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Real links between generations can be recreated by organising activities where children and older people will learn and swap experiences in the same space.

Visits by older people lasting one hour

Objectives of the generations@school meetingA very clear programme must be defined by teachers for visits by older people in class, with specific instruc-tional objectives for the hour of conversation. If the project is more ambitious and goes beyond welcoming older people during the European Day, then the pro-gress of activities may need to be monitored and an assessment may need to be done after each one.

Things to take into account Don’t forget to take photos of the meeting. The materials produced (drawings, questionnaires, albums, etc.) will be not only a way of documenting the moment of intergenerational dialogue, but also a means of sharing information with other European schools on what your school has done, and of taking part in the generations@school competition.

General objectivesIncorporating the intergenerational approach into your teaching activities allows work to be done in various knowledge and competency areas.

• Social and civic competencies: Strengthening solidarity between generations and combating anti-social behaviour and violence at school through civic engagement.

• Communication and information competencies: Giving non-school speakers (older people) real, new and rare communication opportunities. Using various media (photos) and ICTs (website for sharing results). Cooperation projects with other countries.

• Development of a humanist culture: Through a meeting at school or in town with other generations, pupils learn to situate themselves in time by comparing past or present experiences. By discovering other places and other spaces, they discover their milieu and appropriate it.

• Carrying out actions of an artistic, aesthetic or expressive nature: Pupils learn to create and implement workshops and exhibitions in conjunction with other partners.

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1 To learn how to articulate a personal experience and social observation in oral and written forms.

2 To learn how to work in a group.

3 To learn about history as a living, ongoing process.

4 To learn how to develop and document the results of an intergenerational exchange.

5 To talk about (freely and pleasantly) concepts of active ageing and solidarity between generations.

6 To express pupils’ perceptions of older people, and older people’s perceptions of children.

7 To produce a piece of work (drawing/text) showing the importance of the link between generations to jointly construct a society where coexistence is better.

Specific objectives

Practical considerations• If you welcome between 1 and 5 older people: Preferably plan a session where the older people will sit in front of the

blackboard, on comfortable chairs, facing the pupils.• If you welcome between 6 and 12 older people: Give general introductions of the older people, then work in groups,

which will be formed according to the number of pupils in your class.

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• The session can begin with a welcome song, a nursery rhyme or poem by the pupils.• The pupils and the older people in attendance introduce themselves in turn, giving their first name, last name and age in

order to get to know each other.• If any of the older people are family members of any of the class pupils, those pupils could introduce them.• Teachers introduce the subject and ask the pupils to form groups that the older people will join.

You can plan some of the activities suggested below in the form of workshops of four to five pupils and one or several older people, for a specific period of time; all the older people will take part in the different workshops.

Even if the past is dealt with, it is important to know about daily life and to ensure that shared projects are produced by old and young to foster the active ageing of older people and a coming together of generations.

The dialogue can be guided by a questionnaire produced by the pupils in advance (see Resource 2). The older people can also use their photo albums to illustrate the notion of growing up and getting older, and their questionnaires, and read them to the class in turn. Debates can thus be started.

We suggest the following questions to facilitate the dialogue between pupils and older people:

Dealing with the notion of growing up and getting older • What is the difference between a child and an adult?• How do we recognise a young person? And an older

person? (Talk about the face, bodily changes, etc.).• What do children like doing? And older people? What

can they do together? • What “things” can older people do very well?• What activities are everyone’s favourites? Their

favourite meals? Things they don’t like eating? Favourite colours and games? And so on. For older people, compare past and present.

• What did the older people dream of becoming when they were children? What do the children dream of becoming when they are older?

Dealing with the notions of: respect, independence, disability, illness, mutual help and solidarity • How do older people and children live their daily lives? What facilities and difficulties have they got? Are there similar joys

and problems?• What can you do when you are an older person, and what can’t you do when you are a child? • What might happen to a person that’s very old? • How can we help an older person in the street?• How can older people help children?• What kind of activities would you like to do with older people?

Introduction (10 min)

Group dialogue (30 min)

Session progress (1 hour)

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Dealing with the notion of the line of life Teachers can prepare a timeline for visits by older people and a piece of work on time that becomes history depending on the dates of birth of the older people, by distinguishing between past time, present time and future time.

• When the older people were children, was it the same at school? Talk about means of communication, transport, hobbies, school, habitats, values, etc.

• Pupils could talk about the work done on their lines of life (see Resource 2), and particularly about their notions of their own futures.

By talking to older people about the way they imagine important events in their futures (education, family events, hobbies, maximum life expectancy, etc.), pupils can become much enriched.

Pupils summarise the elements discussed with the older people and organise their conclusions.

Pooling (10 min)

Conclusions drawn from the dialogues held in class for the generations@school project will help to:

1 Highlight an encouraging view of the stages of future life.2 Strengthen positive perceptions of ageing among pupils. 3 Strengthen the idea of the need for solidarity between generations.

Depending on the guidelines chosen for the conversation and the amount of time available, the session could be concluded with a collective activity: a tea, a party game, some manual work (a choice of activity shared with the older people).

Examples of sentences to finish together (pupils – older people) as a closing activity: I’m too small to... / I’m big enough to... / I’m too big to... / I’m too old to... / I’m too young to...

The session should end with a general expression of thanks to the older people for taking part.

Conclusion (10 min)

© P.A.U. Education / Col.legi Miró, Barcelona

© P.A.U. Education / Col.legi Miró, Barcelona

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Pupils produce a drawing or write a text expressing their impressions of the older people they spoke to. This and the previous stage can be done with the older people or in a later session in class.

Pictures and photos of the meeting will be shared with other European schools in the generations@school Panoramio group. See the resource “Joining the generations@school Panoramio group”, which will help you share your results.

By sharing your conclusions, your school will take part in the generations@school competition and could win the prize for your country’s best intergenerational dialogue initiative!

Final work: results of the generations@school project

Things to take into account If you want to go further, here are some examples of activities:

• Giveanaccountofthevisitbyolderpeopleinclass.

• Drawachild,ayoungadult,anadultthathasgrown old or an older person, and put an age against each of the people you have drawn.

• Drawwhatyouhavelearntfromtheolderpeople’s stories...

• Completethefollowingsentences:– Growing up means..., Growing older means...– Up to what age can people do sport? Use a

computer? Get married? Win a big tennis tournament like Wimbledon or Roland-Garros? Be a politician? ...

• Drawing,poetry,cartoonandstorycompetitionscould be held at school following the visit by older people, on topics covered in the conversation.

Carole Gadet, expert in intergenerational projects: Head of the association “Ensemble Demain” (www.ensembledemain.com), and Project Manager for “Intergenerational Approaches”, Académie de Paris and Studies Officer at the National Ministry of Education - France.

P.A.U. Education (www.paueducation.com) offers a unique mix of know-how, involving pedagogical thinking, editorial activity, community building and running cooperative projects in partnership with institutions such as the European Commission, UNESCO and UNICEF.