The purpose of this activity is to
introduce students to Cooper-Hewitt’ s Design for the
Other 90% exhibition. 1. Introduce your students to
Cooper-Hewitt's Design for the Other 90% exhibition by
viewing the Business Week article and slideshow
entitled “ Gimme (Innovative) Shelter” at
https://images. businessweek.
com/ss/07/05/0509_cooperhewitt/index_01. htm . (Click
on the arrows in the upper right-hand corner of the screen
to view the slideshow. )
2. As a class, visit the
Design for the Other 90% exhibition Web site at
https://other90. cooperhewitt. org/ . Begin by sharing
the paragraphs in the "About the Exhibition" section.
When
you are finished reading, provide time for students to
browse the different sections of the Web site. You may also
choose to have them complete this task as homework. Lead a
class discussion about the exhibition, using the following
questions as guidelines:
• What do you
think is the purpose of the exhibition?
•
What surprised you the most?
• What area
interested you the most? Why?
• What did
you learn?
Activity Two: Introducing Social
Entrepreneurship
The purpose of this activity is
to provide background information on social
entrepreneurship.
1. Tell the class that they are going to
learn about social entrepreneurship. Write the following
quotations on the board: • "Social
entrepreneurs identify resources where people only see
problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the
passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of
competence and unleash resources in the communities they're
serving. " Source: David Bornstein, author of How to Change
the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New
Ideas • "Social entrepreneurs are not
content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will
not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing
industry. " Source: Bill Drayton, CEO, chair and founder of
Ashoka
2. Have the students listen to a podcast that tells
the story of a social entrepreneur who founded the Global
Women’ s Leadership Network at https://blog.
innovatorz.
org/2007/05/22/netsquared-finalist-podcast-global-womens-leadership-network/
.
3. Read the following information aloud to the class:
• A social entrepreneur identifies and solves
social problems on a large scale. Just as business
entrepreneurs create and transform whole industries, social
entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing
opportunities others miss in order to improve systems,
invent and disseminate new approaches, and advance
sustainable solutions that create social value. Unlike
traditional business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs
primarily seek to generate "social value" rather than
profits. And unlike the majority of non-profit
organizations, their work is targeted not only towards
immediate, small-scale effects, but sweeping, long-term
change. Source: https://www. pbs.
org/opb/thenewheroes/whatis/
4. Divide the class into
groups of three. Ask each group to create a “ Help
Wanted” advertisement for a social entrepreneur. Tell
the students that they can use the following Web site as an
additional resource https://www. pbs.
org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/ . When the students are
finished, have each group present its advertisement to the
entire class.
Steps for Learning Activity One: Social
Entrepreneur Graphic Organizer
The purpose of this
activity is to provide students with an opportunity to
research the world of social entrepreneurship.
1. Divide
the class into small groups. Tell the students that they
are going to conduct research and construct a graphic
organizer. Give each group a copy of the “ Graphic
Organizer Directions” handout and the “ Social
Entrepreneurship Graphic Organizer” handout. Review
the steps on the handouts with the class prior to
beginning. 2. When the students are finished, provide time
for each group to present its organizers to the class. Have
the students keep the organizers to use in the second part
of the lesson.