Lesson plans for ages 9-11 in Civic Education: Refugee Children

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Thousands of boys roamed between Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya after fleeing from the fighting in southern Sudan. Gradually they met up and formed into large groups. Some stayed on the road for years crossing thousands of miles of barren land.

© UNHCR/W.Stone

LESSON 1: Jacob's story

Preparation

Have ready a class set of Jacob's Story, and also a set of the Activity Sheet: Jacob's Story. Have a large map of the world installed where all the children can see it.

Procedure

Begin the lesson with some questions to stir the children's imagination and to sensitise them to the situation that Jacob is in. Some "set the scene" questions could include the following:

"What's the longest distance you have ever, ever walked?" "Were you wearing shoes when you walked so far?" "If you had to walk, let's say, a thousand kilometres, where could you have walked to? If you walked two thousand kilometres, where might you be?" "Do you think you could walk to this place, having to carry everything that you would need for the trip all by yourself? You may have made the journey with some other children, but without either your parents or the parents of the other children. Would you like to do it? Why, or why not?"

Hand out copies of Jacob's story and let the children give their first impressions of the photographs before reading through the account together.

Encourage the children to imagine themselves making the long trek from Sudan to Ethiopia. To help the children comprehend the distance walked by Jacob and his companions, give the children a destination, with which they are familiar, which is a similar distance from their home town or country.

The accompanying Activity Sheet can be answered individually or together as a class. It provides a link to the following lessons.