The Samantha Smith Challenge: TEACHERS GUIDE
IMPORTANT DATES
February 15, 2015: Last date to register as a class, group, or individual at the AWTT website.
April 15, 2015: Date by which all requirements must be submitted to AWTT and MAMLE through the AWTT Website.
May 15, 2014: All participants work will be highlighted on the AWTT website.
June 1, 2015: Reception for all participants at the Maine State House in Augusta, Maine.
WHY THE SAMANTHA SMITH CHALLENGE?
Americans Who Tell the Truth (AWTT) included Samantha Smith’s portrait in the series to honor the initiative she took to engage in a world crisis - - the Cold War and the nuclear arms race -- and do something to make the situation better by advocating for open communication and peace. This year the Maine Association of Middle L and Americans Who Tell the Truth evel Education (AWTT) are (MAMLE) joining as partners to continue to honor Samantha with the Samantha Smith Challenge.
Here, in brief, is Samantha’s story:
In December 1982, Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, asked her mother if there was going to be a war.
She said, “I asked my mother who would start a war and why. She showed me a news magazine with a story about America and Russia, one that had a picture of the new Russian leader, Yuri Andropov, on the cover. We read it together. It seemed that the people in both Russia and America were worried that the other country would start a nuclear war. It all seemed so dumb to me. I had learned about the awful things that had happened during World War II, so I thought that nobody would ever want to have another war. I told Mom that she should write to Mr. Andropov to find out who was causing all the trouble. She said, ‘Why don't you write to him?’ So I did."
From that one question, a peace-making venture unfolded that brought Russian and American students together to build understanding and appreciation of one another and to focus on building connections instead of armies. Sadly, in August 1985, both Samantha and her father were killed in a plane crash.
The purpose of the Samantha Smith Challenge is to build a bridge between the classroom and the community and to show students that no matter what age, they can be part of solving the challenges and problems they see in the world.
Samantha’s journey began with her concern about nuclear war. A year later she was an eleven year old teaching adults and children about making peace. Her progress from concern to courageous engagement was a series of small steps and decisions—the kind of thing any of us can do!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
The Samantha Smith Challenge encourages every Maine middle level student and classroom to start making a difference in the world today, just as Samantha Smith did 30 years ago when she wrote a letter to Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov asking him, “Please tell me how you are going to help to not have war.”
Take the challenge! Follow these steps…
1. Share the Samantha Smith story. Have your students learn why she was chosen as an Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait subject.
2. Choose an issue. Individual students, a group or an entire class should pick a meaningful issue – a problem in their community, state, country or the world that matters to them and that they are motivated to help solve. (Scroll down for more Examples of Projects)
Possible approaches to choosing an issue: ● Have your class brainstorm together. ● Present an issue that you know is of concern in the community. ● Go to the AWTT website for ideas. Check out the Themes section on the Portrait Galleries page or review issues that are of concern to specific portrait subjects.
3. Determine the “Samantha” question? State the selected issue as a question, e.g., ● Why are there homeless people in my community? ● Why are there school shootings?
● What is fracking and what does it do to the earth? ● How can our school/town reduce its carbon footprint?
4. Do research and find the facts about the issue.
Go to the Portrait Galleries on the AWTT website and explore by themes. See if the student chosen issue is represented there. If so, read about the portrait subjects who have addressed that issue. Use them as starting points. Also use the resources that are listed with the portraits. Contact AWTT if there is a living portrait subject with whom your students may want to connect. Many of them are happy to speak with students! ([email protected])
5. Determine stakeholder(s) who is involved in either maintaining or changing the situation/issue. The stakeholder(s) may be a local representative, the governor, a CEO, banker, father, mother, coach, teacher, community leader, reporter, farmer, engineer, or anyone else who might be able to work with the students on their concern. Let the students decide the most appropriate people to contact.
6. Students create a presentation that tells what they know, think, and feel about the selected issue. The presentation may be in the form of paintings, original musical compositions, essays, theater skits or any other form of expression that best communicates their concern.
7. Contact the selected stakeholder(s) and share these presentations. Invite the stakeholder(s) to work with you and your students to address this issue. Need help finding stakeholders? Contact AWTT. We will put you in touch with portrait subjects and other community leaders when we can.
8. Together with the stakeholder(s) develop a plan of action for the students and stakeholder(s) to follow. Write an action plan and assign duties. Also, what can other people do to help? Write up a set of suggestions for others who might want to get involved.
8. Take action! Implement your action plan and share your outcome with appropriate audiences in your community: fellow students, teachers, family, local leaders.
9. For each issue engaged make a 3-5 minute video describing Steps 1- 8. Share your video with Americans Who Tell the Truth by submitting it at the Samantha Smith Challenge Page. Teachers! Please prepare a written list of standards addressed by this work and the assessment rubric or scale. (See below in Benchmark Requirements and Assistance.)
10. Everyone who submits a video and a project will be invited!
On June 1, 2015, all participating students and their teachers will be invited to the State House in Augusta to celebrate Samantha Smith Day. Students and classes who participate in the Challenge will display their projects (science fair style) in the Hall of Flags. Please encourage community partners to come to this celebration showcase as well.
Participating schools will receive a framed poster of the AWTT portrait of Samantha Smith signed by the artist to display in their school.
Benchmark Requirements and Assistance:
1. When your class or student groups have selected an issue, created a question, and identified some stakeholders, please complete the form at this link.
2. When you have created the 3-5 minute Samantha Smith Challenge Video, submit it here (the submission space for videos will be available by March 1, 2015).
3. Please send the list of standards on which you focused and your assessment rubric for this project to AWTT’s Director of Education Programming: Connie Carter ([email protected]).
4. Please have permission for your students to be videotaped at the Hall of Flags event on June 1, 2015. They should prepare a three minute presentation about their project. Presentations will be videotaped at the Hall of Flags.
5. For more information, assistance connecting to stakeholders or AWTT portrait subjects, or any other questions about the SSC, please contact us:
Connie Carter [email protected] Robert Shetterly [email protected] Erica Gabianelli [email protected] Lindsay Mahoney [email protected] Gert Nesin [email protected] Bill Zima [email protected]
EXAMPLES OF REAL PROJECTS USING AWTT:
Champion the Cure: Students learned their teacher was diagnosed with cancer, and wanted to help. They learned about cancer and the costs of healthcare, and partnered with the local cancer treatment facility. Through a dinner, silent auction, and donations, the students raised over $8000. Half went to their teacher and half was donated to the cancer facility to support patients and research.
To Help a Village: Through studying a variety of wars, students became interested in what they could do to help people who were victims of a civil war. Partnering with a local peace group, they organized and ran a dance-a-thon to send money to a particular village to help them own their own land.
River Restoration: One team wondered about the effects of dams--building and removing--on the environment and the local Native American culture. They interviewed one of the Native American leaders to learn the history and effects of dams in the local river. Students then wrote editorials and contacted the local government to support dam removal.
Some Resources We Find Helpful:
● Website: www.americanswhotellthetruth.org ● Book: The Kid's Guide to Social Action: How to Solve the Social Problems You Choose-And Turn Creative Thinking into Positive Action by Barbara Lewis Free Spirit Publishing ● Inspiring Student Media: Santa Barbara Middle School Teen Press ● Ideas for how you can help make peace: http://www.1billionacts.org/ ● Climate Change Resources: http://citizensclimatelobby.org/, http://350.org/ ● Samantha Smith Foundation: A great place to start for background information about Samantha and an understanding of her impact http://samanthasmith.info/
● Samantha speaks: An interview with Samantha on ABC’s Nightline. https:// www.youtube.com/user/SamanthaSmithINFO ● A musical tribute to Samantha by Nick Parker (a Hampden 8th grader in spring 2014): An example of using music to present an issue to stakeholders or to create awareness of a chosen issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=v6Bp_t2fPlA ● Nick Parker’s speech at MAMLE: a compelling testimony to why student voices addressing real issues is important. http://youtu.be/12EyaglraV8 ● Friendship Tours World Travel: Dream big! A look at an extensive (and fairly expensive) project, but a project that could also be scaled down to a local level. http://friendshiptoursworld.com/student-videos/folding-cranes-for-peace-in-laos ● Zinn Education Project: This resource promotes and supports the useof Howard Zinn’s best-selling book A People’s History of the United States and other materials for teaching a people’s history in middle and high school classrooms across the country. The website offers more than 100 free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level. This is an excellent resource for exploring the factual roots of current issues. https://zinnedproject.org/ ● Changing the World, One Word at a Time! Watch this performance on the Queen Latifah Show as an example of how inspired students can express their concerns. There are so many inspiring projects for almost any issue! Search for them online or by starting with an AWTT portrait subject who addresses your concerns.