Key Stage 1&2 Citizenship:
Living in a Diverse World
(Unit 05)
These ideas for activites can be used as preparation for, or follow up from, a
museum visit. Alternatively they can be used in conjunction with a 'whole class
virtual tour'. The webquests offer separate activities and can be used
alongside these activities.
Section 1: How are we the same and how are we different?
Section 2: What are communities like?
Section 3: What are different places like?
Section 4: How are we all connected?
Section 1: How are we the same and
how are we different?
Discussing issues of difference in the classroom is complex and needs to be
handled sensitively. This is the case whether the class contains pupils from a
variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds or whether pupils are from the same
community group. In both cases there is the possibility that negative
assumptions can be formed. Some pupils may also feel isolated or perhaps think
they have become the focus of undue attention. History, historical artefacts
and historical personalities can successfully be used by teachers within
Citizenship to create a space for discussion where pupils do not feel 'in the
spotlight' but yet are confident to discuss their own and their peers identity.
Considering the serious nature of the learning involved in 'How are we the same
and how are we different' it is advisable with Key Stage 1 & 2
pupils to couch the lesson in familiar territory i.e. children and childhood.
It would appear that two difficult contradictory questions are being asked in
this unit 'How are we the same'? 'How are we different'? The
successful teaching outcome will be to impart an awareness of the diversity of
humankind along with the understanding that all people have universal 'core
needs' as outlined below.
This lesson plan breaks this topic into two manageable sections:
a) How are we the same?
b) How are we different?
Aim: Establishing that all people have universal 'core needs'
even though they live different lives and come from various backgrounds.
Method: Use experiences of nineteenth century children to
assist your pupils in questioning how children were different from each other
in the past and what is different/similar today.
Resources: Study of Sleeping Baby by Leighton
(1850), pupils photographs of themselves when babies or toddlers.
Activities
How are we the Same?
Before children can discuss the more complex issues of identity, it is helpful
to establish some 'core needs' common to everyone. Use Leighton's sketch of the
sleeping baby to elicit from your pupils some of the basic core human needs
from birth right through life i.e. good health, care, protection, love,
friendship, sense of belonging, etc. Get your pupils to bring in photos of
themselves as babies/toddlers. This should cause quite a lot of excitement and
fun but you can use this exercise to reinforce the 'core needs' identified with
the Leighton sketch and illustrate that such needs are common over time and in
all cultures.
How are we different?
To introduce your pupils to this topic, begin by exploring how children's lives
in the Victorian period were different. You could draw on work done in History
at Key Stages 1 & 2 'What was it like for children living in Victorian
Britain'. This approach enables your pupils to question differences in the
lives of historical children through the issue of 'rich and poor'. The
historical angle sufficiently distances pupils from their own family
circumstances but yet allows them to put experiences of difference then and now
into context.
Explain that the baby in Leighton's sketch was born into a wealthy as opposed
to a poor Victorian family. He was the son of the famous British poet, Robert
Browning 1812-89, and was also called Robert. Get your pupils to consider the
following:
a) how this child's life and upbringing might have been different from a
child less fortunate in the nineteenth century.
b) how this child's life is similar/different to their own
The following are helpful pointers: 
Health - access to medicine and medical knowledge
Nutrition - access to good
food
Education - sent to school as
opposed to work
Family life - cared for by
nurses/nannies, limited contact with parents
Pastimes and toys - technology
of 19th versus 21st century 
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Section 2: What are communities like?
Having successfully established in Section 1 with your pupils that people are
different yet share 'core needs' it is vital to carry this mode of thinking
into Section 2.
It is first important to instill in your pupils the attributes of what makes a
good community. For this purpose the 'core needs' as discussed in Section 1 now
become 'shared values'. The latter would consist of concepts such as respect
for other people, including others in decision making, sharing information and
helping others in times of need. Keep the focus of exploring this topic
connected to imagery that your pupils will relate to
Aim: Establishing what the word community means and highlighting
that we all belong to many different communities but still have 'shared
values'.
Method: Use example of a school or class and hobby/leisure
groups to explore idea of community.
Resources: Image
of a school in Cairo c.1900 and examples of membership of hobby/leisure
groups e.g. photos, membership cards, uniforms etc.
Activities
1) Show your pupils the photograph of a school in Cairo
c.1900. Explain that the word 'community' can be used to define a group of
people who either live close together or come together for some type of
activity. In this instance you are showing them a community of school children
from over 120 years ago in a different country and environment than their own.
Questions for your class:
What differences can your pupils list from their own school community?
Different
country
Teaching
outdoors
School
uniform
School
implements i.e. reading/writing materials
2) Get your pupils to consider types of behaviour that would
have positive and negative impacts on a school community. Positive - sharing,
consideration, friendliness, thoughtfulness etc Negative - selfishness,
rudeness, bullying etc
3)Using the photos or objects from the hobby/leisure groups that
the children have brought into class, get your class to discuss how their out
of school community is similar or not to their school community.
Section 3 - What are different
places like?
A fun activity to work on with your pupils that also has an important early
effect on how they view other regions of the world and cultures. This section
also allows you to gently challenge any potential negative stereotypes that you
perceive to be forming amongst your class.
Aim: To get your pupils to learn about different countries and
cultures and be able to comprehend regional difference.
Method: Use different coloured thread to link countries
together on a world map and have your pupils ask and answer questions on their
chosen country.
Resources: Map of world, coloured thread
Activities
1) As a warm-up exercise, a few days before you begin this
section ask your pupils to collect a selection of holiday photos from family
trips abroad or take cuttings of hot and cold countries from
newspapers/magazines.
2) Together as a class, separate out the warm from the cold
countries. You could draw on work done in Geography at Key Stage 1 & 2
'Passport to the world' at this point. In relation to the photos/cuttings
brought in you could discuss the following:
How does the appearance of the landscapes differ from country to country.
Are
peoples clothes different? If so, is this because of climate, religious or
cultural reasons?
How are
homes different in each country represented?
Contrast
all the above with your pupils view of Britain and their own familiar 'home
space'. 3) Break your class in groups of 4 or
5 and allocate each group a different country in the world. Each group should
be given a different piece of coloured thread to plot a line from the UK to
their chosen country. Have them write a brief story of an imaginary trip to
this country and what they might see on their journey. Refer back to the work
done in the warm-up exercise at the start. The following sections of our
website will also assist your pupils in this section:
Leighton and Victorian Travel,
Paintings and Drawings
Section 4 - How are we all connected?
A potentially difficult topic for pupils at Key Stages 1 & 2. However, by
looking at where items such as food and clothing are produced in the world and
how they get to our shops, it helps bring the relevant issues to life. It is
also valuable to contrast todays movement of goods from that of the past to
consider issues such as ease of availability, effects on countries/peoples who
produce the goods and how 21st century technology has a positive or negative
impact on world communities.
Aim: To get pupils to understand that communities/societies
are interdependent on each other in a national and international context for
access to food and other goods.
Method: Examine places of production for various goods and
trace their travel across the globe to your classroom.
Resources: Map of world, website map of Leighton's travels,
selection of fruit/vegetables from across the world, items brought in by your
class from various regions of the world (could be real items from home or cut
from papers/magazines).
Activities
1) Ask your pupils to bring in either foods, clothing or
personal items (toys) that have been made in foreign countries. Break your
class into the same groups as were formed while working on Section 3. In their
groups get them to locate the countries that their selected items came from.
2) Now get them to draw the methods of transport (pane, ship,
lorry etc) that brought such goods to the UK.
3) Contrast this with looking at the map of Leighton's
travels. Get your pupils to consider the following:
Look at the countries Leighton visited. What types of food would he have
encountered on his travels?
How
would people in the Victorian age have brought goods back to the UK in those
days (makes pupils consider 21st century technology, ease of access to produce
today for most people etc). This could be extended to consider whether new
technology is damaging the countries that produce the goods we see in our
shops. The environment and climate could also be introduced here i.e. air
travel and its effects.
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