Over the last few weeks, Grade 4 EAL students have been hard at work creating compelling videos about the UN Global Goals. This exercise was included in a component on Persuasive Writing, which was part of the larger Grade 4 IPC unit ‘Earth as an Island’.
The students spent time investigating the different goals, and applying persuasive language to make a presentation arguing in favor of their chosen goal. In 2-minute long videos, they were expected to introduce the subject to the listener, throw light on why they thought it was an urgent cause, and suggest action.
Maxi, 4B student, describes his presentation on the Global Goal of ‘Peace’. “The film has three sections: family, school, and community,” he says. In the video, Maxi explains why peace is essential to work together in and across all these clusters. He supports his argument with examples.
Joy, another student, shares what led her to pick ‘Poverty’ as her Global Goal. “I was traveling to Paris and saw a lot of poverty there; this is why I have chosen the subject. It is important to fight against poverty!” she proffers.
The students’ audiences came in all shapes and forms, from peers and family members to FIS teachers and staff, who actively shared feedback to help them refine their videos and writing.
In the end the EAL group also got a chance to present to Grade 8 students, which was understandably hard but they put up a fantastic show regardless. As Filip in Grade 4 explains, “I was scared before presenting to the older students. But they were all really nice about it.” Filip filmed a video about the Global Goal of ‘ Zero Hunger’ which you can watch here.
“The benefits of this activity is that, in addition to improving their language and writing, the students also gained an opportunity to build their public speaking skills and confidence while thinking about issues that affect the community,” Shannon Aissen, EAL teacher, notes. She further adds that the students could also learn how to acknowledge and respect diverse perspectives.
This year has been anything but easy and we are all proud of the effort and brilliant work the group has put into the Global Goals presentations. If you would like to know more about EAL at the FIS, you can visit our website or get in touch with .
