Step in the Bright Direction

My 9th grade creative writing students and I began a unit on social justice in February by watching Manos de Madre, a documentary about  single mothers who sift through trash at the Guatemala City dump collecting recyclable materials to sell. The students worked in small groups to develop campaigns on serious issues facing Guatemala, including malnutrition, domestic violence, poverty, hunger, pollution and deforestation. The groups presented to their classmates and voted to select the strongest campaign in each section. The five best campaigns then presented their ideas in our school auditorium on April 14 to a panel of judges and an audience of principals, teachers and students. Two campaigns tied for the win and here are their inspirational videos: