Teaching Tools

Teaching Tools aims to help students understand some of the complex processes that lead to violence and conflict which in turn cause refugees to flee from their homes and from their countries of origin; Cultivate attitudes that lead to a preference for constructive, active and non-violent resolution of conflict; Help students develop the personal and social skills necessary to live in harmony with others and to behave in positive and caring ways that respect basic human rights. The units and their lessons are arranged in subject categories (history, geography, civic education, language/literature, and art), and are designed for three age groups (9-11, 12-14 and 15-18). Each unit comes with a unit plan that shows the teacher at a glance the sequence of the lessons, their objectives, content, the teaching method/learning strategies involved, and the related resources which are available on this website, as well as further suggested readings for the teacher. Although the lessons are arranged in units, some lessons stand on their own, and thus could be taught without their partner lessons. The lesson plans are not prescriptive, but provide interested teachers starting points for lesson preparation. Teachers will need to integrate these ideas into their own programmes or schemes of work. Two of the resources packs in the series deal secifically with creative activities. ART : Refugees contribute to the culture of their host community. Some are well-known artists, painters, poets or novelists. Dante Alighieri created the major part of his work during his exile. Playwright Bertold Brecht, authors Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, poets Pablo Neruda and Jorge Semprun, musician Miguel Angel Estrellas, painters Lucian Freud and Remedios Varo -- all suffered periods of exile which, in some cases, deeply colored their work. The theme of exile can be studied in literature, the history of music and art. LANGUAGE & LITERATURE : Refugees contribute to the culture of their host community. Some are well-known artists, painters, poets or novelists. Dante Alighieri created the major part of his work during his exile. Playwright Bertold Brecht, authors Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, poets Pablo Neruda and Jorge Semprun, musician Miguel Angel Estrellas, painters Lucian Freud and Remedios Varo -- all suffered periods of exile which, in some cases, deeply colored their work. The theme of exile can be studied in literature, the history of music and art. Texts addressing refugee issues can also be used in language courses.