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Lesson Four :
Peace |
Key Concepts and Issues: This lesson
plan explores the idea of peace and how
to achieve it, points to conflict resolution
strategies and implementation, focuses
on sources of conflict and how to
avoid them.
Duration: One to Six Class Periods
Curriculum Links: English, History,
Social Studies, Political Studies and
Media Studies
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Objectives/Outcomes:
Students will:
- Identify potential sources of conflict
- Learn how to defuse situations where conflict arises
- Understand the destructive nature of conflict in
communities around the world
- Explore how to become a peacekeeping and
peacemaking nation
- Critically assess information and seek solutions
to real-world problems
- Work collectively in teams
Vocabulary List:
- Emigrate
- Social Welfare
- Alienate
- Ostracize
- Antiquated
- Antagonism
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Case Study:
Monika and Michael attend the same school in Moncton, New Brunswick. They became friends in school, working on projects and studying together and are now a couple. Michael’s family can trace their roots back hundreds of years. He is native-born. Monika’s parents are Sikh and emigrated from India some twenty years earlier. Although neither of them is particularly religious, |
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they cannot escape their origins. Monika’s family left India to seek a better life for the entire family. Her mother is a lawyer and works for a community-based legal aid clinic while her father is an engineer and works for a software company. |
Monika’s parents are traditional and prefer that she “stick to her own community”. Since she has been dating Michael, there have been many arguments and much tension in the household. Her parents don’t approve of the relationship. They are afraid that the cultural gap is too wide for them to bridge and that they will be shunned by others in society, that as a mixed race couple, they will be ostracized, ridiculed and possibly attacked by those who hold hard line racial attitudes. At the very least, Monika’s parents are afraid the young couple will never be accepted by either side and that they will remain alienated from everyone. |
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Michael and his father haven’t got along for a number of years and he thinks his parents’ attitudes are antiquated and narrow-minded. Michael doesn’t care about culture or race but he sees Monika simply as a person, one that he cares for. It hurts him that his parents don’t see that and can’t understand his feelings. |
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Step One: Teacher Directed Discussion
(One Period)
Have students read the story of Michael and Monika. What do students think of the relationship? Should the past have any bearing on what happens in the present? Do they think that Michael and Monika will stay together or that the pressure from both families will be too great to bridge the differences between them? |
Does their story remind students of any other famous couples?
Step Two: Action Plan (One to Two Periods)
Write the Ending—Have students in the class write the ending to Michael and Monika’s story. What do they think will happen to them. How will the relationship affect their respective families? As part of the preparation for the story development, students must include a separate character description and analysis of Michael and Monika. The descriptions may include a physical description, lifestyle choices, likes, dislikes etc. Have students write the stories and hand them in. Maximum length: two pages. |
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The “Fight” List—Students will write out a list of things they get into fights, arguments and disagreements over. This list may be comprised of things they’ve experienced with friends, siblings, acquaintances, strangers, parents and other relatives. Form students into small groups and have them share their list with the group members. Each group will condense the list into the most common causes of conflict. Each group will appoint a leader who will read the list out to the class. The list will be jotted on the blackboard. From the most common situations listed, a master list will be compiled as the most common sources of conflict as identified by all the groups.
Acting on the Plan—Keeping the same groups, each will select one situation from the master list. The groups will devise a strategy or series of strategies designed to resolve the problem or the conflict. This strategy will be documented. Then the members of the groups will role play the conflict in front of the other groups and apply the strategy they have devised. The rest of the class will give verbal feedback on the problem, the role play and the strategy. Students should be prepared to discover that not all conflicts are easily resolved but may be made “manageable”. That too, is part of the learning. |
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Extension Activities (Two to Three Periods)
Step Three: Another Action Plan Images of Violence—Is violent behavior influenced by what youth see in the media? Are these images merely a reflection of
what happens in our society and the greater world or do
these images encourage more violence? This is a debate
that may never be resolved but it is unquestionable that images of violence as seen in the media have some influence, if only on perceptions and attitudes rather than actions. Students will keep a journal for a period of a week and document any and all images of war and conflict they see and hear whether it’s in the newspaper, on the radio, on television, Web sites, video games or a video. Students will clip, download and/or photocopy as many images as possible and cite the source. Students will then select one or two of the most powerful images they have collected and write about how they can help us get to the root of violence and conflict. How can these images be used to understand why violence occurs and ultimately lead to a resolution of the conflict? Maximum length: one page |
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Boys and Girls Together—Patterns of behavior
and conflict can be separated along gender
lines. We know that boys tend to be more
rough and tumble and naturally more aggressive.
Statistics tell us that male youth have a higher
incidence of physical conflict. That doesn’t mean
girls aren’t violent at times but it is predominantly
a male phenomenon. Girls, however, do exhibit a
different pattern and tend to get involved in more
emotional or behavioral conflicts than boys. Girls
tend not to act out conflicts physically. |
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Divide the class into teams where they will discuss this issue among themselves. Ensure there is a good gender mix on each team. Why do they think these different sorts of behaviors take place? Is there a way for boys to resolve problems without resorting to physical aggression or violence? Is it a matter of having more physical outlets for boys at school? In the community? What other factors are there? In school? At home? In the community? How can boys make an effort to prevent themselves and their family, friends, acquaintances from getting drawn
into an incident that could lead to acts of violence?
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| The team will research this issue and come up with a detailed list of recommendations and strategies that will help deal with the issue of male aggression and conflict. Each team will make an oral presentation to the class using any visual aids they can such as video, PowerPoint, overheads, drawings, photographs, or a Web site to illustrate their approach and strategies. |
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Step Five: Comparison (One Period)
In an episode of the television series, Get Outta Town!, host Joseph Motiki travels to Shanghai, China, the largest city in that country. The system of government is vastly different from the one we know in the West. Government is controlled by the Communist Party and the laws and rules and standards are very different there. The Communist Party and its leadership control every aspect of life in that country. There is no democracy. What would happen if intrepid host, Joe, ran afoul of some of the laws in Shanghai? Let’s say, for example, he accidentally ended up in a dispute with a government official. How would Joe be able to resolve this conflict amicably given there is a language barrier and a cultural barrier to overcome? Have the class list some suggestions that can be posted on the board. This is a good lesson as many young people travel overseas and it is important for them to be aware of the laws and customs of the countries they intend to visit.
Assessment and Evaluation
Evaluate students on their reports and written work.
Suggested criteria:
Write the Story, Images of Violence Reports (was the content clearly articulated and well thought out? Were the points persuasive?)
Grammatically correct with sentences properly structured i.e., use of complex sentence structure and correct verb tenses, spelling and punctuation
Comprehension of the word/phrases—sentences clearly reveal the meaning
Ideas are expressed clearly
Information is well-organized.
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Evaluate students on their oral presentation work.
Suggested criteria:
Presented information clearly
What have they done to enhance the presentation?
Effective use of oral and visual communication.
Evaluate students on their visual presentation work.
Suggested criteria:
Visually appealing
Good use of materials
Well thought out.
Clearly represents the subject
Student self-assessment of teamwork.
Suggested criteria:
Contribution to group knowledge
Preparation undertake for research and investigation
Articulating goals, devising alternate solutions and selecting best alternatives
Setting personal goals for working effectively with others
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Lesson Plan Rubric (applicable to all four lessons)
Format(Of written andoral reports)
Level 1: Includes at least one concluding statement and rationale but missing one or more background facts or some significant information.
Level 2: Includes all elements of a report including at least two concluding statements, a rationale and some background information.
Level 3: Includes at least three concluding statements with a logical rationale and good supporting and detailed background information.
Level 4: Includes at least four concluding statements supported by an excellent rationale and detailed, thoughtful, background information.
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Content (Completeness and research)
Level 1: Conclusion is present but lacks significant supporting evidence in the rationale or background information. One source is used for research. The source is noted.
Level 2: The conclusions are clear but may lack sufficiently researched background information. Two sources were cited and noted.
Level 3: The conclusions are clear and solid research is apparent tying into the rationale and background information. Three sources were used and credited.
Level 4: The conclusions were clearly expressed and thoroughly researched and connected to the rationale and background information. At least four sources were used and cited. |
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Effort (Teamwork and individual contribution)
Level 1: One or two people dominated the group to the
detriment of the team effort. Very little cooperation.
The talents of individuals went unrecognized
and underutilized.
Level 2: Most of the group made a good contribution. Some recognition of individual strengths but not used to best effect. Cooperation was superficial.
Level 3: Most team members made a significant contribution and everyone was involved. There was a good level of cooperation.
Level 4: Individual strengths were recognized and used effectively. Excellent cooperation with all members playing a significant role.
Presentation (Written and oral, discussion and debate)
Level1: The written report has many writing errors and is poorly structured, causing confusion. The oral report was also confusing, lacked emphasis and energy. No discussion resulted.
Level 2: the written report was generally clear but had numerous writing errors. The structure was apparent but not effective. The oral report was clear but lacked energy or emphasis and provoked little discussion.
Level 3: The report was well-structured and clear but had a few significant errors. All parts were easily identifiable. The oral report was clear and well-presented but lacked some emphasis and energy but some good discussion ensued.
Level 4: The written report was very clear and well organized with few errors. The headings and all sections and sub-sections were clearly marked. The oral report and discussion were very clear and energetically and creatively presented in an organized manner. |
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