Objectives

This learning tool is relevant for pupils aged 10-11 (5th grade of primary school in Cyprus) and it is based on the Cypriot primary school Curriculum’s thematic unit 3 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF OUR SOCIAL SELF, and particularly the subunit 3.3 INTERCULTURALITY, ACCEPTANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF DIVERSITY. It is taught in the context of “Health Education” subject.

The tool was developed and structured using Drama in Education as a teaching and learning methodology. It is consisted of two 80-minute drama workshops.

With this tool, students are expected to:

- Cultivate a culture of empathy and acceptance of the different

- Distinguish the negative effects resulting from any form of exclusion or discrimination

Activity details

• Material: classical music, projector, pc, videos, classroom equipment, agree/disagree statements  (see Appendix 1) for activity 2 (1st 80-minute lesson), agree-disagree line, small cards of four different colors (for dividing the class into groups), markers, figures for the “Role on the wall”
• Duration: 2x80 minute lessons (drama workshops) 
• Group number: 22-24 pupils

Activity 1

“White and Black sheep” (50 min.) 

Steps

1. We invite students to sit on the ground in a circle. Then we ask them to imagine in how many different ways they can say “good morning”, except from the usual. We let children choose for themselves, whether to use their bodies, facial expressions, different tones of their voice. We set as a condition that each child must say their own personal “good morning”. First, the educator says her/his own different good morning and then all the kids in turn.
2. We put soft music on and invite the children to move freely in the classroom, following the music rhythm. When the music stops, we ask them to stay still, keeping their eyes closed. Any child who cannot keep her/his eyes closed, we suggest that she/he should put on a mask or scarf. We take a child out of the group and then we invite the rest of the children to open their eyes and find out which child is missing. We instruct them not to speak either when they move in space or when they are looking for which child is missing. This process is repeated several times.
3. We put music and invite the children to move freely in the classroom, following the music with their movements. When the music stops, we ask them to create with their bodies whichever animal they want. We remind them not to talk, but that they should stay focused on what they're trying to do. The process is repeated several times. Then we invite the children to sit down in a circle. We ask a child to get into the center of the circle and show to others which animal she/he portrays. The rest try to guess which animal might be. 
   
4. We ask children to walk freely but slowly in the classroom. We ask them not to touch each other and not to talk to each other. They are only allowed to communicate through the eyes. Then we ask them to continue walking and greet any child they come across by mimicking the sound of an animal, trying to talk to each other in this language. We explain to them that they will not just say hello, but they will try to understand each other.
   
5. We invite the children to gather in a circle. We begin to tell a story, while, at the same time, the children act it out. The story is about a herd of white sheep living on a hillside. Children "become" those white sheep and choose for themselves which corner of the classroom will become the space of action, i.e. the hillside. They perform the sheep’s daily habits. They eat grass, drink water, play and sleep. They assign the roles on their own, according to the story plot, but the educator should assign the leader of the herd. In the course of the action, we inform the children that two black sheep are approaching their flock; again, the educator chooses two children and assigns them the role of black sheep. The children - white sheep will discuss with each other, listen to all the opinions and decide for themselves how to react, i.e. whether to accept the black sheep in their flock or to chase them away. Then perform their decision for the story to be completed.
   
6. Debriefing/reflecting: When the story is complete, we invite the children to sit down in a circle and discuss their feelings and thoughts about this activity. Questions to be discussed:

• Did you like the activity? 
• How did you decide whether to accept the two black sheep in your flock? 
• Why did you / did you not accept the two black sheep? 
• What human values do you associate with this activity? 
• How would our lives look like, if we didn't have those values?

Activity 2

Line debate (30 min.)

Steps 

1. The students are asked to line up on the line on the floor. 

2. The teacher/teacher reads the first statement of Αppendix 1 and asks the participants to move to one or the other area, according to whether they agree or disagree with it. The more they agree or disagree, the more they move aside. 

3. The trainer asks some of the participants from both sides to explain their position. While listening to the explanations, the others have the right to change position if they feel convinced. 

4. Debriefing/reflecting: The trainer asks the participants to share their views and feelings about the activity (agree/disagree statements). 

Activity 1

“Teach respect-mimic” (45 min.) 

Steps

1. Students move in the classroom by changing: 
2. speed (slowly, sluggish, fast, faster) 
3. direction (moving ahead, backwards, towards the door of the class, away from the door, diagonal) 
4. level (low, medium, tall) 
5. using "lame foot" while changing speed and direction (movement using one foot only) 
6. using "blind eye" (movement using one eye only, covering the other) 
7. 'lame leg' and 'blind eye' together

Ask them when it was easier for them to move. They are expected to acknowledge that they moved much more easily without a "blind eye" and a "lame leg".

Split the group into pairs. Randomly distribute color papers to the students and pair them according to the color of the paper they picked.

Show the UNICEF video “Teach respect-mimic” (2-3 times) (see appendix 2)

Discuss briefly the students’ thoughts.

Role on the wall: The students with their teacher’s help use two empty figures (appendix 3) to create and develop the profile of the characters they saw in the video.

Little scene: The teacher asks the pairs to perform the scene from the video using: a) pantomime without sounds; and b) pantomime with sounds (no words are allowed). Then, the teacher asks for volunteers to enact their scene on the plenary.

Thought tracking: The teacher “freezes” children’s pantomime and asks from the rest to touch the shoulder of the child on crutches and discover his thoughts at that particular time; they should say out loud what that child thinks using the first person (“I”). Repeat this and invite children to discover the thoughts of the child who mocks the child on crutches. 

Conscience alley: The teacher divides the students into 2 groups, and asks them to form two lines facing each other. The teacher invites one of the students who acted the role of the child who mocks to slowly pass through the alley created. The rest of the children become the voice of his/her consciousness, and they yell out loud the thoughts that she/he had in his head after the scene. The aim is to reflect on the behavior her/his role had towards the child on crutches.

The activity ends with discussion and reflection on the possible completion of the story. Follow-up questions might include the following:

If you came across a similar scene in your school yard, what would you do?

How could the child who mocks to make up for his/her behavior, given that she/he has already regretted for his/her behavior?

Activity 2

“Tolerate diversity” (35 min.) 

Steps

1. Show the UNICEF video “Every child has the right to a life free from discrimination”. Discuss students’ opinions and feelings after watching the video. Questions to be asked:

• Which are the characters of this story? What do they do?
• How does each character feel? Why?
• Is there a problem?
• Would you change something in this story? Why? 

2.  Hot seating: Initially, the teacher (and then a student) takes on the role of the teacher in the video and sits on a chair in the center of a circle. The other students, assuming the role of an "interrogator", ask questions to the teacher, seeking answers about her/his behavior towards the child and the reasons why she/he reacted like this.

3. The teacher raises some questions:

• Would you like your school to be like the school in the video?
• If this story was unfolding in your own school, in your own class, with you for protagonists, how would you imagine the story? How would you react? What attitude and behavior would you have, as a teacher and students?

4. The teacher splits the group into 4 teams. He/she randomly distributes color papers to the students and divides them according to the color of the paper they picked. Ask them to develop a two-minute scene using mime during which they will direct and change in any way they want the story in the video, giving a new title. Students are encouraged to use colorful fabrics and clothes and other objects they can find in the classroom (e.g. whiteboard, desks, chairs, books etc.) for their scene.

5. Each team will present and discuss in plenary their scene.

Tips for the teacher

For the line debate activity: 

Since the “decoding” and interpretation of each statement is expected to differ somehow between the participants, the selection and the wording of the statements needs to be thought out and planned very carefully to avoid misinterpretations. 

Practical arrangements: Draw a line on the floor using tape or a ribbon. One side of the line will be the “I agree” area; the other side will be the “I disagree” area. 

Debriefing

Students write on post-it notes words or phrases they learned from this lesson and then they put them on the board. They recommend a title that would suit the lesson.

References/Further reading

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού (2014) Ανακαλύπτοντας τον Ελέφαντα. Παιδαγωγικό Ινστιτούτο Κύπρου. Υπηρεσία Ανάπτυξης Προγραμμάτων. Λευκωσία. Διαθέσιμο στην ιστοσελίδα Ανακτήθηκε στην ιστοσελίδα της Αγωγής Υγείας Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης.

[Ministry of Education and Culture (2014) Discovering the Elephant. Cyprus Pedagogical Institute. Service for Programs’ Development. Nicosia]

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού ( 2017) Αναλυτικό πρόγραμμα Αγωγής Υγείας: Δείκτες Επιτυχίας – Επάρκειας, Ανακτήθηκε από την ιστοσελίδα της Αγωγής Υγείας Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης

[Ministry of Education and Culture (2017) Health Education Analytical Program: Success – Adequacy Indicators]

Books and online tools:

Συμβίωση: Σχέδιο δράσης για την προώθηση της ανεκτικότητας και την πρόληψη του ρατσισμού στο σχολείο

(The UN Refugee Agency-UNHCR, 2014) [Coexistence: Action Plan to promote tolerance and prevent racism at school]  (From this book I took Activity 1, Lesson 1)

On-line version:

https://www.unhcr.org/gr/wpcontent/uploads/sites/10/2019/07/Symbiosis_project_manual_final.pdf 

The document Competences for democratic culture (Council of Europe, 2016) ; On-line version: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/Source/competences/CDC_en.pdf

TASKs for democracy – 60 activities to learn and assess transversal attitudes, skills and knowledge (TASKs) (Pestalozzi, 2016), On-line version: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/pestalozzi/Source/Documentation/Pestalozzi4_EN.pdf

Compasito - Manual on human rights education for children (Council of Europe, 2007), On-line version: http://www.eycb.coe.int/compasito/pdf/Compasito%20EN.pdf

Games for actors and non-actors (Boal, 2002), On-line version: https://geraldkeaney.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/augusto_boal_games_for_actors_and_non-actorsbookfi-org.pdf

Annex 1

Statements used in the line debate (Activity 2- Lesson 1)

I like to have kids from different countries in my class.

I would rather hang out with kids who do well in sports.

I do not complain when my teacher asks me to sit next to a student who doesn’t speak Greek well.

In a classroom, all students have the right to express their opinion.

I am making fun of kids who give wrong answers.

I choose my friends based on their character.

Children who don’t play football well shouldn’t be involved in the game at all.

I respect children who have different abilities than me.

Both girls and boys can become class presidents.

For our class to do well, all students should cooperate with each other.

Annex 2

Videos used in Lesson 2

UNICEF: Teach Respect – Mimic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnFCpvTetro

UNICEF: Every child has the right to a life free from discrimination:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK5a-DYzBWk