Activities in this age range are focused on developing critical thinking skills in students. Accurate facts and figures from reliable sources are provided to increase understanding of the topic of refugees, asylum and migration.
Students are encouraged to undertake activities to embed their knowledge into their daily experiences, asking them to think about how their lives connect with the lives of asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and stateless persons in their communities and globally.
Group and individual work is encouraged along the way to foster a sense of academic independence with check-ins by teachers.
Click on links below to download the teaching materials. You can use the video exercises, guides and lesson plans as you see fit. Download the Teaching About Refugees Lesson Plan template to prepare or use your own lesson planning tools.
Basic concepts
In this age group, we recommend that you start by teaching your students basic concepts of the topic of refugees, asylum and migration, since this will provide the basis for further learning on the subject.
STEP 1 – Watch the animations
We recommend that you and your students first watch the explainer videos on refugees, migrants, internally displaced people and asylum-seekers (in that order).
STEP 2 – Put the animations and teaching sheets together
Use the corresponding teaching sheets to put together a lesson plan. For each basic concept focus on where people are (in their own country or not), why they are where they are (reasons for being displaced or migrating) and what their rights are. Each video activity takes around 15 minutes. You can combine the videos as you see fit with other teaching materials.
STEP 3 – Hold a class debate
For older students or for classes that are more appropriate for debate, you can use the class debate sheets to organize a group discussion on the topics in the animations.
School activities
To bring the complex subject of refugees, asylum and migration closer to the daily life of 15-to-18-year-olds and to move them into action, you can choose a couple of activities from the school activity guide below. The activities vary in length and can be integrated into many teaching settings and locations in and around your school.
To find out more about who is helping refugees, watch the animation and read the article.
- Download the school activity guide for ages 15-18
- Read ‘8 practical ways to help refugees’
- Download the teaching sheet
- Download the class debate sheet
Video exercise
Watch this video with your students and use the video exercise lesson plan to do a couple of activities and ask a few questions. You can vary the length of the activity as you like. Activities take 15-30 minutes.
Omar’s story
Omar is seventeen. His father Ziad and his mother Maha and his three brothers and two sisters fled Syria to Jordan, where they lived as refugees for a few years. Omar recalls how he and his father had to do all kinds of work just to survive. The family was eventually resettled to Luxembourg. Omar now goes to school like any other 17 year old. He is passionate about fitness and documenting his surroundings with his own camera.