Ribston Hall High School, Gloucester

11-18 Selective Grammar School - Academy

Humanities Specialist School since 2005

Girls only up to Year 11, mixed Sixth Form

Our aims were……

• Enable students to be more knowledgeable about local, national and global issues

• Empower students to be able to make a difference

• Challenge stereotypes and negative images• Develop students’ PLaTS – esp. team

workers, self managers and independent enquirers

• Practice peer coaching• Disseminate resources, lesson plans and

good practice

Year 7 Humanities

• 1 lesson per fortnight• Taught by History, Geography and R.S

teachers• ‘Who are the British? 2000 years of

immigration’ SOW in place already – historical emphasis

• Added 3 new lessons to look at current immigration issues

• 1. Economic migrants• 2. Asylum seekers and refugees – 2

lessons

Economic migrants lesson

• Case Studies• Group work – ‘broken pieces’

approach• Discussion• Challenging stereotypes

Lessons on asylum seekers and refugees

• Myths and facts• Challenging stereotypes• Refugee Week 2011 June 20-26• ‘Simple Acts’• Peer coaching observations

Immigration TodayAsylum Seekers and

Refugees

With a partner, look up and write down the meanings of the following words associated

with refugees

RefugeRefugeeAsylumDisplaced personPersecutionTortureAtrocityCivil War

Refugees

•Definition: ‘Someone who is forced to leave their country and seeks protection in another country because of a well founded fear of persecution in their own country…’•All people have a legal right to do this under a 1951 Convention (agreement) signed by 134 countries – including Britain •When a refugee arrives in a new country, they are known as an ‘asylum seeker’•They have their case considered and if they are granted asylum, they then have official refugee status•Millions of people are forced to leave their homes every year around the world because of war, persecution, violence and lack of safety

Imagine how you would feel if tomorrow you had to flee your home and family in fear of your own safety. Who would you

turn to? Where would you go? How would you cope?

Refugees in Britain

• Historical examples include the Huguenots• Modern examples – see map below• Have made a significant contribution and impact on British

history and culture for example, the Mini car, Marks and Spencers, Fish and Chips and the London Eye – typically seen as British - are all products of refugees. Famous refugees include Albert Einstein, the singer Mika and the supermodel Alek Wek.

• The UK currently takes less than 3% of all the world’s refugees and asylum seekers, in fact most refugees go to much poorer and less developed countries

• Usually only around 60% are granted refugeeStatus – the rest are told to return to theircountry of origin • Many asylum seekers and refugees live inPoverty and hardship in the UK

• Many also face prejudice and persecutionfrom people here in the UK

Video Clip defining the concept of refuge and giving some views on

refugees

http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/InfoCentre/film

-clips

Myths and Facts about Refugees

Write today’s date and the title above

Work in pairs, use the hand-out to find evidence to ‘bust’ these myths about refugees in the UK

Write the myth, then write 1 piece of evidence to challenge it“Britain is a ‘soft

touch’ for refugees”

“Refugees get council houses

and lots of benefit money”

“Refugees are lazy and don’t want to work”

“Refugees come here for no

reason – they come from

countries that are safe”

“Britain takes in too many

refugees – loads more than other

countries”

http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts/

Useful resources

• www.refugeeweek.org.uk• Info centre – resources• ‘Global Communities’ – free

educational resource pack• ‘Money, Mobiles and Mayhem’

information pack• www.refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts

Evaluation

• Peer coaching observations revealed that there were some issues with timings of tasks and the students’ ability to locate the relevant information in the pack

• But – a success in terms of changing attitudes and opinions

• Feedback on their ‘Simple Acts’ homework and the reflection sheets

Before the lessons and at the end of the first lesson…………………….

They come over here and they just get given houses and money

Why do they come here anyway?

I still don’t understand

why so many of them

come here

There aren’t enough houses and jobs for the

people who live here already. Too many of

them come here and we haven’t got enough to

give them.

After the lessons and the Simple Act homework …………………

Now I know they don’t take our

money or jobs.

Some of them are very skilled but they are not allowed to

work at first

They come here not just because of wars but also

other much more serious reasons and they have a

hard time

I didn’t know that Gloucestershire only supports

about 60 refugees

I didn’t know that the UK only takes less than 3% of

the world’s refugees

Year 7 Geography

• 3 lessons per fortnight• Taught by 3 Geography Specialists• ‘Globalisation’ Scheme of Work about to begin.• Added 2 new lessons as students have studied their own

area (Gloucester) in a previous unit and to balance this we look at a global dimension

• Within PSHE lessons students have raised money for LEPRA – a leprosy charity working in Africa and have written to students in Uganda where a link has been set up and have sent shoes to Kenya with the army.

Starter:

• Your Challenge is to come up with as many things that you know about Africa as possible….

• Think about where it is, what it is like, who lives there, what have you found out about it – think about your PSHE lessons…

• Describe places, smells, people, animals….

Show what me what you know!

Responses:

But did you know…….

• There are 54 countries in Africa with South Sudan officially joining on July 9th this year.

• There are 3000 distinct ethnic groups who live there and only 75% are black.

• There are over 2000 languages spoken.• Almost half of the worlds chameleons live in

Madagascar and one of the biggest penguin colony resides in South Africa.

• There are 280,000 windmills in Africa – second in number only to Australia.

• South Africa has 11 universities that match the standard of Oxford and Cambridge.

Which is Africa / Which is the UK?

Which is Africa / Which is the UK?

HOW TO WRITE ABOUT AFRICA IN FIVE EASY STEPS

1. Always treat Africa as if it were one country. Don't get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, nine hundred million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book.2. Adopt a sad, I-expected-so-much tone. Establish early on that your liberalism is impeccable, and how much you love Africa. Africa is to be pitied, worshipped or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed.3. Always include a Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the generosity of the West. She must never say anything about herself in the dialogue except to speak of her (unspeakable) suffering. Moans are good.4. Use broad brushstrokes throughout. But describe in detail naked breasts or strange face painting or body art and piercings. And dead bodies. Or, better, naked dead bodies. And especially rotting naked dead bodies.5. Treat animals as well rounded, complex characters. They speak (or grunt while tossing their manes proudly) and have names, ambitions and desires. They also have family values: see how lions teach their children? Elephants are caring, and are good feminists or dignified patriarchs. Elephants may attack people's property, destroy their crops, and even kill them. Always take the side of the elephant.

By Binyavanga Wainaina

So we need evidence to challenge the following thoughts….

1. Africa is one big country that is all the same.

2. Africa is doomed.

3. All Africans are starving and want money from the west.

4. the only interesting thing about Africa is naked bodies.

5. All animals in Africa are lovely cuddly animals that have feelings.

What do students now say?• “Parts of Africa are rich.”• “People have big ambitions.”• “There are jobs such as accountants, lawyers, businessmen

and software engineers.”• “Africans are not the same, they don’t sound the same, look

the same or live in the same way.”• “South Africa has lots of theatres, music venues, cinemas and

nightclubs.”• “Some people are as healthy as us.”• “It is a lie that Africans do nothing to help themselves.”• “It is important to acknowledge the refugees and those living

in poverty but they cannot be the only image of Africa – it’s not realistic.”

Useful resources• http://www.granta.com/Magazine/92/

How-to-Write-about-Africa/Page-1 - This is the original article

• www.nationalgeographic.com (there is a student friendly website linked to the main site)

• http://facts.randomhistory.com• www.africaguide.com• http://www.maryknollafrica.org – Very

useful for further web links. 

Year 8 History

• SOW about the Transatlantic Slave Trade

• 6-7 weeks – about 10 lessons• Added 2 new lessons – Africa before

slavery and the legacies of slavery• Changed the content of the lesson

on abolition to reflect the contributions from black abolitionists, slaves and women

Get into groups of 3Try to put the pictures in the right

orderWhen might these pictures have

been taken?(Remember that the Transatlantic Slave Trade

was legally abolished in 1807)

Be ready to explain your decision!

This photograph shows workers cutting cane in Jamaica in about 1880.

The workers are posed to depict a seemingly happy natural scene, taking a break from their work. Some are chewing on the cane they have cut. The man on the right wearing a suit and hat may be the European plantation manager or owner.

Although they were no longer slaves at this time, the conditions for the workers were not much better and harvesting sugar cane was still back-breaking work.

This photograph shows a group of kidnapped African people who have been released by the Royal Navy in 1882.

The Navy was active in trying to stop illegal trade in slaves by British people who broke the law, and to deter other countries from continuing the trade. This trade continued until the late 19th century.

The photograph shows Africans freed from slavery, but not necessarily returned to their homes. Many slaves freed by the British were sent to the region around Freetown, Sierra Leone, where many freed slaves had set up a town.

Although the British had stopped trading in slaves earlier in the century, they still bought goods produced by slavery, particularly cotton from the United States until 1865.

This is a photograph taken by a missionary worker. It was given the title 'Slavery in Zanzibar', and was taken in about 1890, long after slavery was officially abolished.

The boy was being punished by his Arab master for a slight offence. The log weighed 32 pounds (about 14.5 kilos), and was chained to the boy’s ankle. He could only move by carrying the log on his head.

This photograph was taken in about 1900, over 60 years after slavery was abolished in the British Empire, and 35 years after it ended in the United States.

The photo shows a black maid playing with a little girl. The family had employed De’ah as a maid when she was only fourteen. De’ah’s mother had been a slave in the U.S.A.

Although De’ah was free, she had little option but to work as a domestic maid because she was not educated or qualified.

Although there were also many white servants, De’ah’s skin colour probably reinforced her position as a servant, a hierarchy established through slavery.

This is a 20th-century photograph, which tells us that although we often think of slavery as something that happened in the 18th century, its influence has lasted much longer.

Learning Targets

•To know that slavery continued around the world after 1807•To know what some of the legacies of the slave trade are•To understand how the legacies of the slave trade impact our lives today•To develop our skills as Team Workers and Independent EnquirersSuccess Criteria

•Analyse a timeline to find key dates in the emancipation of slaves•Analyse a range of sources to reach conclusions about some of the legacies of the slave trade•Be able to explain your conclusions about the legacies of the slave trade•Work collaboratively with your group to share ideas and make conclusions

• Write today’s date and the title ‘The Legacies of the Slave Trade’

• Stick the timeline sheet into your book

• Find and highlight the following events:

• Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in British colonies• The year when there were still 2 million slaves in the US;

311,000 slaves in Jamaica• The year that full emancipation was granted to slaves in the

British Caribbean• The year that the French granted emancipation to slaves• The abolition of slavery in America• The abolition of slavery in the last European country to do

so • The American Civil Rights Act

Be ready to share your answers!

Is there anything

that surprises you about

these dates?

A Legacy = something that is left behind. Could be seen or felt a short time or a long time after an event or a person has gone. Can last a short or long time.

Legacies can be material things such as buildings, objects or money

Legacies can be cultural – such as art, music or literature

Legacies can also be feelings and attitudes

Legacies can have a positive or negative impactAlthough the slave trade was made illegal, its

legacy was very strong at the time and is still felt today

QUESTIONSWhat is the legacy?

Who does it affect? Is it negative or has it had some positive effects? Did the legacy last a long time – is it still

around today?

Legacies of the Slave Trade

SOURCE WHAT IT SHOWS ABOUT A LEGACY OF THE SLAVE TRADE

In groups of 3

Look at the source, READ THE INFORMATION CAREFULLY and analyse it using the headings above

Remember to read the extra information to help you

3 minutes on each source

British advert for Pear’s soap, c.1810

Shows the differences that people thought existed between Black and White.

It reinforced the stereotype of black skin as dark and undesirable, while white was superior and pure.

Images such as this are seen as racist today.

A French postcard, c.1900

This postcard shows the representation of Black people through racist

stereotypes.

‘Picaninny’ characters were black children, shown with bulging eyes, wild hair, red lips and wide mouths. They were seen as tasty morsels

for alligators.

They were often shown on postcards and posters being chased or eaten. They were portrayed as nameless, lazy, natural clowns, running from

alligators towards their favourite food, fried chicken.

A Black American drinks from a ‘coloreds only’ drinking fountain in 1930s America.

After the abolition of slavery in the Southern States of America in 1864, laws known as ‘Jim Crow’ laws were put in place to separate white and black people. They had different restaurants, theatres, schools, and different parts of the buses and trains. Even the army was segregated.

The facilities for Black people were usually inferior. ‘Jim Crow’ - or segregation – was finally made illegal in America in 1965

Photo from the Notting Hill Carnival, London 2010

One tradition of carnival comes from Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies

Some slaves on the plantations held carnival events as a form of resistance and to keep their culture alive

Carnival had music, dancing, costumes and stories of their history

This cultural tradition spread around the world following the end of the slave trade and is enjoyed by millions of people. It is often seen now as a way of bringing people together.

Billie Holiday, Blues and Jazz singer, 1940s and 50s

Black music has had a significant impact in the 20th and 21st centuries

Different types of West African music were brought to America and Europe as a result of the slave trade

Slaves sang songs on the plantations to help them cope with the work and to keep their traditions alive

Its influence can be felt in lots of genres such as blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, reggae, soul, r ‘n’ b, pop and rap

A Nairobi slum, 2011

Between the 15th and 19th Centuries, it is estimated that up to 12m Africans were forced onto European slave ships and taken across the Atlantic.

This huge and sustained loss of fit, healthy, young people prevented many African countries from being able to develop their industry and farming.

This created a situation where they fell behind Europe and the USA.

As a result, although there has been lots of economic development, many Africans now live in extreme poverty

Throne of weapons sculpture, 2001

This artwork was made from guns that were used in a recent Civil War in Africa.

The European demand for slaves provided a lucrative business for the African slave raiders. Many of the slaves were prisoners of war, and going to war was a way of capturing slaves to sell to European traders.

Also, some Africans fled to other parts of the continent to escape being captured as slaves.

This caused conflicts and long-lasting divisions between some of the African peoples, which in some cases remain.

European slave traders were also greatly responsible for the introduction of guns and gunpowder to Africa.

Harewood House stately home, near Leeds, built in the 1750s

This house, and several other of England’s famous stately homes, was built by a British businessman who made his money from the slave trade. It is now an award winning tourist attraction

Some English cities, such as Bristol and Liverpool developed into rich cities with beautiful buildings and parks we can still see and use today as a result of money from the slave trade

Bag of sugar

The slave trade changed the diet, lifestyle and habits of people around the world.

In Britain, people began consuming sugar in greater amounts

Other goods that came into Britain as a result of the slave trade included cotton, tobacco, rice and rum.

Map of Africa 1914

The disruption and loss to the population of Africa caused by the slave trade meant that many African countries could be easily taken over by European armies and governments.

This map shows that by 1914, most of Africa was controlled by European countries.

This was called ‘colonisation’.

Many natural resources such as gold and diamonds were taken.

Whilst there were some benefits to some countries, colonialism is viewed as having been harmful to the development of most countries and the cause of much conflict and war

Could you put these legacies into 2, 3 or 4 different categories?

Discuss in your groups and be ready to feedback

Be ready to highlight/underline them when we have chosen our categories – 4 different colours with a key

Useful resources

• Liverpool Slavery Museum website• Understanding Slavery Website• Europe Africa poster and information

pack from RISC

Other actions

• Planned and resourced a lesson with a PGCE student for Y9 History on the legacies of the Holocaust, eg: loss of Jewish life and culture from Europe; Human Rights Act; impacts of racism and prejudice and modern genocides

• Cross-curricular English/History lessons – Campaign project. Changed the campaign to ‘Send my Sister to School’

• Year 10 PSHE&C – 2 lessons on asylum seekers

• Year 9 PSHE 3 lessons on Fair Trade

Our reflections and evaluations

• Has made a noticeable difference to attitudes and opinions of students

• Working as a pair has been valuable• Other colleagues have enjoyed

teaching the lessons and have been positive and supportive

• Getting time to do the peer coaching aspect meaningfully has been hard

Next Steps……….

• Make time for more peer coaching and run a session on peer coaching for staff

• Embed the new lessons into whole year group SOW for next year (ensuring that teachers have the relevant background knowledge to teach them confidently) and plan to develop further new lessons

• Disseminate our knowledge and understanding of how to internationalise learning to other staff so they can do it themselves!