Lessons’ Piloting Reports · Title of the piloted lesson: Experiences, emotions and feelings...

Identity and Diversity Picture Book Collections

Lessons’ Piloting Reports

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This

publication communication) reflects the views only of the author, and the

Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the

information contained therein. Project number: 2015-1-LT01-KA201-013492

Funded by the European Union

Project Number: 2015-1-LT01-KA201-013492 2

Content

Piloting Report No.1 People`s Mobility (Voluntary and forced) ............................................................... 3

Piloting Report No.2 Living Happily Together ........................................................................................... 6

Piloting Report No.3 We are all the same but also different .................................................................... 8

Piloting Report No.4 The other is like me ............................................................................................... 11

Piloting Report No.5 My Travelling family .............................................................................................. 15



Piloting Report No.1 People`s Mobility (Voluntary and forced)

Title of the piloted lesson: Why is there so much mobility of people?

Title of the unit to which the

piloted lesson belongs:

People`s Mobility (Voluntary and forced)

Pupils’ age: 10

Pupils’ grade: 5th Grade

Number of pupils in the

classroom:

16

School name and locality: Tortosendo 2nd and 3rd Forms Basic School, Tortosendo, Portugal

Date of the piloting: 11-01-2017

Brief overview of the piloted lesson

The children enthusiastically handled the images of the 4 picture books (Migrando; My two

blankets; Akim Runs; Azzi in Between) with situations of migration, war, travel, family relations

and intercultural encounters. They worked on the images per the 4 specific situations (context of

origin, departure, arrival in new context - isolation, and integration.) Although they did not show

difficulty in recognizing these situations, it would have been better to have more copies of the

books than only one copy for the whole class. 45 minutes is not enough time to explore all the

material and let them share opinions in group and then with the class.

What went well during the lesson

The pupils were enthusiastic and were aware of the migration situation in the world. They did

not show any problems to face the fact that some books were written in an unknown language.

What should be changed/improved within the piloted lesson

45 minutes is not enough time to explore all the resources and let pupils share opinions in group

and then with the class.

More samples of the same book.

1 quote from the teacher, regarding the piloted lesson

“It is extremely useful to use picture books to explore current themes”

Reflection and evaluation/recommendations

Classes should have several copies of the picture books.

Title of the piloted lesson: Experiences, emotions and feelings related to mobility




Pupils’ age: 10


http://diversitytales.com/resources/pool-of-activities/en/IDPBC_Unit_Enforced_and_Voluntary_Mobility.pdf





classroom:

16




We discussed the picture book, showing just a few images of the book, Azzi in Between, exploring

war situations, family separations, building personal identity and changing spaces and cultures,

and the emotions experienced by Azzi. We used didactic material such as music and real images

(brought by the teacher and placed on a panel along with the images of the books) to help express

emotions associated with different experiences…

The pupils discussed in group the following questions

A) Why do you leave the country where you were born?

B) What can happen when you arrive in a new country?

C) What means of transport are used to leave one country and enter another?

D) What do people feel when they leave home?

E) What types of mobility are there (short, long, forced, voluntary, wars and calamities?

F) What is essential to take when you move from one country to another?

In the end, they prepared a virtual backpack with what they would take if they had to leave

quickly their country


Pupils loved to decide what to take in a backpack in case they had to leave the country quickly.


45 minutes is not enough time to explore all the material and let them share opinions in group

and then with the class.


“It is very useful to use real images and compare them with storybooks”


Using PowerPoint with pages from the picture books is a good strategy to use with pupils so they

can carefully look at details in the pictures.

Title of the piloted lesson: Cross-cultural mobility




Pupils’ age: 10






classroom:

16




We quickly reviewed the 4 picture books of lesson 1; each group of 4 children wrote a story based

on the images that were shown in these books; the stories were enriched by the knowledge

acquired by autonomous, home research about mobility.


The students liked to contrast reality and fiction. They gave some good examples of current

events they have recently watched in the news. It is a very good exercise for creative writing.


45 minutes is not enough time to write the stories in a group work. Pupils have used 30 minutes

more from another lesson/with another teacher/ to complete the texts. It would be nice to share

the texts, done by each group, with all the class. One more lesson is needed to check for linguistic

correction (I didn`t have time to do that) and to exhibit stories on the wall together with the

pictures. This would help the class visually contrast reality and fiction again.


“It is important for students to contrast reality and fiction. I learned from this activity that

students are aware of what goes on in the news.”


Using PowerPoint with pages from the picture books is a good strategy to use with pupils so they

can carefully look at details in the pictures. The original lesson plans are for 90 minute sessions,

rather than 45 minutes, so when reviewing them they should be split into lesson plans and

extension classes.



Piloting Report No.2 Living Happily Together

Title of the piloted lesson: Stereotypes: myths to eliminate

Title of the unit to which the piloted lesson

belongs:

Living Happily Together

Pupils’ age: 8 – 9

Pupils’ grade: 3rd Grade

Number of pupils in the classroom: 21

School name and locality: C’ Aglantzias Primary School, Nicosia, Cyprus



Children enjoyed the story and particularly the fact that there was a role reversal between the

traditional role of the wolf and the pigs. This element facilitated children to develop their

understanding and critical thinking in regards to stereotypes. Cooperative learning was

implemented at the task where children worked in small groups in order to compare two stories

and find similarities and differences between the two. The theatrical game ‘Freeze Game’

allowed children to discover the feelings experienced by the person being bullied. The game was

repeated two times with children swapping roles. This game activity enabled children to get an

insight of the impact of bullying on the victim and thus develop their awareness towards bullying

incidents. Children sent their own messages against bullying and stereotypes by creating their

own poster on computer with the use of Wordle application. The poster consisted of a cloud of

words and phrases of the negative feelings experienced by the victims of bullying. In the last

activity children in groups were asked to continue the story given the scenario that the little

wolves talk to their mother about what happened with the Pig. Children rewrote the story in the

form of a dramatization and one group acted it in the classroom. Some groups needed teacher

support and guidance to complete the above activity. Overall, the lesson lasted nearly 70 minutes

though there was time for one group only to act the dramatized scene.


Throughout the lesson all children were enthusiastic and actively involved in the learning

activities. Generally, there was a substantial cooperation between the children working in

groups. Children enjoyed the story and to some extent they were surprised to see that the bad

character in the story was the pig whereas the wolves were the victims. The ‘Freeze Game’

proved to be very successful as children gave a variety of good answers related to the feelings

that a bullied person experiences (i.e. frustration, embarrassment, fear, humiliation,

disappointment, threat, exclusion, upset, and anger). Children liked the poster made of words

that was created with Wordle and asked if they could use it again for a different purpose.

What should be changed /improved within the piloted lesson



The evaluation sheet should include some questions related to stereotypes and bullying. Teacher

should spend more time on the issue of stereotypes, he/she could challenge children to think of

other cases of stereotypes they know or have experienced (such as characters from other stories,

cartoon characters, vulnerable groups from real life) and discuss the dangers entailed in

stereotypes.


I was pleasantly surprised to see that all students were actively participating in the lesson, even

children who are usually quiet, shy and somehow indifferent. I liked the fact that some weak

children were putting effort to respond to the tasks set in the activities.

Reflection and evaluation/ recommendations

As the lesson deals with the issues of bullying and stereotypes it becomes apparent that these

issues cannot be studied extensively within one or two teaching periods. It would be more

effective if children studied these issues within frame of a focused teaching unit designed on

interdisciplinary basis.



Piloting Report No.3 We are all the same but also different

Title of the piloted lesson: My favorite object


belongs:

We are all the same but also different

Pupils’ age: 6 -7

Pupils’ grade: 1st Grade


School name and locality: Doukas School, Athens, Greece



The teacher was familiar with the methodology and the activities she was going to use. This

facilitated her in developing the lesson plan and in the transition between the phases. She was

not able to keep to the time frame of one class period. Reading of the book and doing the literary

activities that followed took a full two teaching hours. Specifically, about 30 minutes were

devoted to reading the book and the remaining 60 for developing the activities, discussion and

reflection. This time was necessary. It allowed the children to work at a comfortable pace, ask for

clarifications and questions in general, and express their concerns as they arose. The session ran

smoothly and there were no particular difficulties.


The pupils responded positively to each phase of the activities. They cooperated extremely well

not only with the teacher but with each other. They especially liked the lesson since it was

designed to encourage participation and interaction between themselves and the other team

members. The book fascinated the children and they did not find it difficult to focus on the

feelings of the heroine, Chavel. It was striking that the children identified the language barrier

(communication) as one of the difficulties that Chavel faced. Indeed, they immediately

recommended that Chavel attend school, as a solution to her problem of not knowing the

language spoken in her new country. During the sessions, the children experienced very strong

emotions (fear, anxiety, stress, insecurity and separation), the same as Chavel. Characteristically,

they experienced the sense of danger and other emotions that Chavel felt, despite the fact that

when the children were told that they would have to leave their country, they knew deep down

that it was not for real. With the help of their teacher, they realized that they had experienced

the same emotions as Chavel (empathy). The session ended with the question, "If you need to

leave your country just like Chavel did, how would you like the people in the new country to

behave towards you?” Here are some of their answers: "With love.” “I would like them to take

care of me.” “With respect." “With acceptance.” In conclusion, the objectives of this experiential

session were achieved in its entirety.

http://diversitytales.com/resources/pool-of-activities/en/IDPBC_Unit_We_are_all_the_same_but_also_different.pdf




Besides the time constraints, no other change was required. I propose, however, to create a

theatrical setting the next time I do it. This will help children ease into their roles more easily, but

it will define the space. For example, those children who do not want to leave their homeland

can be gathered near a paper house which represents family and home, while the children who

are bold enough to embark on the journey, can aggregate near a paper boat (indicating travel

and the unknown). Both objects bear strong symbolism. They evoke strong and powerful

emotions. Also, this setting is conducive for the teacher, who plays the role of Chavel’s mother.

By using the teacher in the role of the mother, it parallels the events that took place in the actual

story. The scene where Chavel’s mother announces their forced departure and the fact that

Chavel can choose one and only one item to take with her on the trip, is a very forceful and

emotional scene. When their teacher, whom they feel close to, plays the role of their mother,

they very easily identify and assume the role of Chavel.


"As much as you try to stay detached from the storyline and hold on firmly to your role, you

cannot manage it. In the end, you become one with your students and share the experience, the

anxiety and the pain of parting with those who love you and whom you love."

Reflection and evaluation /recommendations

As an observer of the lesson implemented, I found myself totally engrossed in this very realistic

story. The teacher was perfect in her dual roles as the narrator of the story and also as Chavel’s

mother. She actually left the classroom and reentered to change her role from narrator to

Chavel’s mother. She had told the children that she would be doing this so they were prepared.

I found myself looking at the expressions on the children’s faces very often. They were literally

absorbed by the story line and engaged with the teacher. They empathized with the same

dilemmas and difficulties that Chavel felt. When they realized that they could take only one

object with them on their trip to the foreign land, many of them opted to stay in the homeland.

There was an interesting shift from the beginning when ‘moving’ sounded like fun and most of

the children flocked to the side where the boat was. It was fascinating seeing how their

perception changed after they internalized the fact that they were leaving their homeland for

good. Children actually changed sides, with the majority opting to stay in their homeland despite

the calculated risk of doing so.

Title of the piloted lesson: Helping Hands


belongs:

We are all the same but also different

Pupils’ age: 5- 6

Pupils’ grade: Reception Class


School name and locality: Doukas School, Athens, Greece


http://diversitytales.com/resources/pool-of-activities/en/IDPBC_Unit_We_are_all_the_same_but_also_different.pdf




The teacher assembled the children around the conversation niche of the reception class.

Initially, she introduced the book “The Wolve’s Breakfast” to them and referred to the meanings

of “difference acceptance” and “equality”; children positively shared their ideas about these

meanings. Thereinafter, the teacher read the book to the children showing them the pictures at

the same time. The children were fascinated by the narration and the plot of the story and, in

turn, created a dialogue within the teacher’s narration regarding the feelings and differences

between the two characters in the book. Their encouraging response and participation were also

perceived while they expressed their eagerness to propose possible solutions for the end of the

story, even before the teacher ended the narration.

After narrating the first book, the teacher introduced to the second book “Susan Laughs”. The

children showed the same attraction to the appealing illustrations as they did with the first book.

At the end of the first reading, they asked to the teacher to show them all the pictures again.


The children responded positively to the procedure of the lesson. They understood the meanings

of differentiation, equality and diversity through the specific examples offered by the two books.

The discussion following the narration of the books helped them appreciate the differences

between the people around them. They also saw the value in offering their help to someone

when it is needed.


The only limitation of this lesson was the time allotted and the use of two books for teaching the

meanings of differentiation, equality and diversity to such young children. Sometimes during the

lesson children felt tired to remain on task. Maybe it would have been more efficient if the lesson

were divided into specific tasks and the two books were introduced to the children on two

separate days.


“I felt that this lesson development and the selection of these two specific books constitute an

essential, interesting and the most appropriate thematic approach for introducing the meanings

of differentiation, equality and diversity to young children.”


Both the teacher and I perceived that there is a need to include experiences so that we could

demonstrate differentiation, diversity equality and disabilities more clearly. We also felt that

these notions should be incorporated into the curriculum, with lesson plan development. By

teaching these notions, we will be better equipped to respond better to the needs and

understanding of the children. The books, which included fascinating pictures, helped children at

this young age to easily understand such difficult concepts. They proved to be important tools

and materials.



Piloting Report No.4 The other is like me

Title of the piloted lesson: What did you think the different colored eggs look like on the inside


belongs:

The other is like me

Pupils’ age: 4-5 Pupils’ grade: Middle group (Second stage of development) Number of pupils in the classroom: 18 School name and locality: Normal Program Kindergarten “Istetel”, Pitesti Date of the piloting: 26-01-2017


Pre-schoolers were given the chance to view and discuss numerous pictures from the book The

Mysterious Eggs. Seated comfortably in front of a digital screen, they managed to tell from the

beginning what was the idea of each image, what each picture inspires them; after that, they

associated an baby-animals with each egg of a different colour and observed the similarities and

differences between, coloured the mysterious baby-animals and answered questions like: What

does the baby-animal in the picture eat?, What animal does it represent?, What colour is the

animal, how about the others? What baby-animal would you like to have at home? and so on

The lesson implemented here had very good results and stirred the interest of the pre-schoolers,

who were eager to participate, both as a result of the presence of illustrations and of the

respective illustrations being animal representations. Unlike in traditional lessons, in this

particular lesson the focus was almost exclusively on the visual, thus the illustrations presented

had a definite impact on the children and helped them understand the idea of difference. The

timing was respected, though there were moments when the children tended to speak more

than the time allotted. All in all, the lesson reached its aim of promoting illustrations as a way of

understanding diversity.


During the lesson, the children have managed to become more familiar to expressing their

opinion about difference (in this particular context, about different animals). They were excited

about the idea of the story and openly expressed their attitude towards difference. The

interaction between them was also a point that worked very well during the class.


An idea in this sense would be to try to replace the narration of sequences with dramatizing.

Moreover, if there were a larger amount of didactic material on this topic, this would be a real

gain.


“What is important here is the idea of the story - children are encouraged to compare,

differentiate, bring arguments and develop their sense of observation. Moreover, the lesson

http://diversitytales.com/resources/pool-of-activities/en/IDPBC_Unit_The_other_is_like_me.pdf



enhanced the cooperation between them and helped create a sense of understanding and

acceptance”.


There is a need for more special books designed for such lessons, depending on each situation

regarding the different children.

Title of the piloted lesson: Other things that are the same that look different


belongs:


Pupils’ age: 5-6

Pupils’ grade: Middle group: LIBELULELE


School name and locality: Aschiuta Kindergarten, Pitesti, Argeș



After the warm-up activity designed to make children aware of the differences between them,

they were introduced to the illustrated book Butterfly Ears and asked to closely analyse the

illustrations and the characters represented in the pictures. Following the model of Mara, the

little girl from Butterfly Ears, they were asked to “draw” their own portrait in point of character

and physical traits. Moreover, they tried to find more differences between them and the other

colleagues, as well as the qualities each of them had. Due to this lesson, preschoolers understood

the importance of family unity and the need to make efforts to maintain it.

The results obtained by teaching this lesson based on an illustrated book are significantly higher

than those obtained in a classical lesson, thus this particular approach fulfilled its objective of

making children learn visually about difference.

Because there were instances when they were asked to characterize themselves after the model

of the little girl from the story, there was established a strong link between the illustrated book

and their own persons, because of which the children were very interested in the lesson and

active throughout it.

The stages of the lesson were respected, with no drawbacks in what timing was concerned.


All children were attracted by the simple, but attractive, suggestive images. The warm up stage

as a necessary moment in our lessons did not involve much effort as the children were willing to

participate and answer questions about them.


We recommend, following the actual performance of the lesson, for the story itself to be told by

an educator with the adequate intonation and all the details that he/she considers useful to the




group (depending on the nationalities from the group etc.) because the effect would be much

better.


“Let us enrich our knowledge about identity and diversity in a creative way.”


The ideas of the stories are great, but they need to be very much discussed, retold, and adapted

in order to be acknowledged, understood and adopted also in everyday life beyond the

microenvironment of the kindergarten. Only when these ideas are applied in reality can we safely

state that the purpose of the lesson has been achieved.

Title of the piloted lesson: Diversity around the globe


belongs:


Pupils’ age: 5

Pupils’ grade: Middle group


School name and locality: Aschiuta Kindergarten, Pitesti



The classroom was arranged in a semicircle so that pre-schoolers could view the images brought

by their teacher (images from the book Flower Ball). The lesson was conducted based on the

cube method.

The children described, compared, associated, analysed, applied, argued based on the support

images of the story. When viewing the illustrations, they were captivated, they listened to and

responded to the ideas of the story.

Finally, they realized that they would be more careful with other pre-schoolers who speak

another language, have other habits etc., trying to discover their qualities.

The purpose of the lesson, i.e. making children understand that they are different from one

another, was achieved in an effective way thanks to the illustrations presented and to the

dialogue created based on them. The children were very active throughout the lesson and willing

to participate, thus showing that such a lesson relying on illustrations is probably more effective

than a lesson taught in a conventional manner.

The sequences of the lesson flew well and were interconnected, which also allowed for the timing

to be respected.


The images that make up the story were positive, constructive and indeed generated positive

attitudes, feelings of acceptance and integration. Thanks to such a story, ever since the




kindergarten stage children develop positive attitudes towards multiculturalism and are

encouraged to discover the positive and beautiful sides of others, etc.


In our opinion, the ideas of the story can be integrated into role play (description of the situation,

the distribution of roles followed by the distribution of cards, role-playing = proper and activity

analysis/highlighting findings) because this method puts participants in a position to convince

and even to practice a certain problematic situation.


“The stories are effective in any group of children, they represent a support material appreciated

by children and can be easily integrated into various types of lessons.”


The availability of the story in the online environment would be an advantage for educators

worldwide. The recommendation would be to choose carefully the material available so as not

to deviate from the main idea we want to convey.



Piloting Report No.5 My Travelling family

Title of the piloted lesson: My family


belongs:

My travelling family

Pupils’ age: 9-10

Pupils’ grade: 3rd Grade


School name and locality: Suzuki primary school, Kaunas, Lithuania



Pupils were highly interested and engaged by the topic. They enjoyed picture books and

learning about their families. Pupils actively discussed, shared their experiences, ideas,

participated in group work and collaborated with each other during the all lesson. They were

excited to play “Fruit Salad”. The use of graphic organizers (mind maps) helped pupils to

organize their thoughts, visualize the most important information and increase their

understanding. At the end of the lesson pupils reflected on what they learned and

understood about families. Discussions and reflection led to deeper understanding of

similarities and differences of families in their classroom. The lesson lasted longer than

planned.


The overview of the picture books, mind mapping, active learning methods went well. Pupils

shared their different experiences and ideas about families with enthusiasm. They asked a

lot of questions and had a lot of deep insights about their own and others families. This

helped them to be more comfortable and proud about their families.


It was difficult work with double bubble map in groups. The teacher should do it together

with all class on the board. The game “Fruit Salad” should be played earlier. The complexity

of the topic requires more time for reflection.


The lesson offered active learning methods to explore differences and similarities of families.

The pupils had fun, they interacted with each other and it was interesting to find what they

have unique about their families. I learned more about my pupils families and personal

histories.


The lesson requires a lot of time and good preparation. This lesson could easily take all day

of integrated activities and learning.

http://diversitytales.com/resources/pool-of-activities/en/IDPBC_Unit_My_Travelling_Family.pdf

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Lessons’ Piloting Reports · Title of the piloted lesson: Experiences, emotions and feelings...

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