Quakers in Britain develop resources to support children and young people to develop the skills and understanding we all need to be peacemakers, whether in our own lives or in the wider world. Linking to the curricula of England, Scotland and Wales these lessons and resources combine fun with critical thinking about issues of peace and justice. Produced by Quaker Peace & Social Witness
Quakers in Britain develop resources to support children and young people to develop the skills and understanding we all need to be peacemakers, whether in our own lives or in the wider world. Linking to the curricula of England, Scotland and Wales these lessons and resources combine fun with critical thinking about issues of peace and justice. Produced by Quaker Peace & Social Witness
These resources are a sample from a larger pack Quakers in Britain and EAPPI UK & Ireland exploring human rights and peacebuilding among Palestinians and Israelis.
Learners compare a range of boycotts from history including Irish resistance to colonial landlords, the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses and the boycott of apartheid South Africa. They will explore what makes a boycott just or unjust as a tool of social change.
Using this insight, learners can then examine the modern “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions” movement aimed at changing Israel’s human rights policies. Learners will evaluate whether the movement is just and nonviolent, or racist and antisemitic as some have argued.
In this assembly, students will explore 4 different ways the world could be made safer and vote on the best way.
With $1.7 trillion spent on the militaries of the world, the International Peace Bureau and many other organisations question whether we would be safer by spending the money on other things.
Everyone in the assembly will get a chance to vote on how to spend the £45 billion which currently makes up the United Kingdom Defence Budget.
A full lesson plan involving more maths and debate is also available.
Aim
To use the issue of armed drones to explore how to construct an argument using fact and opinion.
Summary
This workshop sees young people exercise critical thinking and argument on the subject of military drones. Drones or ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ (UAVs) are increasingly used by many countries in war, including the UK and USA, but are they a good idea? Young people will learn about how drones are used, and their effects on civilians, and apply this learning to the construction of an argument.
This is Workshop 3 of Fly Kites Not Drones and can be run as one session or as two shorter sessions. See more at www.flykitesnotdrones.org
Objectives
Participants will practise differentiating between fact and opinion.
Participants will learn about how drones are used.
Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own opinion in discussion.
All participants will practise spoken debate.
Some participants will integrate persuasive techniques with argument.
This assembly asks an exciting but serious question for children. Can if ever be right to be disobedient? It uses the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to join Hitler's army in World War 2. The story is gradually revealed to the young people in stages, giving them a chance to decide what they would do.
In focusing on 100 years since the ending of World War I, there are rich opportunities to engage children and young people in dialogue to explore their attitudes, values and beliefs as part of PSHE. This content is intended for children age 7-11.
There are opportunities to explore the impact of WWI and embed themes of peace throughout the curriculum that build knowledge, develop evaluative and analytic skills as well as broaden students’ understanding of conflict, war and learning from the past.
AIMS :
Reflect on how and why we remember past events
Reflect on causes of conflict
Students to work co-operatively to think about what peace means
What rules would you give an armed drone if it could think for itself?
Drawing inspiration from robots in science fiction and the
real world, this workshop explores the ethics of robots and ultimately of of automating warfare.
It uses Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics to pose the question, what rules would you give a robot? Should drones be allowed to decide when to kill?
Ukraine and Russia are at war and a humanitarian crisis continues. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to answer the question, will you fight?
In this lesson, learners will use perspective-taking to grapple with the ethical challenges faced by Ukrainians and Russians sent to war whether they wanted it or not. They will gain knowledge of the chronology of the conflict, international law and practise empathy and critical thinking.
This lesson is produced by Quakers in Britain. It is a collaboration with Potent Whisper, a London based rapper and Spoken Word artist, and Child Rights International Network.
The lesson introduces the new piece, The Rhyming Guide to Joining the Army! and give students the opportunity to respond to it as unseen poetry to support their English Literature study. The poem also raises important citizenship questions about under 18 recruitment to the armed forces and the way it is promoted to young people.
We’re also really grateful Woodcraft Folk for previewing the video with us and providing an exemplar discussion, blending citizenship and literature in the video discussion provided.
This Assembly tells the true story of a nonviolent campaign in Kenya to save Mama Zepreta’s house. Hearing or acting out the story, pupils will learn how people can challenge power and injustice without being violent.
Aim: to explore positive ways of challenging injustice through nonviolent means.
Part of the Teach Peace primary pack
In focusing on 100 years since the ending of World War I, there are rich opportunities to engage children and young people in dialogue to explore their attitudes, values and beliefs as part of PSHE. This content is intended for children age 11-14.
There are opportunities to explore the impact of WWI and embed themes of peace throughout the curriculum that build knowledge, develop evaluative and analytic skills as well as broaden students’ understanding of conflict, war and learning from the past.
AIMS :
Reflect on how and why we remember past events
Reflect on causes of conflict
Students to work co-operatively to think about what peace means
‘The Two Mules’ is a simple cartoon that can be used in education to explore the themes of conflict and co-operation. Here we provide suggestions and guidance on using the story interactively online or in-person. The content can be used at primary and secondary level.
Learn about:
the need for communication in conflict
win:win solutions
Deeper questions of power in conflict
Lesson 1 of 6 sample lessons from the Razor Wire & Olive Branches pack.
This lesson uses map activities, sorting exercises and engaging visuals to introduce students to Palestine & Israel and some of the identities of the people who live there.
This lesson starts with building up basic knowledge:
Where are Palestine and Israel?
What are they like?
Who lives there?
But even these simple questions can be deceptively simple, so learners will begin to explore the complexity of identity. We have also provided resources to assist in challenging Islamophobia and antisemitism as you embark on the topic. There will be more sample lessons to follow.
"The Razor Wire and Olive Branch workshop really widened my knowledge on the current issues taking place in Israel and Palestine. " | Abigail, Year 9
This lesson is based on the larger Razor Wire & Olive Branches learning pack (2019), produced by EAPPI.
“EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel) brought a complicated international issue into the classroom in a way that made it entirely accessible to our young people.” | Alice Harlan, Year 11 lead
The pack draws on the stories and the wealth of eyewitness experience from the human rights monitors of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine & Israel (EAPPI). The resources are being released online to aid with online learning. Order the full pack from the Quaker bookshop.
(This is a lockdown lesson)
15 April 2020 marked the 7th anniversary of the liberation of Belsen Concentration Camp by British forces.
This lesson uses Chinua Achebe’s famous poem “Vultures”, which refers to Belsen, to explore both language and the disturbing themes it brings out.
The lesson explores language, imagery, story and juxtaposition.
We also partnered with the Holocaust Memorial Foundation to provide a creative outlet, where young people can decorate their own stone as a contribution to the Holocaust Memorial to be built in London.
See the lesson as tweeted here.
In this lesson, learners consider the impact of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for Palestinians and Israelis. The learning materials provide to ways to approach the question: by looking at international law, and by looking at the lives of Palestinians and Israelis through case studies.
This lesson is based on the Razor Wire & Olive Branches learning pack (2019), produced by EAPPI UK & Ireland and Quakers in Britain. The resources are being released to aid with online learning
Learners will get to grips with the concept of nonviolence by looking at the choices and actions of Israelis and Palestinians in conflict.
This lesson is based on the Razor Wire & Olive Branches learning pack (2019), produced by EAPPI UK & Ireland and Quakers in Britain. The resources are being released to aid with online learning. Order the full pack from the Quaker bookshop.
Lesson 2 of 6 sample lessons from the Razor Wire & Olive Branches pack.
This lesson uses role play and historic sources to explore Britain’s role in Palestine and what would become modern Israel during World War I.
Students will practise their negotiation skills and explore power dynamics through in group work, before looking at this and place this experience in the context of Britain’s historic role as a colonial power in the Middle East. To make it simple, the initial negotiation is about whether and how to share an orange, which represents the land. The lesson then unpacks how the real diplomacy worked out during World War I and after, with Britain giving separate assurances to Arab leaders in Palestine, Jewish leaders and the French government.
If you haven’t tried Lesson 1, which introduces the geography of Palestine and Israel, it’s available in our TES store.
In focusing on 100 years since the ending of World War I, there are rich opportunities to engage children and young people in dialogue to explore their attitudes, values and beliefs as part of PSHE. This content is intended for children age 3-7.
There are opportunities to explore the impact of WWI and embed themes of peace throughout the curriculum that build knowledge, develop evaluative and analytic skills as well as broaden students’ understanding of conflict, war and learning from the past.
AIMS :
Reflect on how and why we remember past events
Reflect on causes of conflict
Students to work co-operatively to think about what peace means
As the Treaty on the Prohibtion of Nuclear Weapons comes into effect (22 January 2021). The resources are being released free online to aid with online learning.
In this lesson, learners will explore what weapons have been banned from war, why, when and how. It could be a great spring board for moral and global citizenship discussions and links well with British Values, particularly Democracy and the Rule of Law. Learners will also practise their skills in debate and writing to argue, exploring whether Britain should follow the TPNW.
In this lesson, learners will explore and evaluate different peacemaking efforts at the government level and by Palestinians and Israelis at the grassroots.
The lesson takes a close look at the history of the Oslo peace process, but also at bottom-up peacebuilders from Palestine & Israel.
This is lesson 6/6 based on the Razor Wire & Olive Branches learning pack (2019), produced by EAPPI UK & Ireland and Quakers in Britain. The resources are being released to aid online learning. Order the full pack from the Quaker bookshop.