Lesson 2 of 6 sample lessons from the Razor Wire & Olive Branches pack. This lesson uses role play and historic sources to explore Britain’s role in Palestine and what would become modern Israel during World War I. Students will practise their negotiation skills and explore power dynamics through in group work, before looking at this and place this experience in the context of Britain’s historic role as a colonial power in the Middle East. To make it simple, the initial negotiation is about whether and how to share an orange, which represents the land. The lesson then unpacks how the real diplomacy worked out during World War I and after, with Britain giving separate assurances to Arab leaders in Palestine, Jewish leaders and the French government. If you haven’t tried Lesson 1, which introduces the geography of Palestine and Israel, it’s available in our TES store.

In this lesson, learners will explore and evaluate different peacemaking efforts at the government level and by Palestinians and Israelis at the grassroots. The lesson takes a close look at the history of the Oslo peace process, but also at bottom-up peacebuilders from Palestine & Israel. This is lesson 6/6 based on the Razor Wire & Olive Branches learning pack (2019), produced by EAPPI UK & Ireland and Quakers in Britain. The resources are being released to aid online learning. Order the full pack from the Quaker bookshop.

(This is a lockdown lesson) 15 April 2020 marked the 7th anniversary of the liberation of Belsen Concentration Camp by British forces. This lesson uses Chinua Achebe’s famous poem “Vultures”, which refers to Belsen, to explore both language and the disturbing themes it brings out. The lesson explores language, imagery, story and juxtaposition. We also partnered with the Holocaust Memorial Foundation to provide a creative outlet, where young people can decorate their own stone as a contribution to the Holocaust Memorial to be built in London. See the lesson as tweeted here.

Aim: Learn about the different factors that cause insecurity and how we could make the world safer. Learners will draw on numeracy, speaking and listening and critical thinking skills to explore this citizenship question: do we need to rethink security? Beginning by exploring the idea of security- what makes us safer and what makes us feel safe? Learners will progress by evaluating and quantifying risks that face us today including knife crime, spiders and climate change, before asking what the priorities should be. All the content and notes are included in the slide show. Part of the Rethinking Security project .

This is a creative way to tackle controversial questions surrounding Remembrance, the armed forces, war and militarism. This attractive poster and the accompanying activities elicit debate and discussion about the reality and ethics of military involvement in British society. Armed Forces Day is a particularly relevant time to open up this discussion in your Citizenship, PSHE lessons and meet your SMSC requirements. It also lends itself to Philosophy for Children sessions at primary or secondary. Everything shown is ‘real’ - something that does happen on the streets of Britain. We’ve provided the resource as a PDF, an image and a clickable webpage (meaning you can click on individual parts of the image and see a related video, report or news story; students could explore this individually or be led through it on an a whiteboard. You can order printed hard copies (free, just pay postage) from the quaker bookshop. We’ve also suggested a range of activities to elicit interesting discussion in the attached document.

The pamphlet explains offers guidance to school leaders and communities about how to respond to militart engagementent while guarding educational impartiality, student safety and children’s rights. It will connect you with to help introduce a range of perspectives, as well as the obligation to promote peace, tolerance and nonviolence (UN Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 29). Paper copies will be available in English and Welsh. Let us know if you’d like physical copies, contact peaceedu (at) quaker.org.uk.