I presented on this unit at the 2012 Race to the Top conference in Columbus. You can find my group's presentation on my presentations homepage.

 

Students begin this unit on Conflicts and Genocides of the 20th Century by reading Martin Luther King Jr's "World House Essay," which highlights the problems that lead to conflict and helps explain how a better understanding and tolerance for all cultures and religions along with a policy of non-violence on the part of nation-states will help us end conflict once and for all. Students then trace the development of laws against human rights violations and genocide as we study the conflicts an genocides in history and read about them  through an assortment of books in language arts.

 

Finally, students apply what they have learned to the Arab-Israeli conflict, writing a letter to their member of congress and then creating artwork that memorializes a genocide or draws attention to a current conflict. These posters allow students to both express their views through art while also giving them a way to make their work public, as these posters have been displayed at Wright State University's Educational Resource Center, the Dayton International Peace Museum, and some even go to the Dayton Art Institute. This allows the community to interact with the posters and even purchase the art. The money raised through poster sales is then donated to an organization of the students' choosing. In 2015 students donated the poster proceeds to the organization United To End Genocide. The organization did a story about the project, which you can find on their website and get a glimpse of below.

 

You can check the DRSS Facebook page around February or March of each year for an announcement for the time/location of each year's display. You can also find all of the most recent posters on the DRSS Website at www.daytonstemschool.org/conflictandgenocide.