Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

Why Comics? GCSE (age 14-16) History Lesson Plan:

The Legacy of War Crimes

Introduction Looking to engage your students in contemporary human rights and social issues? Based at SOAS University of London, Why Comics? Education Charity brings contemporary humanitarian and social issues into the classroom (such as racism, conflict, migration, trafficking and climate change) through interactive literary comic books based on real-life testimony.

Our free easy-to-use Key Stage 2-5 resources build empathy and enhance learning for 7-18-year-old students and teachers alike, alongside UK national-curriculum relevant lesson plans to support multiple subjects.

Each sample UK National Curriculum based Lesson Plan is provided as a Word.doc – so you can use it as a building block. Please feel free to adjust the content to suit your teaching style and students’ needs, all the content is only suggested.

Our innovative resources help enhance learning to support multiple subjects (such as English, ESOL, Personal, Social, Health and Economic [PSHE] education, Citizenship Studies, Art, Media Studies and Geography). Our support materials are intended to inspire teachers and enhance teaching practices and different ideas.

Why Comics? resources are embedded with a wealth of age-appropriate contextual multimedia (such as news articles, maps, videos, infographics and reports) to educate and inspire pupils across a wide demographic.

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Please email info@whycomics.org for more information. Thank you.

Why Comics? Charity number - 1172791

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

Introduction............................................................................................................................................2

UK National Curriculum History requirements........................................................................................3

Suggested Why Comics? History lesson plan...........................................................................................4Aims....................................................................................................................................................4Learning objectives.............................................................................................................................4

Lesson plan 1..........................................................................................................................................4

Follow-up Lesson plan.............................................................................................................................6

Lesson Plan 2..........................................................................................................................................6

Feedback................................................................................................................................................8

Future Plans............................................................................................................................................8Who backs Why Comics? - About PositiveNegatives............................................................................9

UK National Curriculum History requirements: [Source: UK Gov GCSE History Subject content and assessment objectives]

GCSE specifications in history should support students in learning more about the history of Britain and that of the wider world. The study of history at GCSE should inspire students to deepen their understanding of the people, periods and events studied and enable them to think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, make informed decisions and develop perspective and judgement. This, in turn, will prepare them for a role as informed, thoughtful and active citizens. The discipline of history and a knowledge and understanding of the past will also help them to understand their own identity and significant aspects of the world in which they live, and provide them with the basis for further wider learning and study.

GCSE specifications in history should enable students to:

develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the wide diversity of human experience

engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make

valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance

and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach

substantiated conclusions.

Please note teaching notes are in purple.

Suggested Why Comics? History lesson plan

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

Here is a suggested History lesson plan about war crimes told through the eyes of either Antoni’s, Dana ’s or Nadia ’s Story and a suggested follow up lesson plan. Both lessons are 45 mins long, consisting of a reading in class, followed by group discussion and an assigned homework. Students will explore the concept of war crimes in history through a literary comic. War crimes' place in history and their recognition within international politics will be taught. The class can either read the comic collectively via projector, or at home via the web (www.whycomics.org/comics).

The Legacy of War Crimes: learning through comics

Aims: This session will explore what war crimes are, also known as crimes against humanity, and the various ways in which they are discussed today.

• Students will read a literary comic depicting a real story relating to war crimes• Students will discuss what war crimes are• Students will learn about the various types of war crimes• Students will learn about the historical legacy of war crimes• Students will examine the international contexts in which ‘war crimes’ are recognised.

Learning objectives: By the end of the session, students will be able to:

• Recognize narratives of war crimes through personal stories in the chosen comic• Explain what war crimes are• Define the different types of war crimes in today’s society• Understand the historical legacy of war crimes• Understand the international contexts in which ‘war crimes’ are recognised.

Lesson plan 1: 1. Read through the comic as a group - Project the story in class and go through the comic panel by

panel. Ask different pupils to reach out each page. If there is time, you could explore several of the additional resources in the interactive boxes dispersed throughout the comic. (15 mins)

Teacher note: As a bridge to the lesson’s main activity, give a short summary and suggest students think about the discussion points provided at the end of each comic.

2. Classroom Discussion – ask the class what they think a war crime is. Discuss the definition of a war crime. Then go through the types of war crimes using the definitions below. (25 mins)

Teacher’s note:

An Overview of War Crimes [Source: BBC UK]What are war crimes?

War crimes are defined by the Geneva Conventions, the precedents of the Nuremberg Tribunals, an older area of law referred to as the Laws and Customs of War, and, in the case of the former Yugoslavia, the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague (ICTY

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines war crimes as: "Wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including... wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial, ...taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly." This, international lawyers say, is the basic definition of war crimes. The statutes of The Hague tribunal say the court has the right to try suspects alleged to have violated the laws or customs of war in the former Yugoslavia since 1992. Examples of such violations are given in article 3:

Wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity Attack, or bombardment, by whatever means, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or

buildings Seizure of, destruction or wilful damage done to institutions dedicated to religion, charity and

education, the arts and sciences, historic monuments and works of art and science Plunder of public or private property.

War crimes fall into three groups - or four if you include genocide.

1. Crimes against peace

planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances

participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the above.

2. War crimes - Violations of the laws or customs of war, including:

Atrocities or offences against persons or property, constituting violations of the laws or customs of war

murder, ill treatment or deportation to slave labour or for any other purpose of the civilian population in occupied territory

murder or ill treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas killing of hostages torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments plunder of public or private property wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages devastation not justified by military necessity.

3. Crimes against humanity - Atrocities and offences committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, including:

murder extermination enslavement deportation mass systematic rape and sexual enslavement in a time of war

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated.

4. Genocide - means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such:

killing members of the group causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical

destruction in whole or in part imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group forcibly transferring children of the group to another group Individuals are chosen as victims purely, simply and exclusively because they are members of

the target group, and not because of anything an individual has done. Genocide is a crime under international law even if it is not a crime in the country where it

takes place, and incitement to commit genocide is also a crime.

3. Assign the class a homework: Ask students to apply the definitions discussed in class to the story in the comic. What are the types of war crimes visible in the comic? (5 mins)

Please help us by filling out a short anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire after you have used our materials for our funders. This helps ensure that our great resources remain free.

Please email info@whycomics.org for more information. Thank you.

Follow-up Lesson plan For the Aims and Objectives please refer to the previous session.

Lesson Plan 2: 1. Summarise the previous lesson: recap on the comic and what the class discussed about war

crimes. (15 mins)2. Classroom Discussion – Discuss what historical circumstances led to the birth of the definition of

war crimes. How does a historical and international context make it difficult to recognise ‘war crimes’ and injustices in countries? (25 mins)

Teacher’s note[source: BBC UK ]

The historical conceptions and international politics around ‘war crimes’

1. Historical noteThe concept of war crimes is a recent one. Before World War II, it was generally accepted that the horrors of war were part of the nature of war, and recorded examples of war crimes go back to Greek and Roman times.

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

Before the twentieth century armies frequently behaved brutally to enemy soldiers and non-combatants alike - and whether there was any punishment for this depended on who eventually won the war.

Commanders and politicians usually escaped any punishment for their role in war - or, if they lost, were summarily executed or imprisoned.

There was no structured approach to dealing with 'war crimes' nor any general agreement that political and military leaders should take criminal responsibility for the acts of their states or their troops.

Attitudes changed during World War II when the murder of several million people - mainly Jews - by Nazi Germany, and the mistreatment of both civilians and prisoners of war by the Japanese, prompted the Allied powers to prosecute the people they believed to be the perpetrators of these crimes.

These trials provide the main precedents for cases being heard by tribunals in this century, among them the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

2. The victor's justicePeople are usually only tried for war crimes if their country loses the war - a victorious nation rarely tries its own people for war crimes - with the result that war crimes trials can look like revenge trials, and be seen as acts of injustice themselves.

But this isn't always the case - several Americans were tried for war crimes committed in the Vietnam conflict, and the war crimes trials relating to conflict in the former Yugoslavia is likely to be a significant exception to this tradition.

3. Spotting a war crimeIt is not always easy to spot a war crime. The displacement of civilians from their homes by an enemy army is not necessarily a war crime.

It can be argued that the displacement is being carried out for the protection of the civilians.

It only becomes a war crime if the expulsions can be proven to be part of campaign of ethnic cleansing or designed as a mass punishment of civilians.

Under the Geneva Conventions, this is not a war crime. Just about all aspects of a state's infrastructure - roads, bridges, power stations, and factories - become legitimate targets if they might be put to military use. Such attacks only become war crimes if the extent of collateral damage to civilians and civilian interests resulting from the attack would be excessive compared to the military advantage gained from the attack.

3. International courtInternational human rights groups have long called for a uniform and global legal system for dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Apart from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, established in May 1993, an international tribunal was established in Arusha, Tanzania, for cases resulting from the atrocities carried out in Rwanda in 1994.

In July 2008, Surinam became the 107th country to join the International Criminal Court, set up in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity.

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

The United States has refused to sign the treaty, arguing the court could be used to pursue politically motivated prosecutions. Other major powers including Russia, China and India have also refused.

The question of whether international courts of this kind are political hangs over all international legal institutions. In a sense it is true that the tribunals are political since the international political will to establish and fund them has to exist before they can get to work.

Critics of international courts often argue that international justice can only be truly legitimate when all war crimes, committed by any county, come under the jurisdiction of a single international court.

3. Assign the class a homework: Ask the class to search for one instance of human rights abuse in historical or contemporary society where certain crimes against humanity have gone unpunished or unacknowledged. Consider the historical or international political factors that might have led to this. (5 mins)

FeedbackPlease help us by filling out a short anonymous SurveyMonkey questionnaire for our funders. This will help keep our great resources free. We will be happy to hear about how it works in the classroom, and are keen to receive any comments or feedback.

We are particularly interested if you would like to receive more resources like this. If so please include on the SurveyMonkey questionnaire which topics you would like us to cover (e.g. Divorce, Migration, Racism/Prejudice, Cyber/Bullying, Identity, Memory, Racism, Conflict, Natural Disasters, Human Trafficking/Slavery, Asylum/Refugees, Homelessness, Climate Change, Remittances & Migrant Workers, and Drug Trafficking & Addiction).

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Future Plans

Over the coming year, we’re intending to expand our bank of database for KS2 (age 7-11) and KS3 (age 11-14) and KS4-5 (age 14-18) and their teachers, and produce national curriculum based accompanying lesson plans for multiple subjects. You can view all our resources on our Teachers Resources page.

We will continue to design and test our resources to ensure that they are made by teachers for teachers.

If you would like any more information or would like to be involved further, please contact info@whycomics.org. Thank you.

With very best wishes,

Dr Benjamin Dix

Director: Why Comics? Education CharitySenior Fellow: SOAS University of London

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Suggested Why Comics? GCSE History Lesson Plan

Web: http://www.whycomics.org/Email: info@whycomics.org Twitter and Instagram: @WhyComicsOrg Facebook: Why Comics? Education Charity

Why Comics? Education Charity is based at the Faber Building, SOAS University of London.Why Comics? Charity number - 1172791

Who backs Why Comics? - About PositiveNegatives

The award-winning non-profit PositiveNegatives produce literary comics, animations and podcasts about contemporary social and human rights issues. We combine ethnographic research with illustration and photography, adapting personal testimonies into art, education and advocacy materials. Since 2012, PositiveNegatives has worked extensively for an array of international organisations such as United Nations (UN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Open Society Foundations (OSF), The Nobel Peace Centre, The Guardian, BBC, and with leading academic institutions such as; Harvard South Asia Centre, SOAS University of London and University of Sussex.

Our work endeavours to combine literature, journalism and education. Visual story-telling engages audiences of all ages, backgrounds and levels of literacy. Approaching subjects like conflict and forced migration through the prism of personal narratives emotionally engages general readers and students alike. We have developed comics from research, policy papers and first hand testimonies for organisations such as these and many more. Each comic has reached millions of viewers, and many have been translated into multiple languages reaching diverse international stakeholders.

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