Exploring Catholic Social Teaching

LESSON PLAN
B. Ask your students to think about what could have happened if some parts of the story were
different and then ask the following questions:
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What would have happened if Horton did not hear the Whos in the first place and they had
no one to defend them? Accept reasoned answers.
What would have happened if Horton gave up on the Whos when they were stolen? Accept
reasoned answers.
What would have happened if the mayor had not made sure to have every voice heard from
Whoville? Accept reasoned answers.
Formative Assessment
Tell your students to pretend that they are the mayor of Whoville, and have them write on their
own paper a letter to Horton’s attackers. What would they, as the mayor, say to those attackers
to make them understand how important Whoville really is? What would they say to defend the
Whos?
DAY TWO
Warm-Up
A. Find online and project photos that correspond to the following examples:
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a baby making a silly face.
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a homeless person in America.
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a well-known athlete.
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Pope Francis.
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an elderly person smiling.
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someone sick in a hospital bed.
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a well-known musician or band.
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African orphans.
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someone with Down syndrome.
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a prisoner.
B. Show each photo one by one, and ask your students to describe each person or group of
people. Ask them how they would describe the person or people in each photo to someone who
was not looking at the photo.
C. After you have shown all of the photos, ask your students what every single one of these people
has in common. Accept reasoned answers, and help your students come to the conclusion that they
are all God’s children. They all have dignity. (Define dignity as being worthy of honor and respect.)
These are the people whom God calls us to defend and protect, as Horton did with the Whos!
EXPLORING CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING, lesson 3 39