Global Citizenship in the Primary School

1
Global Citizenship in the Primary School

• English/Early Years

2
Citizenship

• Requires an understanding of moral values that
  underpin actions
• Right wrong are often presented as simple
  choices
• Contexts cloud moral decisions young children
  need to make balanced judgements based on
  consideration of all relevant factors in the
  situation

3
Citizenship through Language

• When teachers pose moral dilemmas children often
  supply answers they think their teacher wants to
  hear, rather than their true beliefs or opinions
• Moral issues posed in fun, make-believe contexts
  can liberate children, allowing them to debate
  issues and think about consequences of decisions
  in a more open-ended manner

4
Language allows children to

• Engage in honest debate about key citizenship
  concepts such as fairness, the nature of right
  and wrong the need for balance between rights
  and responsibilities
• Explore and understand the process of making
  moral judgements and decisions
• Explore develop their own understandings of
  human nature, motivations relationships
• Consider value, power and the uses of money
• Explore the different ways situations can be
  interpreted and how their views are informed by
  their own experiences

5
Citizenship through texts

• Texts can stimulate the imagination and allow the
  rehearsal of situations in childrens minds
• They can enable the development of specific
  concepts and skills
• Discussion of motives and character, of
  prediction and the consequences of plot
  development, and the building of an emotional
  vocabulary helps children to recognise feelings
  and dangers, say what they need clearly, be able
  to listen and begin to compromise

6
Reasons to choose childrens literature to teach
problem solving

• To show readers that they are not the first or
  only person to encounter such a problem
• To show that there is more than 1 solution to a
  problem
• To help a person discuss a problem more freely
• To help plan a constructive course of action to
  solve a problem
• To develop an individuals self concept
• To relieve emotional or mental pressure
• To foster an individuals honest self-appraisal
• To provide a way to find interests outside of
  self
• To increase understanding of human behaviour or
  motivations
• Aiex (1993)

7
Steps for teaching problem solving

• I Identify the problem presented in the story
• S Solutions to the problem are brainstormed
• O Obstacles to the solutions are identified
• L Look at the solutions again and choose
• one
• V Validate the solution by trying it
• E Evaluate how the solution worked

8
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman Discussion
Questions

• What does out of Nanas long memory mean?
• How do you think Grace felt as she acted out
  different stories?
• How were Mom and Nanas lives in Graces hands?
• What do you think Grace said to Raj when he said
  she couldnt play Peter Pan?
• What did Grace learn from seeing the ballet?
• Do you think it was easy for Grace to earn the
  part of Peter Pan? Why?