Finkel Library: 6th Grade Activism Essay Resources

A brief description of some of the main reasons why child labor happens or isn't stopped.

An article about working conditions for young people on tobacco farms in the United States. You may need a Newsela account to read this article. If you do not already have one, be sure to choose "Sign in with Google" and use your wt email address. Let Mrs. Senedak know if you have trouble getting to the article.

This text explores how Craig Kielburger was inspired into activism by the young Iqbal Masih’s story.

This video shares Iqbal’s story and provides insight into the working conditions of child labor and slavery. Iqbal was a child laborer in Pakistan whose courage inspired others around the world.

This web page offers significant facts and statistics around child labor throughout the world.

This text explores the sinking Western carpet industry’s link to the death of the young child labor activist Iqbal Masih.

This Scholastic article gives more information about ways that child labor plays a role in farming in the United States. You can read the text or click on PDF Full Text to see an image of the article in Scholastic. You may need to enter the Ebscohost username and password. (The link to the database passwords is at the top of this page, just like when you used the databases for your world religion research project).

This list provides some suggestions for teens who are interested in getting involved in this cause.

In this interview, actor and teen activist, Lou Wegner talks about an organization he created to help animals.

This is an article about a boy who started his own animal shelter in Chennai, India.

Read about a teenager who became an ambassador for the American Humane Society.

Read this article to learn more about Sarah Jones, a teen who helps address stray cats in her community.

This is an opinion piece posted by a teenager on a writing website. It doesn’t have any references, and the writer is only identified with a handle.

This short article profiles a teen who after attending a Youth Empowered Action Camp began a school club called Hearts for Animals.

This article outlines the importance of community involvement in helping pets find shelters and offers suggestions of how to help.

Learn about the work that teenager Ayna Agarwal has been doing to raise awareness and help to fight animal homelessness.

A blog post from the Global Campaign for Education United States that explains some ways that education can impact girls and women.

This article about Ana Waqatabu Liganisulu is part of a series called "The Other Malalas." The series includes interviews with twelve young girls around the world about their work advocating for girls education.

This article about Hanna Godefa is part of a series called "The Other Malalas." The series includes interviews with twelve young girls around the world about their work advocating for girls education.

This article about Menuku Gurung is part of a series called "The Other Malalas." The series includes interviews with twelve young girls around the world about their work advocating for girls education.

This article about Celeste Dushime is part of a series called "The Other Malalas." The series includes interviews with twelve young girls around the world about their work advocating for girls education.

Chapter 1 and 2 (pages 2–22) Free, downloadable book written through School Girls Unite by youth as a how-to guide using examples of activist work girls in the organization have done.

This article interviews Annie Gersh, a teenager advisor to Girl Up, an organization that recruits American girls toward empowering young women in developing countries (slightly more difficult text).

Glamour magazine named Malala their woman of the year and in this article tells her story including background from before she was shot.

This Q&A session gives information about ways that young women face gender inequity in education and other aspects of life in China.

Check out this guide about language used to talk about disabilities and ways it can be used to uplift or cause harm to people.

Read about a choir that welcomes students of all abilities.

Learn about a teenager using her writing talents to raise awareness about a specific type of Down Syndrome.

A teenager decided to fight for her peers after a fire drill showed inequities for students with disabilities.

Read about students who created a basketball hoop that can be adjusted easily to adapt to players' needs.

This article helps to explain the power of representation and why it matters.

This article lays out steps that adults can take to help prevent bullying.

This resource explains types of behaviors that are considered bullying.

This text is about what adults within the school community can do to help stop bullying.

This is an interactive timeline with information related to cyberbullying. You can click on points on the timeline to find out more information. You may need to enter a username and password to access this article. (Remember the database passwords are in the middle of the main Finkel Library page, just like when you used the databases for your world religion research project).

Interview with teen activist Emily-Anne Rigal about her campaign to address bullying.

Read this profile of Natalie Hampton, a sixteen year old who developed an app and a nonprofit organization to address bullying.

A blog that allows young people to write personal essays about their experiences with bullying.

This text interviews the director of Bully and digs deeper into his personal experience being bullied and the importance of anti-bullying action and education.

Trailer for the movie Bully, a documentary about how severe bullying can be, and ways a community can address it.

An essay by a student laying out different ways to stop bullying.

This government website includes information about bullying facts and statistics.

This section of the government website explains ways that teens can get involved to stop and prevent bullying.

This article includes information about teens who are involved in climate change activism as well as some up to date facts and statistics about climate change. You may need to enter the Proquest username and password. (The link to the database passwords is at the top of this page, just like when you used the databases for your world religion research project).

An article and video about Haven Coleman and her efforts to teach her representative to Congress about the importance of saving the environment.

This link includes a news segment originally aired on the radio through WBUR in Boston. You can listen to it and follow along with the transcript below to learn about a teen who is fighting climate change and corporations who are taking advantage of indigenous people in Central and South America.

This article in the most recent issue of National Geographic profiles several teenage climate activists. There are a few steps you will need to take to access the article. You will need to scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link to access Flipster. You may need to use the Ebscohost database username and password. (The link to the database passwords is in the middle of the main Finkel Library page, just like when you used the databases for your world religion research project). Once you are in Flipster, choose National Geographic and flip to page 70/71 of the March 2020 issue to start reading.

This video is about a teenager who won a competition for his work developing an electric motor that uses more sustainable materials.

Read this article to learn more about teens in Oregon who are using the legal system to encourage the government to take action to protect the environment. You may need to enter the Proquest username and password. (The link to the database passwords is at the top of this page, just like when you used the databases for your world religion research project).

In this article, CBC Kids profiles teenage climate activist Great Thunberg.

This article shares information about Pavan Gowda, a teenage climate change activist. It includes a short video.

This article explains some of the steps a college freshman has taken to improve the environment in her hometown.

An article and video about a teen in Ohio who has worked to educate others and improve the conditions of the wetlands in his area. (The video is Clay speaking directly.

This webpage gives information about ways in which the oceans and life on land are interconnected.

This blogpost explains the work of a group of teens in the Boston area who are part of a group who earned a grant for their climate change work.

This article gives information about a group of young activists who working to raise awareness and to push for change in the Nashville area.

This article makes connections between young climate activists and the war in Ukraine.

Read this article and check out the video to learn about this teen's efforts to bring more body positivity to the media.

This article has a Pittsburgh connection- read about Peyton Klein and the organization she created at her school to help students who are immigrants and/or refugees to feel welcome and included.

This news article explains a student project that turned into an ad campaign in London to raise awareness about the lack of racial diversity in movies and media.

An article highlighting a teenager who is using an online platform to teach others about neurodiversity and including others.

Read this interview with Sameer Jha, the founder of the Empathy Alliance and a youth ambassador for the Human Rights Campaign.

An article that discusses the importance of seeing differences in physical ability as part of each person's individuality and making society more inclusive.

This Q & A session gives information about ways that young women face gender inequity in education and other aspects of life in China.

Read about Nolan Davis, and eight year old who organized a BLM designed for kids to participate in.

Read this encyclopedia article to learn more about the history and goals of the BLM movement.

Watch this video to learn more about connections between the fight for civil rights and protests. It looks at the history, as well as the protests that have occurred recently to help you understand why protesters are marching and what their goals are.

Read this interview with Bellen Woodard. She's a crayon activist who is working to make sure that students of all different skin colors can see them selves represented.