Sunday, 3 July 2016

Challenging prejudice / thinking differently KS2 : The cow who climbed a tree: Gemma Merino

The Cow Who Climbed a Tree (Paperback)

Challenging prejudice / being assertive/ listening to new ideas 
Year 4-5-6
Text: The cow who climbed a tree: Gemma Merino
Lesson plan by Andrew Moffat: www.equalitiesprimary.com
Learning Intention: To be assertive
Success Criteria: I know what assertive means/ I know why some people are not assertive/ I am not afraid of new ideas
Starter: write assertive on board. Children come to a definition with a partner
Main: Read “The cow who climbed a tree”. Ask children to discuss in partners what the book is about and what the message is, then feedback. Look at page 1 where Tina reads a book; why is she reading? Look at her facial expression compared to the expression on the other cows’ faces; how would you describe each expression? Tina had a ‘thirst for discovery’ – what does that mean? How would you describe the behaviour of the other cows? Why do the cows tell Tina to stop thinking differently? What changed the cows?
Role play: ask for a volunteer to be Tina. Explain Tina is going to try and tell the rest of the class about something she has learned. Can Tina be assertive enough to convince us to listen? Use the words that the cows use when Tina tries to persuade them. Give Tina a card with the following statement to read out and persuade:
The world is round!
Explain a long time ago people believed the world was flat and if you sailed to the horizon you would fall off the edge. People could not see the world as anything other than flat so they didn’t think about alternative views. Tina’s job is to persuade us to listen to her.
Try the exercise with different children taking on the role of Tina. Can Tina remain calm when she argues her point? Can she listen to other views and respond?
Activity: Remind children about the Equality Act and what it’s for. Why is it needed? Do some people still believe we are not all equal? We have the Equality Act in the UK because there are still some people that don’t agree with No Outsiders, who believe that people who are different races, religions, or who have different sexual orientation, cannot get along.
Write an assertive letter to the Head Teacher of an imaginary school where No Outsiders is not used and the Equality Act 2010 is not mentioned. You may wish to write a letter saying you do not agree with No Outsiders or a letter saying you do agree. The intention is to be use language that is assertive to persuade the reader to your opinion.
Y6: look at http://www.wiscnews.com/baraboonewsrepublic/news/local/article_935d7201-c28b-55b0-9618-789cc770f27f.html an article about a school in America saying they do not welcome pupils who are LGBT. Write to the Head Teacher.
Plenary: Not every country has an Equality Act. There are many countries where people do not have equality. How would an Equality Act help people in those countries? How does our No Outsiders ethos help us to make sure everyone is equal?
AFL questions: Today I have learned… / If someone doesn’t believe in equality, I can…


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