Project for Awesome: Service Learning and the Synthesis Essay
Written by: Carrie Wisehart
The Green brothers have a huge goal. They intend to do everything they can to “decrease the overall level of world suck”. As a teacher, I always looked for ways to grab the attention of teenagers. When I invented this project, John Green was at the height of his writing fame, and people were just discovering all of John’s (and his brother, Hank’s) amazing, witty videos on YouTube.
Project for Awesome was originally organized in 2007 as a way for YouTubers to raise awareness and money for charity (thus, decreasing world suck). The Green brothers wanted to harness YouTube for good. Since 2007, they have raised millions of dollars by encouraging content creators to make positive contributions to social platforms by featuring charities doing good.
“As an English teacher, I wanted to be creative in the ways I engaged students in required curriculum.”
As an English teacher, I wanted to be creative in the ways I engaged students in required curriculum. Synthesis essays were never “fun” for students – and combining the synthesis idea with a rhetorical analysis just felt like a behemoth that was impossible to “make interesting” – but it was something I was willing to try. When I saw the Green brothers’ videos, I discovered a way to engage students – not only in a synthesis – but also in changing the world around them! Here’s the breakdown (the entire packet for the project is free for you here!):
- First, students choose a charity of interest through Charity Navigator. If they are already involved with a charity, they can choose that one!
- Second, students create a mock Synthesis prompt, modeled after the AP English Language Synthesis (template here) — or even if students aren’t in an AP class, Synthesis is great practice for them! Students will find six sources that a partner will utilize to answer the prompt! This is basically a “backwards synthesis” – where students find all the resources, create the prompt, and then have a friend write the essay! This helps them practice the skills needed to develop essays with all the right components!
- The final step is for students to create a Project For Awesome video for their charity. If the teacher chooses, students can enter their videos in the Green Brothers’ competition. If not, the YouTubers have great examples for students to watch and get a good idea about how to craft a really great video that will persuade their peers to DONATE or GET INVOLVED in a super awesome cause!
- After the essays are written and DURING the project presentations, students will write a Rhetorical Precis (all this is found in the project packet) identifying persuasion in the video.
PHEW! So many skills in ONE PROJECT! The project packet really breaks everything down into bite-sized pieces the students can break off. Everything is connected and really develops students’ skills in essay writing, persuasion, research, and putting it all together (synthesis!). Add to that the empathy component — and you have a project that encompasses all of the things we want to teach students.
“Finding “outside the box” ways to engage high school students with writing will not only grow them in English, but also as global citizens who will make a difference in the world!”
An additional step might be to contact and share the video with the chosen charity. This adds a community partner component that makes the project even more relevant to your students! The linked packet contains worksheets for each step and a rubric to grade all the components. You can make a copy and edit to fit your own classroom! Finding “outside the box” ways to engage high school students with writing will not only grow them in English, but also as global citizens who will make a difference in the world!
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