I have an annual assignment in my eighth grade U.S. History class for students to write complaint letters following the structure of the Declaration of Independence. Most complaints are about the homework load, the school uniform policy, or sibling interactions.
Every year one or two complaints need to be addressed by administration, which is one reason this assignment will stay in the rotation: some kids use it to open up about real problems in their lives.
But my favorite part about this assignment is when kids take the opportunity to really try to mimic the Declaration and make me laugh out loud. Here is an example from this year:
Another gem from this year is a student complaining about his dad's behaviors and his previous attempts to make change:
I always encourage students to discuss their complaints with whomever they address in their letter, and to let me know specifically, when I am infringing in their "rights" as the express in this assignment. It is rare that they actually do, but this year another eighth-grade teacher and I have started a Civic Spirit Club. We are just beginning the research phase in order to make action plans to be changemakers in our community. This affords me another avenue of helping my students understand that their opinions matter and there are ways to make their voices heard!
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