In addition to the relevant elements of the Core Curriculum noted by each workshop, all workshops provide content that aligns with various elements of the curriculum for English programme subjects, and several with the curriculum for history.
Starbucks: what does it mean to be a young worker (and unionize) in America?
What is it like to be a young person and work in the US? Students will watch short viral TikTok videos from unionizing Starbucks workers with complaints about a new dress code, under-staffing, and a misleading Super Bowl promotion, to understand how young workers raise concerns about being underpaid and asked to run shops with too few “partners” on duty. This workshop demonstrates how hard it is to organize workers store by store in America, as Starbucks has over 75,000 shops in America but only 500 shops in the union, and no contract.
Core Curriculum 2.5.2 Democracy and Citizenship
Best for: An individual classroom, so we can watch one video together, and students can choose more videos to watch, and explore the map and news articles.
Adaptation: This workshop is discussion-based, but can be adapted into a presentation for larger groups
Batman or Superman – who represents America?
Both Bruce Wayne/Batman and Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman are orphans who grow up in America. But Superman stands for an innocent “truth, justice, and American way” approach to the world. While an alien, he wants to save humanity. Batman is a vigilante who does not always follow the law. He works at night, in stealth, more Dark Knight than “caped crusader”. Clips from TV, movies, and comics look at how these heroes present America. Are American cities full of crime, gangs, violence? Or is America more hopeful? How have Americans talked about crime in our cities during political campaigns, or in the news? What does America do in the world, stop wars and defend the innocent (Ukraine?) or cause violence?
Core Curriculum: 1.6 Democracy and Participation
Best for: Because of the Batman and Superman movie clips, and charts about crime rates and polls on how the public thinks about crime, this workshop can work for a larger audience.
Adaptation: In a single classroom we will have more opportunity to look into comics, read about crime, immigration and opinion, and talk more about the US experience and Norway.
Indentured Servants and the Origin of Slavery: Labor in Early America
This workshop investigates a set of documents – many just a few sentences long, some just a list, and even a few images – from 1620 to 1680 in the Chesapeake (Virginia and Maryland, among the earliest British settlements). Most of these documents are laws. They speak about what to do when English servants run away with Negroes, or how many years the Irish must serve. And masters could, and did, sell the years of service to others. Who wrote these laws? How did the writers describe these servants? Often these servants were sixteen or seventeen years old. What was it like to be young in 1640? Why did young people sign seven-year contracts? What world did they find? How different is our world today?
Core Curriculum: 1.1 Human Dignity, 1.3 Critical Thinking and Ethical Awareness
English Levels: Some 17th century English is difficult. Some documents are long. Some are only two or three sentences. There is a list of property. Students can read different texts depending on English levels.
Best for: A single class. This lesson is designed for careful reading in small groups where students work intensively on the documents, with class discussion afterwards.
Adaptation: In a larger group I could project each document on a screen. The larger group could read and think about each document together. It is harder to go back and compare. We will see fewer documents. A few students might dominate conversation.
Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence – Martin Luther King Jr beyond his dream
This workshop begins with a short clip from the hopeful “I Have A Dream” speech that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered in 1963, taught in all US classrooms. But then we listen to excerpts from his April 1967 speech “Beyond Vietnam.” He condemned the Vietnam War know he would hurt the civil rights movement. He called the US, “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” How did King describe the U.S.? How did he connect Civil Rights to the anti-war movement? What did he find unjust about the Vietnam War? What dangers did he see in warfare? What options did he offer? How do we hear King today, given the war in Ukraine, NATO expansion or the bombing of Iran?
Core Curriculum: 1.3 Critical Thinking and Ethical Awareness, 1.6 Democracy and Participation
English Levels: The English of Beyond Vietnam is hard but the text of the speech is online and we can include vocabulary. A whole class can listen together and stop after a paragraph and discuss.
Best for: A single classroom. Making certain everyone understands the English words and gets questions about Vietnam answered is easier when there is a small group so we can stop for anyone and respond. It also allows group work with posters and reactions to the Beyond Vietnam speech from 1967. It provides time to look at material on military budgets, NATO, and war today.
Adaptation: Because we could play the speech, project text, and show maps or posters, a version of this workshop might be presented to a larger group. It would be limited.
New York City beyond Times Square – traveling with the subway (and other) maps
This visual workshop introduces New York City as five boroughs where people live beyond just the theater district in Times Square and Wall Street. Basic NYC maps – tourist attractions, street maps, population maps, crime maps, and some charts – give an overview of New York City. Looking at the subway map we see transportation centered on Times Square. We “ride” from Manhattan to Queens with Google Maps, then I invite students to “ride” the subway and “visit” local neighborhoods with Street View. Many parts of NYC are not on the subway and require a bus ride.
Core Curriculum: 1.2 Identity and Cultural Diversity
English Level: Designed for students with simple English. It allows students with more advanced skills to read more information on the neighborhood they choose, events, venues, and even create a visitor’s guide.
Best for: A larger group could view a more-lecture like set of subway and other maps, and be guided through a few different neighborhoods by the presenter. A small class can choose neighborhoods, explore, and have an interactive experience with the material.
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David’s Workshops for Videregående skole Teachers and Teachers-in-Training