Lesson 5: The Process of Advocacy

Goal

Define the processes for participating in rallies; voting; and writing, calling, and visiting state legislators.

Objective

Given graphics of advocacy techniques, students will choose one method and identify its process.

Preparation and materials

• Board or newsprint and markers
• Set of large pictures of advocacy methods (from Lesson 4). If this will be used as an assessment, consider how many methods of advocacy you wish students to know the steps for, and make the corresponding number of copies.
• Steps for advocacy methods: Copy the pictures (including the descriptive sentences); cut them up and paste each step onto an index card. For beginning level students you may want to include the numbering, or you may choose not to include the numbering to challenge intermediate and higher levels. Mix up the order of the cards (within sets). Make enough sets for each group of students, or to address the assessment goals you set. Make answer sheets by copying the entire page for each student.
• Copies of Suggestions for Speaking to and Writing the Governor and Legislators for each student. Note that the budget line item number for adult basic education is 7035-0002.

Introduction

Tell students: We talked about ways people can try to help keep money for classes or for other services. Now we will talk more about how to do these things. After this, you can choose one way (or more) and you will know what to do.

Warm-up

1. Have students review the ways of advocating, and put the Set of large pictures of advocacy methods on the board.

2. Discuss with the class:

• Have you ever done any of these things? If yes, for what reason? How did you do it/them? (Note answers on board.)
• If you never did any of these things, how do you think you do them? (Note reasonable answers on the board.)

3. Tell students: In this lesson you will pick one way people can support money for classes or other services and explain how to do it. You will also talk about what can happen if you do it.

Activity

1. Put each picture from the Set of large pictures of advocacy methods in a different area of the classroom. Have each student choose one, and stand near that picture to form groups. Give each group the set of pictures on index cards representing the steps for their chosen advocacy method. Tell students that these are only examples of the steps, and that there are other ways possible. Have them work together to order the steps. Have students use the answer sheets to check their work. Afterwards, have groups look at each other's ordered cards. If you will be assessing students, you can have them repeat the activity, or have them write out the steps.

Note: For those who choose to vote, tell them they can get information by reading brochures, newspapers, watching television coverage, going to a rally, or going to a community meeting that legislators often hold.

2. Remove the large pictures of Vote and Go to a rally, telling students that you're focusing on the other methods for the next activity.

Tell students: Ok, now that you've had a chance to look at the steps to practice some advocacy methods, now we will have a chance to do it here in class. Soon we will know the names and contact information of the people we will contact, but for now we will practice what to say and write if we choose to contact them. We're going to stay in the same "advocacy method " groups that we are in now, but those of you who chose vote or go to a rally need to switch to another group. Choose one: call your legislator, visit your legislator, or write your legislator.

Pass out the student handout, Suggestions for Speaking To, Calling and Visiting the Governor and Legislators. Tell students that in a later lesson you will complete the first section. Model the processes for students (group by group) according to the following:

• If they chose call or visit: Recite from the handout the dialogue, using your personal information and the program's name. Invite a few student volunteers to model for the rest of the group and class. Instruct group members to role-play with a partner using the dialogue. Encourage them to try it without the handout and to expand on what's written in the dialogue. Also, explain to students that they often will make contact with an aide instead of the legislator.
• If they chose write governor or legislators: Have students in this group brainstorm about how the program has helped/is helping them. Write their responses on the board. Next have students brainstorm about what problems they would have if they didn't have their class. Encourage discussion that may naturally flow from this brainstorming session. Write a sample of an appeal letter on the board, modeling it after the guidelines given on the handout. Referring to the handout, note that students need to change the personal pronouns from you to I, and that they need to give the specific name of the program. Have students write sentences about the effects of program funding/cuts that are personal to them. (Refer them to brainstormed lists on the board.) Check students' writing, and ask volunteers to share their letters with the class.

3. After, discuss with students the positive and negative things that can happen if people use these methods of advocacy. For example: feeling good about working together with others for something important, feeling part of their community, feeling shy about their English skills, feeling nervous about identifying themselves.

Enrichment/Extension Activities

Beginning ESOL/Literacy students:

• In pairs, describe what the people are doing in the pictures.
  
• Small groups pantomime a method of advocacy, and the other students identify it.

Intermediate/higher ESOL, ASE/high ABE/GED students:

• Choose one advocacy method. Write out instructions for doing it.
• Write about any experiences with advocacy.
• Students research famous advocates, their causes, and their methods of advocacy in their countries or in the US. They can give a presentation or write a short report on their findings.