MY SCHOOL-YOUR MY SCHOOL-YOUR SCHOOLSCHOOL

Global dimension key concepts:

DIVERSITY-developing a sense of awe at the

variety of peoples

and environments around the world.

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP- appreciating that

young people’s views and concerns matter

and are listened to.

VALUES and PERCEPTIONS- understanding

that people have different values,attitudes

and perceptions

INTERDEPENDENCE-appreciating the links

between the lives of others and children’s

and young people’s own lives

Session 1Session 1

Enquiry: What do you know about Africa? What does it mean to you?

Introduction.

The whole school topic for this term is The Olympics. So we began by talking about what countries would be competing. Eventually Africa was mentioned and I asked them what they knew about Africa..what did it mean to them?

This is a selection of what the children said: Ethan: It has a lot of countries in it. Imogen: It’s very hot there Bronia: Some people don’t have houses there Jake: There are palm trees ther Megan: They ride on elephants and drink coconut Abigail: They once hosted the Olympics William: There are kangaroos ther Freya: There’s no light inside the houses and the windows have no glass Zac: They make houses out of mud Niklas: They have no food so they have to eat leaves Thomas: People who are poor have to kill animals to get meat Harrison: Some people go blind because they don’t have enough food Olivia: They make their roofs out of leave Jacob: It is dangerous Beth: There’s lions and tigers there Eddie: It’s a very poor country Jude: There’s not many cars

Session 2Session 2

ENQUIRY: Q: What does Africa look like?

I asked this question and then invited them to draw a map of Africa and show what they think is there.

After the children completed their maps we looked at where Africa was on the globe and looked at a poster map of Africa. They realised Ethan was correct when he said Africa was made up of lots of countries.

Session 3Session 3 P4C enquiry. In order to promote talk about schooling in

Africa I showed the children this photograph. I didn’t tell them anything about it.

Individually the children had 1 minute of

thinking time and then got into ‘talking triangles’ to discuss and generate an interesting question.

We shared our questions: 1.Why do they have yellow and blue

clothes on? 2.What country is it in? 3.What are they doing? 4.What is the building? 5.Why have they all got short hair? 6.What do they eat?

The class voted using cubes to discuss .. ‘Why do they have yellow and blue clothes

on?’

Session 3 cont...Session 3 cont...

Extracts of class discussion that followed:

Eddie:They might be wearing clothes to worship God.Imogen:That might be their school clothesAbigail:I agree because lots of people are wearing those clothesJacob:I agree (showing thumb up)Laura;I think they might be poorBethany:I agree because they look like they are poor...see on TV people like that on the newsJulian:I agree because they look poor...clothes look different to ours

Megan:Disagree because children are wearing tops like

me...white shirtStephanie:I agree because I’ve got a similar dressTodd:They are wearing the same clothes as usLull in conversation....Teacher:What clothes are we wearing?Abigail:School uniformEthan:I think they are at schoolBronia:The building might be their schoolMarcus:I agree because there’s lots of people there

Julian:I agree....it looks like a big school for boysCaitlin: I disagree...I can see some girlsWilliam:There’s a lot of boys..Teacher:Where is this happening?Bronia: Could be Africa because it looks quite poorTodd:Disagree...because they don’t have any clothes

thereMegan:I disagree....think it is Africa because it’s sunny

andyou can see shadowsBeth:Agree...as my group thought it was AfricaJude:I’ve been there and it’s very hot

I think it is Africa because it’s sunny and I

can see shadows

Food for thought!Food for thought!

Using the comments from the first session and from our P4C discussion had given me some food for thought!

Many of the children had preconceptions about all African people being ‘poor’/ eat leaves/live in mud houses/poor country/ etc...

Beth mentioned that she had seen images on TV .. ‘people like that on TV.. ’ Julian ‘they look poor’.. Todd ... ‘they don’t have any clothes there’.. Thomas ‘people who are poor have to kill animals to get meat’.

Thus begins the single story of seeing and hearing many negatives about Africa. So how to introduce them to and promote a different story?

I decided to start addressing this by showing them the DVD ‘Reel Lives-Sierra Leone’ which some of us had looked at during our Wortley weekend. The aim of the DVD is to: ‘foster real understanding and respect for different communities and cultures.’ Reel lives sets out to counter this one-dimensional view and to explore the many similarities and commonalities

that exist between us, instead of just looking at the differences.

Session 4-Shawn’s storySession 4-Shawn’s story

Reel lives-Sierra LeoneENQUIRY: What similarities and commonalities are there between us and Shawn?

Q: What do you think going to school is like in Sierra Leone? What do you think you will see?

Comments:Julian:The school might be a mud buildingAbby:They might have desks instead of tablesErin:There’s no teachers because they are very poor...not much equipmentOlivia:Stools instead of chairsBronia:Their mums might teach themBeth:No computers or whiteboards or lights... There’s no electricity thereJude:I’ve been to Morocco...there was electricityThomas:Ripped clothes....some might wear a uniform....not all

Session 4 cont...Session 4 cont...

Before showing the DVD we found Sierra Leone on Google Maps and discussed the fact it was on

the West coast of Africa and that it is a country in Africa. We also found out it takes six hours to fly directly there from London. We located the position of GB and London too.I showed the DVD in two sittings: Shawn’s day and then Mbalou’s day and stopped the video frequently to enable the children to comment.

Q: What did you see that was the same as your life here in Sheffield?

During the video showing Shawn’s day the children were visably shocked and amazed that they

had so much in common with Shawn. Gasps of amazement that there was electricity in the home,

so he could watch TV and keep food in the fridge and freezer. That he ate some of the samefoods, Kit-Kats and cereal and took a lunch box to school. They were amazed that the family had a car and also had a maid. There was much discussion about this and why she was there. There was also much talk about Shawn reading Harry Potter books and which books they read.Some picked up on the fact that he got the book from an aunt in USA. The fact he had a birthday party that was very much like their own was met with laughter and enjoyment that Shawn had the same kind of cake, finger foods, dancing, games and the

singing of ‘Happy Birthday’-which they all joined in with!

Caitlin and Jasmine said their mum was a lawyer like Shawn’s and Jake added his aunt was a

lawyer too. Imarn was pleased that he had someone called Shawn in his family. Many of the

boys were happy that he played football and a discussion about favourite football teams ensued!

The school part brought up some observations about having assembly outside (which they

thought would be great fun) and the fact that there was no whiteboard and computers but a

blackboard and chalk- they laughed when I told them it was like that when I was at school!

So, many similarities and commonalities were identified and I could see the change in their

perceptions happening before me which was wonderful. They really had begun to identify with

Shawn as a child who in many respects was like them.

Session 5-Mbalou’s storySession 5-Mbalou’s story

Before showing Mbalou’s story I told the class that she lived in the same country as Shawn.

Q: What things do you have in common with Mbalou? Is there anything that surprises you about the way she lives?

Comments after:The class could see some similarities with Mbalou...she lived with her family, went to school, shared meals with her family and played with her friends. But the over-riding feeling was thather lifestyle was in some ways different to theirs.The class commented on there not being electricity and water in the home. Many remarked on the fact that she had jobs to do at home and that she walked to school so she must be tired. Eating with her hands was a talking point but then they agreed that we too eat food with our hands at times...pizza, sandwiches, cake, biscuits etc... They were interested in the ‘gari’ that she was eating.

Where next?Where next?Where to go now and what to do with this

information that we are discovering?I asked the children what could we do to show

others what we were learning about life in Africa. Suggestions ranged from, tell them...draw some pictures...write about it...tell another class..put it on our class blog...make a book...We decided we would like to make a book to showothers how we do many things the same and some different. We have a ‘talking book’ in our classroom and

decided to use that so they could add their own comments, drawings and photo’s.We have made a start on this by taking some

photo’s of us doing the same things.. Tidying up/playing

games (Imogen has a similar game to the Ghananian one at home)/uniform/classroom-whiteboard/chalkboard/furniture/assemblies/transport/animals/music/food/clothes and shoes etc..

Sweeping up: Palm broom/dust pan and

brush

Playing games: Oware/Four in a Row

Other activities to considerOther activities to consider

Enquiry through objects We have started to investigate the artefacts in the ‘Ghana bag’ and have discussed and

identified the palm brush and the Oware game and have talked about objects we use to tidy up and games we play. We will continue to look at the objects and try to determine what significance they have for Ghanaian people –Object Detectives activity. I will ask the class to bring in a shoe box containing 5-10 objects that represent their life that they would show to a child from Africa. What will they include and why? The children could do a short presentation to the class.

Enquiry through first hand evidence Our classroom cleaner took great interest in our poster map of Africa and told me she

was born in the Cote d’Ivoire which borders the west of Ghana. She is willing to be interviewed by some of the children about her school days there. The class will generate some questions to ask her and I will video the interview on our palm recorder.

Enquiry through ‘Thrive Africa’- values/citizenship Annie-Rose will come into school to talk to each class about going to Ghana to help

build and equip a library for children. What can the children do to help? A Books For Ghana day-bring and buy book sale and a book raffle for each Year group. £1 donation from each child could raise nearly £300. Annie-Rose will return in the Autumn term to present a PowerPoint of her work there and how the money was spent.

ResourcesResources

DVD’s

‘Reel Lives-Sierra Leone’

‘Iddi & Esther’-Farm Africa

Artefact box ‘Life in Ghana’/ Teacher’s Guide

Books

Handa’s surprise/Handa’s Hen-Eileen Brown

One Hen-Katie Smith Milway (Ghana)

Elizabeti’s School-Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen (Tanzania)

Deron Goes To Nursery School- Ifeoma Onyefulu (Ghana)

Nii Kwei’s Day- Francis Provencal (Ghana)

Grandma Comes To Stay- Ifeoma Onyefulu (Ghana)

A is for Ampe- Kathy Knowles (Ghana)

Otu Goes to Sea- Kathy Knowles (Ghana)

Welcome Dede! – Ifeoma Onyefulu (Ghana)

The Spider Weaver- Margaret Musgrove (Ghana)- Kente

cloth

Websites

www.unicef.org/mdg- Millennium

Development Goals

www.blipfoto.com

www.bing.com

Google maps

CD’s

Rough Guide Music-African Street party

Think Global-Women of Africa

Rough Guide music- Nigeria & Ghana