Hi, last year I wrote a lesson based on the Dale Farm court case. We used it to teach GCSE pupils about Rights and Responsibilities. Pupils were split into 3 groups (Travellers, Supreme Court and Basildon Council) and had to argue their case relying on Human Rights laws and conventions. We taught it again this year and my colleague Paula Brocki made this short film of her class. For more information drop me an email.
Lola B.
Hi our faculty was asked to come up with a stand alone session on motivation and team building for year 11. So, we huddled around our big white board and drew lots of spider diagrams and finally we came up with this. It’s a parody of the brilliant Dragon’s Den but with an added bonus of letting pupils see our staff make a complete hash of it first. Feel free to use the clip if you’d like to try something similar. The clip can be found at:
If you’re about to teach your pupils about Homophobia or indeed any other forms of discrimination you might find this film useful. I based it on Jane Elliott’s famous Brown Eye/Blue Eye classroom experiment which she devised after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Pupils (and any additional teaching staff) are greeted at the classroom door and separated as they enter according to their eye colour. Blue eyed pupils s are told to sit on the floor at the back and wear a post-it note on their chest. At this point I show the film and take the class through the new rules. You have to be brave and try and conduct at least a quarter of the lesson according to the rules.
At the end of the experiment pupils are asked what they think the lesson was about. They will inevitably assume it is about racism, offering you the opportunity to explain to them that discrimination comes in many forms including religious, gender, sexuality etc.
Warning: it is really important to de-role your class, as even the most jaded of pupils soon becomes engrossed in the experiment. It’s also important to make sure you have a structured evaluative discussion after the experiment so pupils can compare the thoughts and feelings of the Brown eye and Blue eye groups.
This film forms part of a 3 lesson scheme of work.
The film can be found at:
The Edexcel Citizenship GCSE has a unit on Community & Identity. As part of this unit pupils need to be able to discuss and assess different religions and the world’s response to them. This clip demonstrates our approach to teaching the tricky question of France’s decision to ban the wearing of the Burqa in public. Pupils had to demonstrate an understanding of both sides of the argument regardless of their personal beliefs.
The lessons took place over 3 hours with lesson introducing key concepts and setting the research for homework, lesson 2 the debate and lesson 3 the Big Burger event where pupils planned their essay as a class by physically creating a big sample essay in the shape of a burger. This is a class that can be quite challenging at times but who love a good debate and really benefit from a lot of stimulus and creativity. Hope you find it useful.
The link is: http://youtu.be/-XP-uYIKIJc
Lola
Please note, this film clip is on YouTube but it is unlisted – you will not be able to find it through a general search. You must use the actual link above. Thank you.
If you’ve ever wondered how to tackle GCSE Citizenship coursework look no further. At Blackfen School for Girls year 10 pupils launched their first ever Citizenship fair. Pupils picked an issue they were passionate about, researched it, contacted relevant people in power and invited them to participate in their Citizenship Fair….all in half a term! Guest speakers and attendees included a serving prison officer, Rev. Sharon Ferguson (Gay Rights Activist), a CPS prosecution lawyer (specializing in sexual assault / rape cases) and Ms. Sally Knox of the Rob Knox Foundation. There was a lot of local press coverage and to top it all off our girls also received a personal phone-call from Micheal Gove’s PA apologizing for not being able to attend the event – they were stunned when they got that call! The event was finished with a game of “Are You Smarter Than a Blackfen Student?” which our Citizenship girls won! The event was the brainchild of our amazing NQT Paula Brocki (who also coordinated the Fair) and proved to be an outstanding success and enjoyed by all. Most importantly our girls learned that Citizenship isn’t something you simply read about, it’s something you have to actively engage in if you want to see results.
If you’d like help hosting your own event please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.
The film can be found at: https://vimeo.com/59901375
My wonderful colleague Katie Scott and I were asked to deliver a CPD session on BfL at our school Blackfen School for Girls. This is the resulting product. I’ve used much of the original training material (including Katie’s brilliant Active Inspire creation) but for a complete plan and resources contact me through my blog at lolablatch.wordpress.com. Here’s the link:
Thanks for watching!
Hello from Blackfen School for Girls’ Citizenship department. This film supports the Edexcel GCSE Citizenship unit 1 theme 3. It is a short introductory film about direct action and the rise of social media as a means of changing the world around us. The film ends with a a choice of written assignments referencing the core text book and an activity which is currently on TES written by my excellent colleague Paula Brocki. I will add a link to this shortly. In the meantime enjoy!
