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Adopt-A-Minefield (UK) |
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Aims and objectives
"The children researched the project well on the computer. We looked places up on the map. It was an awareness of something that without this project they might not have gained knowledge of at all. We all learned together. On an day to day basis I think probably the fact that Paul and Heather were here and people were very interested in them, that when children meet another amputee they will have a contact reference and a context to put it into which they wouldn't have had before." Helen Ross, Year 5 teacher "We learnt about Yugoslavia and Mozambique. Mozambique's a very poor country and it seemed strange that there were landmines there. How could they afford landmines?" Year 5 student "You have to take notice of what's happening to the people who are affected by landmines. We're very lucky to live here in London. To live in a safe place without landmines. We learnt a lot." Year 5 student The initiative Eve asked if she could come back to the school with Adopt-A-Minefield campaigner Heather Mills, to lead an assembly with some children.They wanted to use the visit as a photo opportunity to promote Adopt-A-Minefield. The school agreed and decided to start a project with Year 5 students to produce posters for the campaign. Adopt-A-Minefield sent the school an information pack to help them. Headteacher, John Ridgley, gave a couple of short assemblies based on background information supplied by Adopt-A-Minefield. "I told the children that while they'd been sitting for fifteen minutes three children had been blown up by landmines. You could see the children physically jerk. We said to them, you are so lucky you live in this area. You don't get mines on Stepney Green. You can go and play football and be reasonably safe. You're not going to be blown up by a landmine in between the time you leave home and the time you come back." During the assembly Mr. Ridgley referred to an example given by Adopt-A-Minefield about a school in Croatia. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the school building but nobody can get to it because it is surrounded by landmines. The last time they did try to open the school, two children were blown up by landmines the same day. The children could associate themselves with the example, with the school and with the children. Two Year 5 teachers worked with their classes to design posters for the Adopt-A-Minefield campaign. In addition one of the teachers worked with her class to produce two short dramas to show Heather Mills during her visit. A trip wire was set up between a chair and a radiator. It was made with very fine wire so that you could hardly see it. The Sky cameraman accompanying Heather fell over the wire on arrival as did the East End Life photographer. " Apparently there are two types of landmines. One type goes off underneath your foot. Another, a fragmentation type, is cut by a wire about half a foot off the ground. When it explodes shards can cover the size of a football pitch! So, the children actually saw living proof of how easy it was to fall over these things." John Ridgley, Headteacher "Everyone tripped over the wire and they even knew it was there! The cameraman and someone else tripped over it two times. Even knowing that there's a landmine there and you still go and trip over it! It's easy." Year 5 student Heather then talked to the children about her work with Adopt-A-Minefield and why she's doing it. It was at this stage she told them about her artificial leg. Although an injury from a road accident in Heather's case, many landmine victims, if not killed outright, suffer severe injuries that lead to amputation. "I think what I remember is when Heather actually came into the hall and said to the children, 'How many amputees do you know?' They just looked at her completely blankly. 'So I'm the first', she replied, and proceeded to be very up front and to show the children her leg in a really natural way. I think as a way into anything to do with disability it was a very good way of approaching it because straight away we'd talked about it all and everything was out in the air. Lot's of children didn't know what amputee meant. Although we talked about the landmines blowing people up we'd never used that word to describe people afterwards." Helen Ross, Year 5 teacher The children submitted their finished posters to Adopt-A-Minefield and a week or so later heard that they had won a BAFTA for their work. The outcome "We didn't know anything about landmines before. We feel really proud and we helped a charity as well." Year 5 student In addition to producing a school display on landmines around the world and winning a BAFTA for their campaign posters, the children of Marion Richardson School decided that they would like to donate money made at the summer fete to Adopt-A-Minefield. The fete raised £600 in an hour and a half and it was featured on Sky News. Marion Richardson School often raises money for charity through engaging in short, sharp events such as Loud Clothes Day, where the children wear the noisiest clothes they can find for a donation of £1 per head which goes to the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind). These events have been highly successful and the school prefers to organise such in-school activities rather than asking children to try and get sponsors. Further media coverage was featured in The Evening Standard, Daily Mirror and Hello magazine, which reported from the BAFTA ceremony where six Year 5 students received their award in person. They also watched the first showing of Heather's film about landmines in Croatia. "We learned that even famous people are like us and to meet them in person we could see that they were human." Year 5 student "We spent all day with Sir Paul McCartney and he was really normal. Meeting Heather was like, oh my gosh! I'd seen her on television and it was so great to meet her." Year 5 student "Heather and Sir Paul were brilliant. The pupils were thrilled that out of all the guests who attended the big event, the couple went out of their way to spend time with them. Nothing was too much trouble." Margaret Avery, Deputy Head speaking to East End Life Evaluation and assessment opportunities In addition all press coverage has been displayed including photographs of the children with their posters and Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. Challenges encountered The school had difficulty getting children's work and posters returned to the school by the campaign. "This tends to happen with competitions. You produce beautiful work to a deadline, you send it off and then you never see it again, whereas normally all the children's work is displayed on the school walls." Helen Ross, Year 5 teacher In addition to fulfilling Citizenship and PSHE objectives this initiative also meets guidelines for the following National Curriculum subjects - Art - exploring and developing ideas, investigating and making art, evaluating and developing work. Geography - knowledge and understanding of places, developing geographic skills. English - speaking and listening, group discussion and interaction, drama, reading for information, planning and drafting written work. Other- assemblies and class discussion. Links with other schools, community groups and organisations, local and national Adopt-A-Minefield offers an opportunity to help solve the crisis of landmines by raising funds for mine clearance and victim assistance, establishing links between the sponsor and the community through their website. Sponsor's adopt a minefield in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cambodia or Mozambique and provide the funding necessary to clear it and help landmine survivors with individual donations or through local fundraising. Links with other schools, community groups and organisations in the wider world The Global Landmine Crisis (Adopt-A-Minefield website, Mine Facts)
Visit www.landmines.org.uk to find out more about Adopt-A-Landmine and how you can get involved. A series of Key Stage 3 lesson plans are also available on the Adopt-A-Minefield website under Virtual Learning/Lesson Plans as well as information on the global landmine situation and landmine facts. Locococo - An exciting new board game introducing issues relating to development education and the Rights of the Child Play on the Line - All Children have the Right to Play - This big book raises issues of why play is important for the development of children and what prevents children from playing. Suitable for work within the Literacy Hour. Both these resources available from: The Humanities Education Centre,
Tower Hamlets PDC, English Street, London E3 4TA. Head teacher: Mr John Ridgley
Key Stage 2 Citizenship Pupils should be taught -
During the key stage, pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through opportunities to -
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