This project is part-financed by the European Union’s ... · PDF fileThis project is part-financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the EU Programme

Talking Drums - Thematic UnitSpeedwell Trust 1

Cross Border Connected Learning

This project is part-financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the

EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE III) managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

European UnionEuropean RegionalDevelopment FundInvesting in your future

STAMPS - Thematic UnitSpeedwell Trust 2

Introduction

The specified suggested Learning Intentions are usually reflective of the general concept of the theme. Teachers using the Thematic Unit will be able to identify other Learning Intentions

which are either related to the lesson or are specific to the needs of their class.

The STAMPS Cross Border Project has been developed by the Speedwell Trust, through the South West Peace III Cluster of Magherafelt, Cookstown and Dungannon Councils. This project is funded through the EU’s Peace III programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

This project involves 6 primary schools working on a cross border basis on activities linked to the curriculum. Participating teachers will receive training to help them further the aims of the project and ensure the future engagement of schools with the concept of cross border co-operation.

As part of the project this thematic unit has been developed by the Speedwell Trust in conjunction with Anne McErlane. This unit will be made available to all schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and will continue to support teachers as they deliver the aims of the project.

The schools participating in the project are:

� The Billis NS, Glaslough, Co Monagahan & Bush PS, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone

� The Model NS, Monaghan, Co. Monaghan & St Mary’s PS, Cabragh, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone

� Rockcorry NS, Co. Monaghan & St Brigid’s PS, Brocagh, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone


Contents

This thematic unit is designed to

Station to Station

Acknowledgements Speedwell Trust wishes to acknowledge the contribution of Anne McErlane of AMC Education in the development of this thematic unit and to Des McCrystall of PUSH Advertising & Design for the design and technological development of the online resource.

Connected LearningActivity 1 - Your Questions Answered!Activity 2 - Let’s Communicate!Activity 3 - Partner PassportActivity 4 - The Listener

Section OneKnowing Me, Knowing You

Section TwoBorder Check Point

Section ThreeStamp It Out Campaign!

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Connected LearningActivity 1 - What Divides Us?Activity 2 - Border Check PointActivity 3 - Closer to home!Activity 4 - Flagging Up the Differences.Activity 5 - It’s all the same to you!Activity 6 - Painting my Picture!

Connected LearningActivity 1 - Racism RowsActivity 2 - Stamp it out Campaigners Activity 3 - Let’s Stamp it Out?Activity 4 - Plenary Activity For Unit

STAMPS Thematic unit

This icon indicates an online resource that supports the subject.

This icon indicatesan activity.

ICON KEY

ACTIVITY


Meet the objectives of the Northern Ireland Curriculum with particular reference to:

� Personal and Mutual Understanding � Moral Character � Citizenship � Cultural Understanding � Media Awareness � Ethical Awareness

It is designed to meet and deliver some of the Statements of Minimum Requirement for the Learning Areas of:

� World Around Use � Personal Development and Mutual Understanding � The Arts

It is designed to meet the Objectives of the Curriculum for Primary Schools in the Republic of Ireland with particular reference to its central aims which are:

� to enable the child to live a full life as a child and to realise his or her potential as a unique individual

� to enable the child to develop as a social being through living and co-operating with others and so contribute to the good of society

� to prepare the child for further education and lifelong learning.

It is also designed to meet and deliver some of the requirement for the Learning Areas of:

� Social Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE)

� Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) � Arts Education

Managing Information: � Asking focused questions � Selecting, classifying, comparing and evaluating information

� Using a range of methods for collating, recording and representing information

� Communicating with a sense of audience and purpose

Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making: � Making links between cause and effect � Justifying opinions and conclusions � Generating solutions, trying alternative approaches, evaluating outcomes

� Examining options, weighing up pros and cons � Examining evidence and distinguishing fact from opinion

� Making connections between learning in different contexts

Being Creative: � Seeking out questions to explore and problems to solve

� Making new connections between ideas and questions

� Learning from and valuing others’ ideas � Making ideas real by experimenting with different outcomes

� Taking risks for learning

Working with Others: � Listening actively and sharing opinions � Sharing and cooperating � Giving and responding to feedback � Understanding how actions and words affect others

� Adapting behaviour and language to suit different people and situations

� Evaluating own and others contribution to the group

� Suggesting ways to improve working with others � Respecting the views and opinions of others, reaching agreements using negotiation and compromise

Self-Management: � Managing behaviour in a range of situations � Organising and planning how to go about a task � Seeking advice from others when necessary � Comparing own approach with others in different contexts

This Thematic Unit is designed to:

The Activities included within this Thematic Unit promote the Core Curriculum Skills of communication (English and Gaeilge) and using ICT to develop skills with particular emphasis on:


The objectives of this activity are: � To engage the children in the planning of the

project they are beginning � To help the children consider how they will

communicate with another class/ school during the project

� To introduce the concepts which are addressed by the theme

� To encourage the children to create key questions which will underpin their learning

The teacher should introduce the project and outline the main details of it to the children. It should be revealed that the children will work on the project in a partnership with another class from a school in either Northern or Southern Ireland.

The Planning Activity gives the children the opportunity to think about, discuss and record their ideas. At the end of the activity the children will have generated a set of questions which will underpin their learning.

To complete the activity the teacher should divide the class in to 4 groups. There will be three different stations or workplaces for the children to move around. The teacher should set up these stations.

Station 1

At this station the teacher should provide some pictures, a prospectus or similar information and maps to show the Partner School. A large sheet/ sheets of paper and markers should also be provided on which the teacher should scribe:

Questions we want to ask?

The children should consider here what things they would like to ask about their partner school/ class. They should scribe their questions on the sheets.

Station 2

At this station the teacher should provide a large sheet of paper which may be changed at the end of each group’s work.

The question, which should be on the sheet for the children to think about, is:

How will we communicate with each other?

Station 3

At this station the teacher should present the group with the resource cards provided on page 6 which are the key concepts the theme addresses and their definitions. The children should firstly have the time at this station to try to match the concepts with their definitions.

Station 4

At this station the children should again have paper and markers and this time they should discuss the key concepts they have just worked with and have time to generate questions about these issues.

The teacher may wish to supply the children with some images at this station to stimulate their discussion. For example some pictures of protests against racism or sectarianism or some images of the consequences of these issues. The groups should have time to work at all the stations in a carousel type movement.

The teacher should work alongside groups helping them to generate sensible and realistic key questions.When all groups have visited all the stations the teacher should collate all the work and display it for the class to see.

There will need to be a session of reading over the work generated by the children and the opportunity should be taken at this point to sort and sift the questions so to establish a coherent and relevant set of key questions which will underpin the learning throughout the theme/ project. At this stage the teacher is able to set the agenda for the learning. Also this is a good opportunity to teach the concept of open ended questions.

Introductory Activity - Station to Station - Planning Activity


Resource Cards Planning Activity - Station 3

ACTIVITY

Speedwell Trust 7

Section 1 - Knowing Me Knowing You

Connected Learning

Through studying this theme children will have opportunities to connect learning within and across subject areas. Some examples are listed below. Teachers may be able to develop and include other connected learning activities. Connected learning in Section 1 engages children in: Literacy

� Discussing communication � Talking and listening � Generating ideas, suggestions and

questions � Discussing pros and cons and

making decisions � Locating information, reading and

using research � Creating informative text

Art & Design � Displaying work in a variety of

formats

Music � Exploring beat and rhythm � Developing listening skills

World Around Us/ SESE � Comparing and contrasting features

of places and variety of culture � Exploring interdependence of locality

and features of locality

ICT � Exploring and investigating how

we communicate using modern technology

� Using ICT to research learning and to represent learning.

PDMU/SPHE � Examining and exploring their own

and others’ feelings and emotions � Knowing about aspects of their

culture and heritage, including the diversity of cultures in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

� Recognise similarities and differences between cultures

� Appreciate the range of cultures and traditions in other countries

Some Suggested Learning Intentions Section One

Children will: � Understand the key concepts

underpinning the theme; racism and sectarianism, borders and cross border

� Know the variety of means which people use to communicate

� Be able to identify and discuss the difference between means of communication

� Be able to discuss ideas, generate questions and express and justify opinions

� Understand that some means of communication are more appropriate than others in different scenarios

� Be able to make decisions based on relevant information

� Understand the concept of personal identity

� Be able to work as a group; listening and taking turns

� Be able to assess their own participation in group tasks and that of others

Key Questions: � How do people communicate? � Which are the most appropriate ways

for us to communicate? � Can we use drums to communicate? � How can we work together? � What are the problems of non-verbal

communication? � What is my personal identity? Se

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Once the Planning Activity has been completed the teacher should take time to collate the work, ideas and questions generated by the children.

The first step is to identify clearly with the children all the key and relevant questions which they want to ask their partner class in the new school they are working with.

These questions should be discussed and sorted and then sent to the partner class electronically or by traditional means.

Each class/ school should now have an appropriate amount of time to work on responses to the questions they have exchanged.

They may choose to create an information pack about their school or to create a prospectus for their school or alternatively a Power Point Presentation or a short film about their school. Whatever they do they should endeavour to answer as many of the questions posed by their partners as possible.

At the end of this activity the children should know about the type of school they are working with and have a clear idea about its geographical location.

In this section the children will get to know themselves and each other.

Activity 1 - Your Questions Answered!


For this activity the teacher should now collate all the ideas which were given by the children at the second station of the Planning Activity.

These should be displayed in the classroom. Then the children should be given the opportunity to consider the “Pros and Cons” of the different means of communication that they have suggested.

This could be done either by general class discussion, scribed by the teacher or alternatively this could be a paired or group activity. Each pair or group could consider the Pros and Cons of a particular means of communication and feed their ideas back to the whole class for discussion.

The means of communication which could be considered should include:

� Email � Letter � Skype call � Web conferencing � Texts � Phone calls � Cards � Film or short programmes � Power Point Presentations or similar � Blogs

Any other method the teacher would like to include for consideration.

Activity 2 - Let’s Communicate!

Once the children have had time to consider and discuss their thinking they decide the best means by which they will communicate with their partners. There will, of course, need to be some discussion and agreement reached with their partners.

*Note a Pros and Cons Template has been included online.

Check the resource link

online.

ACTIVITY


The teacher could introduce the concept of identity through this activity. Discussion could centre on the fact that we all have a personal identity that can be proven by official documents.

The initial discussion could clarify what some of these documents are and when we use them. What they tell us about ourselves could be discussed as well. What information others learn about us from these documents could also be discussed.

Documents to be considered could include:

� Passport � Medical card � Baptismal certificates � Birth certificate � Others such as adoption papers, visas etc.

Each child could create an Identity Board about themselves. It could include copies of these documents along with photographs and other items to create a collage that is a representation of their own personal identity.

Then they could be given the task of designing a passport for themselves which displays some of their personal information. This document could contain pages or spaces which will be “stamped” by the teacher as the child completes tasks and activities throughout the theme. (It could also be “stamped” by Speedwell staff on the completion of their activities at the schools).

The children could be paired up with a child from their partner school with whom they show and tell all about their identity work and their passport.As the children are going to share their passport with a partner it may be an idea to create these electronically. The class could design a template for

their passports or the teacher could provide this.The children should decide what components the passport contains but it should include:

Official information � A photograph � A fingerprint � DOB/ age � Address…school or home � Place of birth � Nationality � Other

Unofficial Information such as:

� Hobbies � Sports � Favourite teams/ foods/ bands/ music/games /colours/TV /films etc.

� Countries travelled to

When each class receives the passports of the other they could do some work profiling their partner class. For example they could create graphs, tables or similar to represent the birthdays or places of birth of their partners. These can be created using traditional or digital means. A

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Activity 3 - Partner Passport

ACTIVITY


In this activity the children are going to use drums and drumming as the basis of a team building activity which can be done by the classes in partnership or separately by each class on its own. The activity is also designed to build listening and participation skills.

The activity can be introduced by some discussion of the role of a drum in a piece of music.

The children could listen to different pieces of music and identify the drum and its beat or rhythm within them. Different paces or styles of music could be used. Children could clap rhythms or replicate rhythms on their drum.

The teacher should then divide the children into groups of three or four for the activity. Each child within the group should have a drum or an object which is similar (eg boxes or tins could be used if drums are not readily available).

Within the groups each child will take a turn at being the “LISTENER” in the activity.

� The first “LISTENER” from each group should go to a safe place outside the classroom. The other group members should each create a personal rhythm or beat…a pattern of sounds which is their own. They should have a short time to create this pattern and to practise it.

� Then the listeners should come back in. They should re-join their groups and sit with their backs to them or be blindfolded. The groups should then begin to play their patterns simultaneously.

� The LISTENER must now listen very carefully and try to identify individual patterns within the group. When they think they know a pattern they should play it out on his own drum. If they have correctly identified a pattern that player must stop playing their part.

� The activity repeats until the listener has only one player left to identify.

� That player is the winner and now becomes the “LISTENER”. The activity can be repeated over and over so that all the children get the chance to be the listener.

How did your group have to work together to complete this game?

� What skills were needed to complete the game successfully?

� What did the game teach you about team work?

� How did your group do?

� How well did your team do?

� How could you improve to work better as a group?

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Activity 4 - The Listener

The children should then have the opportunity to think about this activity in terms of team building.

They should think about how the activity promoted team building and what aspects of team building it focused on.

A simple template could be used to prompt the children’s thinking and discussion and to record their ideas.

It would be good to complete this activity and then replay the game to see if there is any improvement in how the groups perform.

Plenary:

Plenary Activity 4- The Listener

ACTIVITY


Section 2 - Border Check PointSe

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Connected Learning

Through studying this theme children will have opportunities to connect learning within and across subject areas. Some examples are listed below. Teachers may be able to develop and include other connected learning activities. Connected learning in Section 2 engages children in: Literacy

� Take part in discussions generating ideas and questions

� Source and locate information � Presenting information on a variety

of written formats � Communicating ideas and making

descriptions � Interpreting the ideas and inform-

ation of others and presenting it

Mathematics � Data handling using Venn diagrams,

graphs and similar

Art & Design � Use thought and ideas as the

inspiration for artwork and interpretations to express ideas

� Represent ideas using a variety of materials


World Around Us/ SESE � Comparing and contrasting physical

features in different places � Know about country borders � Be able to identify a variety of

geographic features � Know the position of countries

within Europe and beyond � Appreciate some of the differences

between countries in Europe and beyond

� Know about the physical Geography of Ireland, North and South

� Know about some of the cultural differences between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

ICT � Use ICT to enhance, explore and

express their learning

PDMU/SPHE � Know about and begin to appreciate

national and cultural diversity � Appreciate the nationality and

cultural identity of others

Some Suggested Learning Intentions

Children will: � Know what a boundary or border is � Know what physical features are

used to create boundaries � Know how borders are decided

upon or are dictated by geographical features

� Know the position of countries within Europe

� Know the counties of Ireland; North and South

� Be able to express ideas orally and pictorially

� Be able to generate ideas and questions to underpin learning

� Know how to write descriptively � Be able to present information they

have sourced in a variety of formats � Understand how living things rely on

each other in the natural world � Know about diversity in their

community and beyond � Know and understand the

importance of embracing and celebrating diversity

Key Questions: � What are boundaries usually made

from? � Why do we need boundaries? � What would happen if there were no

boundaries? � Which features can identify Northern

Ireland from Southern Ireland? � What are the county colours / flags

of Irish counties? � What are some of the similarities and

differences between Northern and Southern Ireland?


In this section the children are going to think about and discuss

physical borders and boundaries. They will look at what creates them

and later in the section they will explore how we can break them

down through music and dance.

Part One - Small Scale

For this activity the teacher should provide the class with a set of photographs or pictures which will allow the children to discuss how borders or boundaries are created physically.

These should initially include examples of boundaries which are obvious to the children:

� Gardens � Fields

The children should have time to discuss the images and to make a list of the things that are used to create physical boundaries on a small scale.

They should discuss questions such as:

� What are boundaries usually made from? � Why do we need boundaries? � What would happen if there were no boundaries? � What happens in disputes over boundaries? � What would they

do if they saw this sign?

� How would they feel?

� What type of person would put such a sign up? � What would make them put up a sign like this?

Extension work

Children could take pictures of the boundaries around their own homes or around the school and create a collage or display using the images.

They could extend this activity by doing some Art or design work and each child could create a plan of a garden using as many physical boundaries as they can.

Activity 1 - What Divides Us?


Activity 1 - What Divides Us?

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ePart Two- Large Scale

To introduce this part of the activity the teacher could ask the children to consider images of the border between two countries.

In the example provided the countries of Italy and France are used. Children should have the chance to create lists of the types of features that create national borders and to use images to create collages of these.

Children could have time to work in pairs to investigate the borders of selected countries to find out which physical features comprise them. See template on page 15

They could also explore the differences which exist on either side of the border which let you know that you have crossed from one country to another.

They could complete a given template and share their findings with their classmates.

They could also consider these questions:

� What are boundaries usually made from?

� Why do we need boundaries? � What would happen if there were no

boundaries? � What happens in disputes over

boundaries?


Activity 2 - Border Check Point

Which countries are you investigating?

Name:___________________________________

Name:___________________________________

What length is their border?

Which Geographical Features are found along their border?

Ways you will know you have crossed their border…. what will change?

ACTIVITY

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Now the children are going to explore and investigate the border which separates them. This time they will research and find out about the physical features that create the border between Northern Ireland and The Republic.

They will look for and display pictures and photos of the physical features. This work will involve them in finding out about the counties of North and South.They will need to also find out about the rivers and mountain ranges, lakes etc which are in each country. They should create a new template or use the one given to consider all the ways we know when we have crossed the border from Northern Ireland to the Republic.

� Road signs � Road markings � Speed limits � Distance - units of measurement � Irish language � Police and police cars � Flag � Currency � Car registrations � Buses � Accents � Other

The children should have time to consider and discuss which are the more obvious differences which they see when they cross the border. They should also consider which are the least obvious differences they encounter.

Extension work: The teacher may wish to extend the work on borders and look at the 32 counties and their borders.

Activity 3 - Closer to home!

A house on the Cavan-Femanagh section of the Irish Border with the ‘Border’ marked!

ACTIVITY

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Activity 4 - Flagging Up the Differences.

The teacher could use the Provincial flags to introduce this concept of flags that belong to everybody.

The children could have time to find out about the four Provinces

and see that they all belong to the same Province. They could work in groups to research the flag of one province and then each group could give a short presentation based on their work to the rest of the class.

Depending on the class size the children could then each be allocated a county. Again they would research a little about the county and its flag. The children could complete a “county card” which would give five facts about their allocated county.

During an ‘Each One, Teach One’ session the children could have the chance to share the

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urinformation on their card with others. In this part of the activity the children should be spread out in a large area, for example a gym hall. They would then have time to share their work with each other by moving around the group and reading each others’ cards.

Extension Work

The children could design their own Partnership Flag (see online resource) to show how they are working across the border of county and country. They could include some of the physical features and geographical features from their localities.

A display called ‘Mapping Difference’ could be created using a large map of Ireland as the background. On this the children could display all their learning.

In this activity the children are going to explore the flags that we all share on the island of Ireland, North and South. They will explore the county and provincial flags.

County name

County Town

County flag

County colours

River

Famous for

Draw County flag

County Card

Check the resource link online for flag

template.

ACTIVITY


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Activity 5 - It’s all the same to you!

The class should be divided into small groups and each group should have some aspect of life to think about and discuss. The idea is that they will be able to see that there are some differences but also much in common between their lives and the lives of their partners even though they live on different sides of the border.

They can use a Venn Diagram or Pie Chart, Bar Graph or Pictograph to help them represent their findings. For example one group might wish to explore sports. They would then record all the sports played in the north and in the South on the diagram. They could contact their partners and find out which sports they play. They could collate the information from the two classes and present on a Venn Diagram

or Pictograph. The children could try to represent their information in a variety of formats and then decide which shows their findings best.

Other aspects of life they might wish to consider could include things like football teams supported, favourite films and favourite foods, etc.

Children could also find out about languages spoken as this might bring some surprising insights as to nationalities in the classes or findings about Irish language.

During this activity the children will consider all the things they have in common even though they live in different countries. They are also going to use a variety of data handling methods to display their findings.

Bar Chart

School A

Rugby

School B

Soccer GAA Hockey


Activity 6 - Painting my Picture

The object of the activity is that each partner should use the description they have been given to draw the scene outside their partner’s window.

Once the drawings have been made and viewed the photos can be sent so that a comparison can be made between the real scene and what the drawing looks like.

The children can take time to discuss how similar or different the areas they live in are to each other.

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How could your worktogether be improved?

Better describing?

TalkingPoint

Better listening?

Better reading?

Better drawing?

Better team work?

For you?

For your partner?

In this activity the children are going to pair up with a partner from the other school. The children should take a picture of the scene outside their bedroom window. They should then record an oral description of this scene or write a written one. They should exchange these descriptions with each other.

In this Plenary the teacher should take the opportunity to explore the idea that what we think we say sometimes may not be what someone else hears. Confusion or mix up and misunderstanding can arise.

The teacher should ask the children to consider…

How close to the scene outside YOUR window did YOUR partner come when they made the drawing?

What did they get wrong?

Why did they get it wrong?

Plenary:


Section 3 - Stamp It Out CampaignSe

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eConnected Learning

Through studying this theme children will have opportunities to connect learning within and across subject areas. Some examples are listed below. Teachers may be able to develop and include other connected learning activities. Connected learning in Section 3 engages children in:

Literacy � Discussing communication � Talking and listening � Generating ideas, suggestions and

questions � Discussing pros and cons and

making decisions � Locating information, reading and

using research � Creating informative text

Art & Design

� Displaying work in a variety of formats

� Use learning and ideas as a stimulus for artwork

� Design a concept from idea to completion

� Express ideas using a variety of materials


World Around Us/ SESE

� Know about the history of racism � Know and understand how racism

affected the lives of some people in different countries and at different times

� Understand how problems of racism were addressed and resolved in the past

� Know about and understand some of the history of their own locality in the recent past

ICT � Using ICT to research learning and to

represent learning � Use ICT to enhance, explore and

express their learning

PDMU/SPHE � Examining and exploring their own

and others’ feelings and emotions � Facing problems and trying to

resolve and learn from them � Knowing about aspects of their

culture and heritage, including the diversity of cultures in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

� Recognise similarities and differences between cultures

� Know about emotive issues and how to deal with them

� Appreciate the range of cultures and traditions in other countries

� Knowing how to confidently express their views and opinions

� Examine ways in which conflict can be caused by words, gestures, symbols or actions

� Appreciate the interdependence of people within the community

� Consider the rights of all community members

� Examine the effects of types of anti-social behaviour

� Developing an awareness of the lives and cultures of others

� Understand that difference and diversity should be celebrated

� Recognise how injustice and inequality affect people’s lives


Suggested Learning Intentions

Children will: � Know about racism in the past � Understand what racism is and how it manifests

through actions � Be aware that racism is an issue within our

communities � Understand the impact of hatred and bigotry � Know about the lives and work who people who

have fought for civil rights

� Be able to discuss the causes and consequences of race crime/ sectarianism

� Be able to suggest ways of addressing emotive issues

� Be able to express ideas in a variety of formats � Use learning as a stimulus for discussion � Use learning as a stimulus for artwork � Use persuasive language to express opinions � Know about the work of the police in our

community � Understand how the work of the police benefits

communities � Know how to write descriptively � Be able to present information they have sourced

in a variety of formats � Understand how living things rely on each other

in the natural world � Know about diversity in their community and

beyond � Know and understand the importance of

embracing and celebrating diversity

Key Questions: � What issues affect us, our community or the

world as a result of diversity? � What are racial or sectarian attacks? � How do these issues affect people who are

victims? � How can we work to resolve issues caused by

diversity? � What types of resolution can we suggest? � Who can help resolve issues of diversity? � Who supports people in time of conflict? � How can we support people? � How can we embrace and celebrate diversity? � What do the police do? � How do the police work in communities?


Now that the children have established working partnerships and are well aware of each others’ similarities they should be helped to understand the futility of racism and sectarianism and how they can live in a wider community underpinned by tolerance and respect. They will also consider the role of the Garda and PSNI in policing their communities and in dealing with these issues. The teacher should remind the children of the definition of Racism that they had in their Planning Activity.

What are racially and religiously motivated attacks?

Racially motivated attacks and religiously motivated attacks are attacks which are carried out because of someone’s racial or ethnic origin, or their religion or lack of religion. They include the following:-a physical attack on a person or family by another person or group of people; an attack on a person’s or family’s home or property, for example, breaking a window, throwing an object through a letter box or setting a car alight; verbal abuse or threats; written abuse, for example, a letter, pamphlet, email or telephone, text message; an abusive slogan painted on a wall or building.

The teacher should provide the following materials as a prompt for discussion. The children should have time to read over the materials and to discuss the content. The teacher might like to give some groups the first example to look at and other groups might look at the second

example. Then the children could explain to each other the example they looked at. Example One: February 1960 USA - Greensboro, North Carolina, four young African-American college students entered a Woolworth store and sat down at the counter but were refused service. The men had learned about non-violent protest in college, and continued to sit peacefully as whites tormented them at the counter, pouring ketchup on their heads and burning them with cigarettes. After this, many sit-ins took place to non-violently protest against racism and inequality.

Example Two: United States, so in 1961, - A civil rights group, the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) began to organize Freedom Rides. After three days of training in non-violent techniques, black and white volunteers sat next to each other as they travelled through the SOUTHERN STATES OF USA where it was still considered an offence for blacks and whites to sit together on buses.

Activity 1 - Racism Rows

During this section the children are going to explore some of the issues that arise in the border counties and other communities or that are part of our lives as a legacy of the Troubles.

*Note- This work might prompt some research into the civil rights campaign in America and into the work of people like Martin Luther King.This is op-tional.

TemplateACTIVITY

Act

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An eight-year-old child has been injured in a rac-ist attack in Dundonald in east Belfast.

Promise Awoyelu was asleep at about 05:30 GMT on Saturday when she was hit on the head by a brick thrown through her bedroom window at

Brooklands Drive. Her injuries are not thought to be life threaten-ing. Two other windows in the house were broken.

It is the second attack on the house within a week.Two windows were smashed and the wind-screen of a car damaged last Sunday.

The child’s father, Charles Awoyelu, who has been living in Northern Ire-land for seven years, described the attack as “shocking”.

A one-time rising star of the Northern Ireland junior football team has been jailed for 18 months for his part in a racist attack on a Polish neighbour.

After the attack, the victim was left lying semi-conscious on the ground with “significant” injuries - including lacerations around his nose and mouth, suspected fractures and multiple bruises on his head and body.

DAILY YARN 28PAGES

THE

CHILDREN IN HURT RACE ATTACK

SHOCKING RACIST bRICK ATTACK IN DUNDONALD

The child’s father, Charles Awoyelu, who has been living in Northern Ireland for seven years, described the attack as “shocking”.

bUMPER TV PAGES & WEEKEND SPORTS ACTION

FOOTbALL STAR JAILED FOR RACIST ATTACK

Plenary - The teacher should lead the class in a discussion about how these incidents make them feel. The teacher should then ask if the children think that incidents like these still happen today. The teacher can then provide the children with the following clips. Alternatively the teacher might wish to use examples from their own locality or from local newspapers which detail racist attacks.

The children could complete the template on page 24 to prompt their discussion and to record their ideas.


Activity 1 - Racism Rows

What happened?

When did the racism

take place?

Who was involved?

Why did it happen? How was it resolved?


In conjunction with the drumming lessons and to utilise their learning the children could create a rap and/ or dance to promote stamping out racism.The children could work together to design a logo

for their campaign which represents both their schools. They could hold a joint assembly to inform other pupils in their schools about their work together.

Activity 2 - Stamp it out Campaigners

These could include people like:

� Nelson Mandela � Martin Luther King � Malcolm X � Desmond Tutu

The children could design a “Stamp it out!” campaign, creating flyers and posters both by traditional and digital means. They could create a set of commemorative stamps displaying the faces of the famous activists and/ or displaying some of their slogans or incidents.

The teacher should

provide the children with

some information about

famous campaigners who

tried to stamp out racism.

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Tw

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This time someone like Ghandi could be explored. The teacher may like to provide incidents of sectarianism for the class or they may research them for themselves. The starting point again should be the definition used earlier in the unit in the Planning Activity.

Then the children should consider the issues by using the same template as they used for Racism.The same set of activities could be completed with the focus of sectarianism. In looking at this issue the children are going to explore what constitutes an attack. They are

going to find out that attacks are not always physical. The images provided on page 27 and the template can be used to focus thinking and to prompt discussion.

Activity 3 - Let’s Stamp it Out?

In this activity the children are

going to explore what other

issues exist in their communities

which they need to be aware

of and to do something

about. These should include

sectarianism which can be

looked at in a similar way to the

racism issue.

ACTIVITY


Sectarianism …….. Yes or No?

Orange ParadeAttacking Police

Soccer Tops

Paint Bombing Churches

Mural

Mural

Rioting


What can we do about it?

Which picturespage 27

demonstrate sectarianism

Which pictures onpage 27 are

not sectarian

Template- Sectarianism …Yes or No?


Activity 4 - Plenary Activity for Unit - We can make a change!

In this activity the children are going to explore the similarities and differences between the Garda and The PSNI. The teacher should allow the children time to research the two police forces. They should use the information they find to create a “Police Profile” for each force.

This profile should include information such as:

� Year formed � Uniform � Headquarters � Ranks � Number of serving officers � Jurisdiction

Once the children have found out about the two forces they could write a set of interview questions for a serving officer from each of the two forces. These questions could be agreed upon with their partner school. Then the children could carry out the interviews. Once these are done the answers could be collated and exchanged with their partners. Now each school will have found out about the police force which serves them and used their findings to inform their partner school. The school in the North could create an Evidence Board based on the information about the Garda and the school in the South could create a similar board based on the PSNI.

As a plenary the children could complete the template on page 29.

The children are going to reflect their learning from the unit in this final activity. It is an opportunity to display all the positivity generated throughout the whole project.

ACTIVITY


Plenary Activity for Unit - We can make a change!


Talking Drums - Thematic UnitSpeedwell Trust 32

www.speedwell-trust.comParkanaur Forest Park | Dungannon | Co. Tyrone | BT70 3AA

T: 028 8776 7392 F: 028 8776 1794 E: [email protected]

www.speedwell-trust.com

This project is part-financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the

EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE III) managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

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