An International Baccalaureate (IB) lesson evolved from the need to address how we are affected by natural disasters as members of a global community and so Mrs. Núñez-Hernandez of Ponce De Leon Middle School in Coral Gables taught her 8th Grade IB United States History students geographic understanding, global perspective and civic responsibility in response to the devastating earthquake that hit the island nation of Haiti in January.

The students were then assigned to think critically as they researched the infrastructure and demographics and how these contributed to the devastation. They proceeded to researching the human toll and types of aid and international responses that arose from the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Based on the information and critical guiding questions they had to answer we hosted a teach-in which allowed them to focus on one component but still acquire a breadth of each of the others during their teach-in presentations.

They found that shoddy infrastructure, a series of natural disasters and the instability of the government contributed to the devastating state of the island nation and that the children of Haiti were the neediest population of the country since 38% of the population is 0-14 years of age, the infant mortality rate is 60 deaths/ 1,000 live births, the median age of the population is 20 years old and the life expectancy is 60 years old. 

With that as the spring board, the students in Ms. Bryan's 8th Grade IB Language Arts class practiced key FCAT, Reference and Research skills while investigating authentic questions to help alleviate the problems in Haiti resulting from the devastating earthquake. They started with a lesson from Ms. Bryan and the Media Specialist, Ms. Almon using the school's portable computer lab to find websites that provided information to help assess the credibility of charitable organizations.

Based on the results of their research they prepared specific criteria to determine the credibility of charitable organizations that help children in Haiti. From there, they selected a charity that met their per-determined standards, and researched the specific needs of that charity. At this point, they created brochures, public service announcements, letters, and posters to communicate a persuasive message explaining the reasons to support this charity and soliciting the needed items for the charity. "This project really did benefit me. It gave me a better perspective and understanding that picking a charity carefully is really important," said Jennifer Castillo and Katie Callis said, "doing this activity made me stop and think about other people, not just myself."  

After voting based on credibility, they selected St. Hélène Orphanage in Ken scoff, Haiti. St. Hélène is established by Friends of the Orphans which is a BBB accredited Charity and was given 4 stars by Charity Navigator. St. Hélène is a permanent home for more than 350 children and is caring for an additional 75 children who had been supported while living off-site, but lost their homes in the earthquake. They are committed to helping as many children as possible and are identifying children with no families who can be integrated into St. Hélène's. "I love the fact that this project bloomed into another project and that we can actually help the kids in Haiti." - Cindy Zelaya

Ponce de Leon Middle School Media Center will be collecting only the items that the students found would be most useful based on the orphanages needs. Please feel free to bring any of the following items Monday thru Friday until Wednesday, June 2.

underwear (boys and girls- all sizes)
socks (all sizes)
sandals (all sizes)
soap
shampoo
tissues
hand sanitizer
batteries (all sizes)
tooth brush (with cover) and toothpaste
baby wipes

The students are currently working on running the community and service project with the help of Mrs. Núñez-Hernandez and reflecting on their actions. Their essays will explain the process of the activities and the impact each had on them as a person and a learner.