, when and where will you use what you have learned?
5. How and with what other school or community members might you share what you learned?
Send to instructor: mail@annemarierussell.com. Subject line to read ʻRising Up in Protest #1ʼ.
INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS ON YOUR WORK:
Please indicate by email to the instructor, if you would like to receive comments on your assignments.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:
ANNEMARIE RUSSELL, M.A., is a dynamic teacher, musician and life-long learner who believes in the
importance of cultivating and listening to studentsʼ voices. In 2004, she worked with Seattleʼs Experience
Music Project in an effort to help teachers use songwriting in the secondary classroom. In 2005, she
wrote and presented “Finding Your Writerʼs Voice” to college students at the University of Oregon and
Northwest Christian College, a short segment that integrated music, stories, and personal anecdotes in
an effort to encourage students to use their own voices for the good of all people. Annemarie also taught
college-level writing at the University of Oregon for two years and worked as a mentor to new writing
instructors.
Annemarie currently teaches literature, English composition, creative writing, and media writing at Trinity
Lutheran College in Everett, Wash. She also serves as Director of Communications for the college.
In addition to teaching, Annemarie is also a published performing artist and songwriter. Her three
independent releases, The Finest Hour, Traveling with You, and 100 Reasons receive radio play in the
Pacific Northwest and on the east coast, and she has toured both the east and west coasts, sharing her
songs and telling stories. Many of her songs focus on giving voice to marginalized people, and her desire
for social justice permeates her music. This love for writing and music makes its way into her classroom,
where she frequently asks students to write songs, stories and poems about their own life experiences.
Annemarie has an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in
English/Language Arts and Education from Whitworth University. She has taught high school language
arts in Washington and Oregon for ten years.
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RISING UP IN PROTEST
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Christensen, Linda. 2000. Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the
Power of the Written Word. Milwaukie, WI. Rethinking Schools, Ltd.
In this Rethinking Schools publication, Christensen offers essays,lesson plans, and a remarkable
collection of student writing, all rooted in an unwavering focus on language arts teaching for justice.
Espada, M., ed. 2000. Poetry Like Bread: Poets of the Political Imagination. Willimantic, CTR:
Curbstone Press.
Espada, himself a teacher and poet, has gathered the works of 33 poets from the Americas and other
continents. These poems employ a broad definition of “political,” containing themes which include war,
poverty, racism, starvation and sex discrimination with love poems, portrayals of alcoholism and cries of
loneliness. Strength and integrity unify these writers as they speak passionately on issues common to all
countries.
Hoose, P. 2001. Itʼs Our World, Too! Stories of Young People Who Are Making a Difference. New
York: Ferrar, Straus & Giroux.
Containing more than a dozen accounts of children who have worked for everything from racial equality to
world peace, this book demonstrates how youth have fought for what's right, then offers ideas about how
to get involved.
Levine, E., ed. 1993. Freedomʼs Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories. New
York: Avon Books.
Filled with inspiring accounts of faith and courage, this book rescues and preserves the stories of children
and teenagers who contributed to the civil rights movement.
Singer, Jessica. 2006. Stirring Up Justice: Writing & Reading to Change the World. Portsmouth,
NH. Heinemann.
Stirring Up Justice takes you through the language arts workshops of Jessica Singer, a Rethinking
Schools activist and educator, to reveal the many possibilities for improving critical awareness and to
prove what a potent and lasting effect social activism can have on students. Beginning with teaching
adolescents specific tools and strategies for understanding their world, Singer shows you how to combine
critical skills with content-area knowledge in project-based invitations that encourage educated, engaged
citizenship. With a teacher's touch and an activist's imagination, Singer shares how she transformed her
classroom into a force for positive social change by focusing her curriculum and her teaching on the core
theme of social activism.
Wiser Earth, http://www.wiser.org
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RISING UP IN PROTEST
LIST OF FILMS
Please select three films from this list to complete Assignment #7, or contact me for approval of other
proposals.
The 11th Hour
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary on the global environmental crisis paints a portrait of a planet at
risk while offering exciting and radical solutions for making life on earth sustainable. Tapping the brains of
leading scientists and thinkers -- including Stephen Hawking and Mikhail Gorbachev -- the film ultimately
delivers a hopeful message: Our planet may be in crisis, but that doesn't mean it's too for change.
Africans In America
This documentary series recounts the history of slavery in America. The four episodes -- The Terrible
Transformation, Revolution, Brotherly Love and Judgment Day -- span the years from 1450 to the end of
the Civil War. The series explores the paradox at the heart of the American story: that a democracy
declared all men equal but enslaved one group to provide prosperity to another.
An Inconvenient Truth
Director-producer Davis Guggenheim (HBO's "Deadwood") captures former Vice President Al Gore in the
midst of waging a passionate campaign -- not for the White House, but for the environment. Laying out
the facts of global warming without getting political, Gore makes a sobering impression in this Oscarwinning documentary on the audiences who hear his message, urging them to act "boldly, quickly and
wisely” . . . before it's too late to act at all.
Bag it
An average guy makes a resolution to stop using plastic bags at the grocery store. Little does he know
that this simple decision will change his life completely. He comes to the conclusion that our consumptive
use of plastic has finally caught up to us, and looks at what we can do about it.
Blood Diamond
Set during Sierra Leone's bloody civil war in 1999, this thriller stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer,
a smuggler who sells "blood" diamonds used to finance terrorists. When Archer meets a local fisherman
(Djimon Hounsou) whose son has been forced into a child army, the two men's lives become intertwined,
and they set off on an adventure that leads them through the world's major diamond centers. DiCaprio
and Hounsou earned Oscar nods for their performances.
Bowling for Columbine
Famed filmmaker and left-wing political humorist Michael Moore tackles America's obsession with
firearms in this Oscar-winning documentary. Focusing mainly on the Columbine massacre in April 1999,
Moore also visits a Michigan bank that gives new customers a free gun, recites statistics for gun deaths in
the United States and interviews folks ranging from National Rifle Association spokesman Charlton
Heston to shock rocker Marilyn Manson.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
A dark chapter of U.S. history comes to light in this epic saga of the U.S. government's extermination of
the American Indians. Beginning after the Sioux victory at Little Big Horn, the film traces the stories of
three men: a Sioux doctor (Adam Beach), a lobbying senator (Aidan Quinn) and the Lakota hero Sitting
Bull (August Schellenberg). The acclaimed cast also features Anna Paquin, Wes Studi and Fred Dalton
Thompson as Ulysses S. Grant.
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Chasing Freedom
A lawyer reluctantly takes on the pro bono asylum case of a woman who has fled the brutal Taliban
regime in Afghanistan and arrived in the United States seeking freedom.
Chasing Ice
This is the story of James Balogʼs mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence
of climate change. Using time-lapse cameras, his videos compress years into seconds and capture
ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate.
Four Little Girls
Director Spike Lee uses this feature-length documentary to tell the story of the 1963 bombing of an
Alabama African-American church -- an event that took the lives of four young girls and became a pivotal
moment in the civil rights struggle. Lee's film examines the crime and its perpetrators as well as the four
young victims (as described by friends and families). It also includes interviews with noted civil rights
activists and journalists.
Hotel Rwanda
Amid the holocaust of internecine tribal fighting in Rwanda that sees the savage butchering of hundreds of
thousands of men, women and children, one ordinary man (Oscar nominee Don Cheadle) musters the
courage to save more than 1,000 helpless refugees by sheltering them in the hotel he manages. Sophie
Okonedo, Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix co-star in this powerful film (sort of an African version of
Schindler's List) directed by Terry George.
Oil on Ice
Actor Peter Coyote narrates this in-depth documentary that examines the raging controversy over drilling
for black gold in a 1.5-million-acre area of the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The film follows the
efforts of environmentalists and Alaskan natives to protect the site from oil exploration and development,
dramatizing the choice between fossil fuel technologies and those that take advantage of renewable
energy resources.
Paper Clips
Whitwell Middle School in rural Tennessee is the setting for this documentary about an extraordinary
experiment in Holocaust education. Struggling to grasp the concept of 6 million Holocaust victims, the
students decide to collect 6 million paper clips to better understand the enormity of the calamity. The film
details how the students met Holocaust survivors from around the world and how the experience
transformed them and their community.
Scottsboro: An American Tragedy
When two white women accused nine black teenagers of raping them on an Alabama bus in 1931, their
claims set off a chain reaction that eventually reached the Supreme Court -- and launched the modernday Civil Rights movement. Shot over five years on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, this fascinating
installment of the "American Experience" series dissects the particulars of the case through the words of
those who lived it.
War Dance
Set in civil war-ravaged Northern Uganda, this Best Documentary nominee for the 2008 Oscars follows
the lives of three youngsters who attend school in a refugee camp and find hope through a rich tradition of
song and dance. Coming from a world in which children are abducted from their families and forced to
fight in the rebel army, these kids give it their all when they travel to the capital city to take part in the
prestigious Kampala Music Festival.
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When the Levees Broke
Spike Lee commemorates the people of New Orleans with a four-hour epic documentary that doesn't just
recount the events of late August 2005 but asks why they unfolded the way they did in the first place.
Weaving interviews with news footage and amateur video, Lee uses the film to give meaningful voice to
the people who were left behind. With a detached unsentimental eye, he delivers a poignant account of a
major moment in recent U.S. history.
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Amid ever-increasing gas prices, this documentary delves into the short life of the GM EV1 electric car -once all the rage in the mid-1990s and now fallen by the roadside. How could such an efficient, greenfriendly vehicle fail to transform our garages and skies? Through interviews with government officials,
former GM employees and concerned celebs (such as EV1 driver Mel Gibson), Chris Paine (former EV1
owner) seeks to answer the question.
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