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
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.
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
‘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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Aim: Learn about the different factors that cause insecurity and how we could make the world safer.
Learners will draw on numeracy, speaking and listening and critical thinking skills to explore this citizenship question: do we need to rethink security?
Beginning by exploring the idea of security- what makes us safer and what makes us feel safe? Learners will progress by evaluating and quantifying risks that face us today including knife crime, spiders and climate change, before asking what the priorities should be.
All the content and notes are included in the slide show.
Part of the Rethinking Security project .
This is a creative way to tackle controversial questions surrounding Remembrance, the armed forces, war and militarism.
This attractive poster and the accompanying activities elicit debate and discussion about the reality and ethics of military involvement in British society. Armed Forces Day is a particularly relevant time to open up this discussion in your Citizenship, PSHE lessons and meet your SMSC requirements. It also lends itself to Philosophy for Children sessions at primary or secondary.
Everything shown is ‘real’ - something that does happen on the streets of Britain.
We’ve provided the resource as a PDF, an image and a clickable webpage (meaning you can click on individual parts of the image and see a related video, report or news story; students could explore this individually or be led through it on an a whiteboard.
You can order printed hard copies (free, just pay postage) from the quaker bookshop.
We’ve also suggested a range of activities to elicit interesting discussion in the attached document.
The theme:
This lesson asks a simple question: should we make polluters pay? In exploring this global citizenship question, students will encounter a wealth of cross-curricular learning experiences and outcomes with learning for sustainability at the heart.
Teachers can curate a lesson by choosing from 24 activities covering numeracy, literacy, speaking and listening, creative expression, science, geography, critical thinking, mapped onto the curricula of England and Scotland and Wales.
Learners will encounter concepts including the polluter pays principle established at the Rio Earth Summit in 1990 and the loss and damage fund established at COP27, and use images and data to understand how these ideas apply around the world.
Structure:
The activites are structured in four sections:
Introductory stimulus | by encountering the Make Polluters Pay exhibition and forming personal responses, students begin to consider the themes of the lesson.
Teacher explanation | a series of explanatory activities helps students formulate enquiries and understand the background issues such as climate change, loss and damage and the “polluter pays” principle.
Developing understanding | a menu of activities help learners consolidate and deepen their understanding of the difference in responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, evaluating who should pay.
Conclusion and expression | students use their own judgement and creativity to express their views on a fair way to help people facing loss and damage.
Why teach this lesson?
In 2022, governments across the world agreed to establish a loss and damage fund to compensate those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The term “loss and damage” describes the irreversible harm climate change is causing to people and communities. To this day the loss and damage fund remains significantly underfunded; this is why campaigners are on the streets chanting “make polluters pay”.
Campaigners are calling for the fund to be filled with money from those that caused the climate crisis. Based on the “polluter pays principle”, the idea is to tax polluting companies, utilise this revenue to fill the fund and help those facing climate catastrophe.
These lesson materials are based on an exhibition that has toured the UK and has helped people understand and engage with the issue of loss and damage. This exhibition uses examples from around the world to illustrate communities facing painful loss and damage alongside exemplifying voices that have inspired hope and lead to positive change in the face of the climate crisis.
This lesson will enable cross-curricular learning of sustainability , unpacking the polluter pays principle which signifies an opportunity of hope and justice during difficult and uncertain times, discussing and evaluating the polluter pays principle can provide a starting point in helping to tackle climate anxiety among students.