LESSON PLANS - ITVS

021HALF THE SKYMaternal Mortality and The Global Health DivideExtensions4. Too Young to Wed: The Secret World of Child BridesChild marriage contributes greatly to adolescent maternal mortalityrates. Throughout the world, more than 51 million girls below theage of 18 are currently married, and over the next decade, anestimated 100 million more girls will become child brides despitelaws and international agreements that forbid the practice. Studiesshow that adolescents ages 15 through 19 are twice as likely todie during pregnancy or childbirth as those over age 20, and girlsunder age 15 are five times more likely to die. Child brides alsoface higher risk for sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.In Pakistan, child marriage is the major cause of the high maternalmortality ratio of 1 death in 362.Over an eight-year period, journalist Stephanie Sinclair investigatedthe issue of child marriage in India, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nepal, andEthiopia. Have students view her multimedia presentation featuredin the Pulitzer Center, Too Young to Wed, produced in associationwith National Geographic, that synthesizes her body of work intoa call to action. Have them examine the roots of and contributingfactors that lead to child marriage and the consequences thatyoung girls face who are married too soon, including physical andemotional health, education, ability to care and provide for herchildren, and the connection of this practice to the cycle of poverty.Too Young To Wed - Project Overview:pulitzercenter.org/projects/child-brides-child-marriage-tooyoung-to-wedToo Young to Wed - Multimedia:pulitzercenter.org/articles/child-marriage-brides-too-young-towed-afghanistan-ethiopia-india-yemenChild Brides, Pulitzer Center Reports:pulitzercenter.org/node/9674/all5. Millennium Development Goals: Empowering WomenEmpowers the WorldIn September 2000, the United Nations signed the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) with the aim of halving the numberof people living in poverty, reducing maternal and child mortality,fighting disease, and improving social and economic conditionsin the world's poorest countries by 2015. Have your class screenthe complete series of Half The Sky: Turning Oppression IntoOpportunity For Women Worldwide and examine the connectionbetween the issues addressed in the documentary and the MDGcampaign’s focus on women. Have them consider how and whyimproving rights and resources for women and girls is consideredkey to eradicating global poverty.• Divide the class into eight groups, assign each an MDG, andinstruct the groups develop a “We Are the Goal” presentation,which should include the following:--A summary of the MDG and the campaign’s strategies forimproving social and economic conditions for women--Information on the public perception and understanding of theMDGs. (Students can investigate the public’s knowledge andunderstanding of the MDG campaign by recording “person-onthe-street”interviews and include the footage in the presentation.)--Examples of specific programs that have been implemented andtheir impact to date--How the campaign relates to issues in the students’ owncommunities--An action plan for the group and their school community tocontribute to the MDG campaign• The presentations should be multi-media, and can include photoessays, video footage, audio clips, animations, and infographicsusing the following websites as resources:Animoto:animoto.comCapzles:www.capzles.comPrezi:prezi.comInfographic tools:www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/05/eight-free-tools-forteachers-to-make.html• Information and resources for research on the MDGs can be found at:United Nations Millennium Development Goals:www.un.org/millenniumgoalsEnd Poverty 2015:www.endpoverty2015.orgMDG Get Involved:www.un.org/en/mdg/summit2010/getinvolved.shtmlUN Women:www.unifem.org/gender_issues/millennium_development_goals/MDG Monitor:www.mdgmonitor.org