Embedded Files
Teacher Toolkit Goals:
To provide teachers with resources in order to increase comfortability and preparedness before teaching students about refugees.
To offer teachers an alternative technology-based activity option that fits with Lesson 3, including 9 resources for outside research that students can use to make presentations leading to a class discussion/debate.
Additional Resources for Teachers to Consult Before Teaching this Unit
Additional Resources for Teachers to Consult Before Teaching this Unit
UNHCR's Suggested Teaching Materials for Students Aged 15-18
The UN's Refugee Agency offers a variety of learning plans and materials for instructors organized by age group.
Instructors are encouraged to go through the materials and adapt them as they see fit; even without adapting any materials from UNHCR, reviewing its materials and structure can familiarize instructors with the process of creating activities centered around refugees in advance of using the activities provided in Lessons 1-3.
Humanity Crew, founded by psychiatrist Essam Daod, is the aid organization spotlighted in Lesson 3's video "How to Stop a Trauma"
Listed on the site are past project and active/ongoing projects Humanity Crew is working on; this gives instructors relevant information on where aid organizations are currently active in assisting refugees.
Maps of Forcibly Displaced and Stateless People
Another resource from UNHCR, this interactive map shows refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced peoples, etc. with up-to-date information.
This resource can also give instructors case-specific ideas or countries to focus on when using examples in lessons.
Modified Debate/Group Presentation Activity
Time: 60 minutes
Materials (out of class): Computer, out of school Internet access, access to Google Slides or other presentation-making application
Introduction:
Whereas students were assigned into groups during class time in the original debate activity, this activity would see them assigned into groups at the end of Lesson 2 and before Lesson 3.
Number students off 1 through 3 at the end of the lesson before the following lesson in which the debate will take place.
Each number will occupy a role (mental health support, financial support, educational support). Groups should be anywhere from 5-8 students based on class size.
Instructions (delivered end of Lesson 2):
Assign each group the following materials to work with:
Instruct each group to consult their research pack in order to make slide presentations that they will share as a group in class. Since some of these readings are quite challenging, encourage them to focus on the statistics to put in their slides.
Also encourage them to find the central argument in each source, make it one sentence, and turn it into a slide.
Example template:
Introduce the topic on the first slide by delivering argument statement (ex: "After research, we believe that (group topic) is the area of most concern for refugees.")
Slides afterward should focus on one source each. Each group should present 3 evidence slides with a variation of the following format:
"(group topic) is not supported enough because (reason with evidence from research pack. Explain with one to two sentences.)
ex: "Mental health is not supported enough for refugees because health care workers are more focused on physical health. Only 37% of recently arrived refugees receive mental health screenings, compared to half of other adults getting screened for mental health (source: Harvard Public Journal)."
Slides can also include notes and takeaways from sources if they were provided in video format rather than in a reading.
The final slide should share one potential solution from the research materials used to help make the presentation.
Alternative Group Presentation/Discussion Activity: Structure and Resources
Alternative Group Presentation/Discussion Activity: Structure and Resources
Goal: To expand upon the debate activity idea in Lesson 3 by giving it more structure and making it the center of the lesson. Students will be able to push beyond their assigned group's argument statement delivered during their presentation and identify connections between the groups during the debate portion.
This version of the debate activity is double the length (60 minutes). Keep in mind that because this activity involves out-of-class preparation for students, they will need Internet and computer access to collaborate with group mates in order to make presentable materials.
Presentations (10 minutes for each group, 30 minutes total):
Each group will take its turn presenting. Not all group members are required to speak, but all are required to contribute in making the slides and should hold each other accountable.
During each group's presentation, the other students should be taking notes on the evidence provided to them. Also encourage students to write down questions they may have for other groups about resources and solutions.
ex: Because most of the research source material is U.S.-based, questions for students outside of the U.S. can revolve around taking the information outside of an American context.
Ask whether or not they think refugees in their country face those same problems or whether or not their country could meet those needs.
Debate Portion (30 minutes):
Act as the moderator of the debate and open the discussion by calling upon one group to ask a question to another.
ex: "Did anyone from the financial support group have a question about the education resource group's findings?"
If this is ineffective, ask questions yourself by opening the floor to everyone and focus on collaborative solutions.
ex: "Even though each area of need/concern is distinct, does anyone think they can tell us how two of these areas might overlap?"
At this point, steer the debate as needed and guide the class toward solutions.
Students should be able to identify connections between their groups and move past the initial presentation arguments, expanding their initial views from one area being of most concern to all areas being of equal importance.
Caveat:
Of course, students likely understood that no one area was significantly more important than another already, and the goal of this activity was for students to come to a common understanding of the interconnected nature of different issues refugees face; ultimately, none of them are independent of each other, and a lack of resources in one area can just as easily cause problems in another area.
Grading Rubric for Debate (Unit Assessment)
As mentioned at the end of Lesson 3, this debate activity is meant to be the final assessment for this unit. An altered grading rubric, different from the one provided in Lesson 3, is provided below to assess students' speaking competency with an analytical grading format.
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