Below are some suggested activities and ideas on how to use the 20-minute podcast and accompanying online discussion in your classrooms.


Pre-work activity: BUILDING VOCABULARY. (10-20 minutes)
Vocabulary building will improve meaning making and comprehension for students.

Your students may struggle with the meaning of some words or phrases in the podcast. As a pre-activity to reading the transcript or listening to the podcast, your students can define the following list of words. This could be a given as a homework assignment for the night before you use the podcast in your class, or you can assign each student one word to define and present to the class.

Make sure that as your students listen to the podcast, they have their list of definitions close by. And after students are familiar with the podcast content, they can go back and make connections from Arn's message to the words they defined.

  • "The burden of a traumatic personal history"
  • Culture
  • Refugees
  • Immigrant
  • Peacemaker
  • Aspiration
    		•
  • Pacifism/pacifist
  • Killing Fields/Cambodian Killing Fields
  • Crips and Bloods
  • Pol Pot
  • Hitler
  • Buddha
  • Gandhi
  • Mohammed
  • Genocide
  • Holocaust
  • Armenian genocide
  • Rwanda (Rwandan Genocide)
  • Darfur

    • Activity during and after listening to the podcast: KEY PHRASES. (15 minutes following the podcast)
    This activity helps students listen more thoughtfully and carefully, increases comprehension, and creates a foundation for discussion after the podcast.

    Using parts of the transcription, or while listening, have students choose a key phrase (or phrases) that stand out to them. The phrase may help the students...
    • ...gain insight into Arn’s life or his experiences.
    • ...understand why it is so important to have allies as we work to make a difference.
    • ...better understand why genocide continues to happen.
    When they have finished with the podcast, have students take a minute to write down what they think the phrase means and why they might label it a “key phrase.”

    Have students think/pair/share the phrases they wrote down. Ask them to discuss with their partners why they consider the phrases they chose to be “key” and how they interpret the phrases.

    Between the two students, have them choose one of the phrases that they collected that best helps them understand something about Arn or his message. Have each pair post this phrase somewhere in the classroom and then engage in a full-group class discussion about these phrases.

    You may want your students to join the podcast discussion on key words and phrases. They can share their ideas and insights with other students from around the world.


    Activity during and after listening to the podcast: ONE WORD, ONE PHRASE, ONE SENTENCE. (20 minutes following the podcast)
    This is a variation of the previous activity.

    As your students listen to the podcast, have them choose sentences, phrases and words that they feel particularly express an important aspect of Arn’s message. You may choose to give students written transcripts while they listen to search for their sentences, phrases and words.

    When the podcast is over, give students an opportunity to choose one sentence, one phrase and one word from among their lists. In 3 rounds, have students share their sentences (round one), their phrases (round two) and their words (round three). A scribe should record the sentence, phrases and words in a place where students can see. Once all three rounds are finished, begin a discussion with your students about what they heard and read in the podcast, and what it says about Arn and his experience. Ask students if any of the words on the list stand out to them, and discuss those words. Finally, ask students if the process of picking sentences/phrases/words helped them to gain any new insights into the podcast.

    Again, this would be a great opportunity for your students to join the podcast discussion on key words and phrases.


    Activity after listening to the podcast: ONLINE DISCUSSION. (20 minutes following the podcast)
    To paraphrase Arn from this podcast, "It takes a village to make change." We can't do it alone. This discussion provides a way for students to connect with others from around the world in talking about Arn's story and the issues they care about.

    This podcast has an accompanying online discussion, and we encourage you to have your students post responses to one or more of the following discussion prompts:
    • After listening to the podcast, were there any key words or phrases Arn said that have stayed with you? Why do you think the words or phrases you chose are important?
    • Were you surprised by any of Arn's story or words? Are there things he said about building peace or preventing genocide with which you agree or disagree?
    • Which people, experiences and issues in Arn's life do you think most impacted his choice to become a peacemaker, and why?
    You may want your students to spend some time journaling on one or more of these questions before going to the discussion and posting their responses. Also, please encourage your students to respond to other kids who have posted.

    Finally, we would ask that before your students post, you have a discussion with them about civil discourse and what is respectful and appropriate behavior in an online discussion forum. When you go to the discussion page, you will see some basic guidelines that everyone should read.


    Activity after listening to the podcast: CREATE A FOUND POEM. (20-30 minutes)
    This activity can be used with a wide range of text-based sources. Found poems are poems composed from words and phrases which are literally found in a text you are examining. The activity encourages students to closely read a text and allows for creativity in processing their understanding. It is a powerful way for students to bring deeper meaning and consideration to the words they read or hear.
    1. Create a list of words, phrases and quotations. Review the transcript of the podcast, the vocabulary words, and your list of key phrases and words. As you look these over, collect any words, phrases or quotations that are particularly interesting to you. For example, the language you select might represent ideas you agree with or thoughts that puzzle you. Try to identify at least twenty different words or phrases so that you have plenty of ideas from which to choose when writing your poem.

    2. Determine a theme and message. Look over your list. Try to identify a theme and message that represents the language you have selected. A theme is a broad concept such as activism or genocide. A message is a specific idea you would like to express about this theme. Often it is helpful to do this step with a partner. Trade lists. Then describe the themes or main ideas you see in your partner’s list.

    3. Select additional language. Once you select a theme, you may need to review texts to collect additional language suited to this idea.

    4. Compose your poem. Now arrange the language you have selected into a poem. If you write all of the words and phrases on slips of paper, you can reorder them until you find a composition that pleases you.

    5. Share the poem. Your students may be surprised by the variety of different textures, themes and messages that were created using the same primary source. This can lead to a rich full-class discussion.

    Activity after listening to the podcast: DEEPENING LITERACY: TEXT TO SELF; TEXT TO TEXT; TEXT TO WORLD. (20-30 minutes)
    Reading comes alive when we make connections beyond the text itself. This is a skill that can be practiced and learned. In this strategy students will use the podcast transcription to strengthen their literacy skills by making connections between the reading and themselves; making connections between the reading and other texts; and making connections between the reading and the larger world.
    1. Building Background Knowledge. After reading an excerpt from the transcription, or the full transcription, ask students questions that draw out the factual information of the reading.

    2. Understanding Main Idea and Cause and Effect. Ask students about the central purpose, meaning and outcomes involved in the reading.

    3. Text to Self. After reading ask students to write and then discuss questions that relate to themselves. Example prompts include:
      • What I just read reminds me of the time when I...
      • I agree with/understand what I just read because in my own life...
      • I don't agree with what I just read because in my own life...

    4. Text to Text. After reading, ask students to write and discuss about how the text reminds them of another piece of text. For example, "What I just read reminds me of another story/book/poem I read because..."

    5. Text to World. .After reading ask student to write and then discuss how the reading relates to the larger world: Example prompts include:
      • What I just read reminds me of this thing that happened in history because...
      • What I just read reminds me of what's going on in the world now because...

    Extended Activity after listening to the podcast: CREATE YOUR OWN PODCAST. (1 to 2 class sessions)
    This activity allows students to apply research, inquiry and technical skills to issues and concerns they care about. After listening to Arn's inspiring words, it allows students an outlet for deeper thinking on why and how they want to make a difference.

    Podcasts provide a means for individuals and groups to share their knowledge and opinions on issues that are important to them. Anyone with the ability to connect to the Internet can listen to their message.

    Arn's podcast is powerful because he is knowledgeable and passionate about his experiences and ideas. Ask your students what issues in their school, community, and the world make them deeply concerned. Have your students work in small groups of three or four to research an issue of their choice, and prepare a three-to-five minute podcast presentation.

    If student groups select an issue from Be the Change: Upstanders for Human Rights, they can find reputable research links in the "What Can I Do?" section of the website.

    Students should decide who is their intended audience? What is the message they want to convey? What facts do they want to share? And what is the most compelling way to present it?

    Arn's podcast is set up with students asking him questions. You may as a class want to brainstorm other ways podcast content can be presented. Students should present an outline of their podcast and practice it before it is recorded.

    Once the podcasts are completed, students should spend time listening to and critiquing each others work. Students should then decide if they want to share their podcast with the school or a larger online audience.





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