Your Issues
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Activities
for Young people |
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©Amnesty
International 2007 |
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This
set of activities for teachers, created by Amnesty International
UK, aims to encourage students (age 14+ - KS4) to explore
human rights, diversity, intolerance, and in particular the human
rights of sexual minorities.
Through
role-play, research and case studies, students are invited to examine
the use of language, the nature of prejudice and how it can be challenged
in the UK and around the world.
The
exercises introduce the experience of lesbians and gay men around
the world as an example of how people have been oppressed for
their identity and how they are overcoming that oppression.
Within the framework of the Citizenship Orders of the National
Curriculum for England these activities cover:
• Knowledge and understanding of the legal and human rights
underpinning society, the significance of the media in society,
the diversity of identities in the UK and the need for mutual
respect and understanding, thinking about topical moral, social
and cultural issues, problems and events
• The development of the skills of enquiry, analytical
thinking, of participation and oral and written communication,
justifying an opinion and using their imagination to consider
other people's opinions and express views that are not their
own, and reflecting on the process of participation |
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Activity
1
WORD POWER
Language shapes the way we think, the way we perceive ourselves and
others and the world around us. Students are encouraged to examine
and pool examples to make a common list of taunts, grouped into aspects
of 'difference', e.g. skin colour. size, physical impairment, sexuality,
etc. |
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Activity
2
KILLING TUNES
Recent moves have been made in the UK (autumn 2004) to ban performances
and records and appearances on music award shows by a number of Jamaican
Reggae artists whose lyrics include the advocacy of violence, especially
against gay men. The students hold a debate on the banning of bands
that are recording music with sexist and homophobic lyrics. |
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Activity
3
LANGUAGE SURVEY
In this activity, students investigate the power of words by carrying
out their own research and critically evaluating language that is
used from different perspectives. |
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Activity
4
IN THE PAPERS
As a follow-up exercise, groups of student can scan newspapers and
magazines, cutting out articles that they can find that deal with
issues of sexuality and human rights, either in the UK or abroad. |
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Activity
5
IS IT A CRIME TO BE GAY IN BOLDOVIA?
We ask students to read the handout describing the background situation
in ‘Boldovia’ (The situation in the fictional country
of Boldovia has some parallels to the recent situation in Romania
in 1997, when homosexual acts between consenting adults were still
illegal as they were in a third of the countries around the world). |
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Activity
6
QUEER CELEBRITIES
Around the world and across the centuries, homosexuals, bisexuals
have made extraordinary contributions to culture, knowledge and discovery.
The students will be presented with a list of distinguished figures
who are believed to have been gay, lesbian or bisexual. The group
will be invited to search on the internet or in the library or in
encyclopedias to find a picture of the personalities and information
about their lives: where they are from, their dates, and their contribution. |
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Appendix1.doc
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
ON SEXUAL MINORITIES AT RISK |
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Appendix2.doc
SUMMARY OF THE
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS |
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Many
thanks to:
Dan
Jones
Creative Coordinator
Education and Student Team
Amnesty International UK
The Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London EC2A 3EY
Visit Amnesty
International website
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You can also
purchase the
FREEDOM Human Rights Education Pack
from Amnesty International UK
Click
here |
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for 
Humanities Education Centre |
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