DAYSTAR SANLITUN
DEVELOPING
RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS
By James Thomason, Grade 3 English Homeroom Teacher
T
his year as we settled into the routines of a
new school year with Grade 3, our students
were asked to consider their responsibilities to
create a safe, healthy and successful learning
environment. During our first Unit of Inquiry, students
were encouraged to dig deeper, making a connection
between our responsibilities within our classroom and
school to our responsibilities to the community and
world at large.
The theme of our first Unit of Inquiry was, “Citizenship is
a basic human right that all people have a responsibility
to protect”.
Throughout the unit students were asked to imagine
a world where rights such as, the right to education
Daystar Academy Fall/Winter Edition 2018
or the right to healthcare did not exist. We learnt to
value our education after investigating case studies and
stories from around the world. The stories of Malala
Yousafzai and Ruby Bridges showed us how lucky we
were to attend school in such a caring environment,
and taught us to be grateful for all we have in our lives.
As an educator, there were two activities which struck
me as being the most powerful in helping us reach
our goals. The first was during our investigation of the
effects of discrimination and prejudice on individuals
and their communities. Upon entering the classroom
students were grouped according to their uniforms.
One group, ‘the blue shirts’ were allowed to draw in
the library, the other group were asked to complete
mathematics worksheets. This activity quickly turned