My history
TOOLBOX GROUP
Group 2 – non subject-specific activities
AUDIENCE
a class of pupils from 14 to 18
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- To raise curiosity and empathy about the other participants’ cultures
- To generate a critical approach to our own history
- To create awareness of the diversity of the world history
- To help pupils to know each other better
TIME
1 period
NECESSARY MATERIALS
- A calendar on a board or large sheet of paper. It should be marked off in years and start at the year of birth of the oldest pupil and end at the present.
- Felt-tip pen
STEP-BY-STEP DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY
- Ask each pupil to think about 3 “public” events that have marked their lives and then ask them to write their name against the year in which the events occurred. The events may be related to politics, history, sports, music…
- Then ask the pupils to say why those dates are important, what they stand for and why they have chosen them.
- Invite the pupils to say if they were surprised or shocked by any of the dates or events and whether were they familiar with all of them. It also may be interesting to discuss why we attach importance to some events rather than to others.
RECOMMENDATIONS / TIPS
This activity works with any group and is also a very good activity at the beginning of the school year as a “get to know each other” activity.
If you are working with a local group, this activity helps participants realize that, even though they may live in the same street, people often attach different degrees of importance to the same events. It may also be interesting to notice that some particular event has marked a majority of the participants regardless of their origin or educational background – we are “all equal”.
In a multi-cultural group, the activity is useful to raise curiosity about our recent past and cultural influences and, to encourage people to have greater respect for each other’s beliefs and convictions.
REFERENCES
“All different – All equal, Education Pack”, European Youth Centre, 1995
