CSPE Action Project

americano1

Hello all,

I'm new to teaching CSPE and like many of you teachers out there, you have been timetabled for a 3rd Year CSPE class for the first time - and have to do the action project with the class!

Unfortunately, I haven't been giving much guidance from other teachers in the school as to what we as a class would be best doing. All I've been told is to go with the trip to the Dail. But what next?

I would be extremely grateful for any help as time is ticking. The class I have will cooperate, its just I'm not fully sure how to go about it. I want to be confident in our topic before I let the class take off. I have a copy of the booklet and, again, I'm not entirely sure as to what to write in here.

Thank you
(trying to keep stress levels down)

Realbhoy

As far as I know visits to the Dáil/Seanad are pretty much booked solid until the end of the school year. What could be an alternative might be to get a local representative to come into the school and give a talk. It might be a councillor but there is no harm in making contact with a TD or senator in the area as well and see if they are free. It might be best to give them a topic to talk about as they can have something prepared: a local issue or something impacting on the school let's say. Everyone can get involved in identifying the issue, writing to the speaker, arranging the room, welcoming etc. Just an idea.

spurious

Organise a collection of unwanted coats/jackets among the school and distribute where there is need in your community.

dory

Get them into groups and start them researching. That'll cover what they've done and what they've learned anyway. Make sure you absolutely have to go to the Dáil. There are easier things you could do! If you have to go, and you get a booking, let the students organise the bus etc. so that they can write about their tasks in the booklet.

solerina

There are loads of things you can do. fundraisers like bake sales for St Vincent de Paul etc. Poster campaigns on local or topical issues, refugees etc. Guest speakers like a local councilor or TD. Class visit to a local court or Garda station etc. the project doe not have to be a big thing like a visit to the Dail. The critical thing is to make sure each student has their own part/ job to do.

americano1

Thank you all for the replies, massively appreciated.

The students are interested in helping out a charity. Two ideas they put forward for raising money are: a bake sale or non-uniform day.

What do you guys think? Shall we go ahead with one and get a guest speaker in first?

Thanking you all

solerina

americano1 wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies, massively appreciated.

The students are interested in helping out a charity. Two ideas they put forward for raising money are: a bake sale or non-uniform day.

What do you guys think? Shall we go ahead with one and get a guest speaker in first?

Thanking you all

Either of those ideas would work, no need to create extra work by bringing in a guest speaker. There are plenty of jobs involved with bake sales or non uniform days, just make sure everyone has their own job.

mirrorwall14

solerina wrote: »

Either of those ideas would work, no need to create extra work by bringing in a guest speaker. There are plenty of jobs involved with bake sales or non uniform days, just make sure everyone has their own job.

And check with management. There has been a cap put on these type of fundraisers in our school

solerina

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

And check with management. There has been a cap put on these type of fundraisers in our school

ours too, we don't have non uniform days anymore, we do have lots of bake sales though !!! The teachers are often the biggest purchasers though !!

americano1

solerina wrote: »

Either of those ideas would work, no need to create extra work by bringing in a guest speaker. There are plenty of jobs involved with bake sales or non uniform days, just make sure everyone has their own job.

I think I'll go with the bake sale or non-uniform day but how do I start it off?

Do I give the students a class to prepare it and leave them at it?

Jamfa

americano1 wrote: »

I think I'll go with the bake sale or non-uniform day but how do I start it off?

Do I give the students a class to prepare it and leave them at it?

You should carefully read the CSPE Guidelines which contain templates and lots of planning ideas. The AP must explicitly link to one of the concepts and also familiarize yourself with the AP booklet: https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/Junior-Cycle-/Syllabuses-Guidelines/jc_cspe_guide.pdf

americano1

Jamfa wrote: »

You should carefully read the CSPE Guidelines which contain templates and lots of planning ideas. The AP must explicitly link to one of the concepts and also familiarize yourself with the AP booklet: https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/Junior-Cycle-/Syllabuses-Guidelines/jc_cspe_guide.pdf

Thank you so much for the reply! Really useful info! What statement would you recommend i link my project to, say for example, a non uniform day?

Jamfa

americano1 wrote: »

Thank you so much for the reply! Really useful info! What statement would you recommend i link my project to, say for example, a non uniform day?

The question to ask is what is the purpose of the non uniform day. The AP could be to raise awareness & funds for a particular cause which could link to human rights, dignity etc. The non uniform day could raise money for a homeless charity (human dignity) & you could invite a speaker in on the day to give a presentation about the work they do etc. Make sure to divide the class into several committees. Have you asked what the other 3rd years are doing for their AP?

dory

americano1 wrote: »

Thank you so much for the reply! Really useful info! What statement would you recommend i link my project to, say for example, a non uniform day?

What part of the country are you in? We've had a few good charities in the south who have done workshops with our students for their action project and then we did a fundraiser for them. I know of a few near Dublin too. You could pick any charity/cause, but it's nice to get a workshop for the students at the same time.

spurious

There is also the Localise group who will come into schools, though the projects they tend to support are more longterm than a one day activity.