So I have about 1 week worth of lessons coming up where my co-T has said we can do any topic we choose. I'm considering doing some lessons on current American news stories, and more specifically the #blacklivesmatter movement.

This is my first year in an Elementary school so I wanted to ask if any teachers have covered similar topics before, and how they structured the lessons so that students were engaged but still understood. All planning advice is welcome but please do not turn this into a political debate, there are other threads for that    thanks in advance

Quote from: GotMyTowel on July 11, 2016, 02:17:34 AM

S... so that students were engaged but still understood.

I think that they would lack the cultural context for that topic.

This. I don't think elementary school students are old enough to have the critical faculties to discuss an issue like that, never mind in a second language.

Seriously?  Teach that to Korean elementary school kids?  I think I would have to say, NO. Not a good idea, IMO.  So many other subjects more pertinent, fun and interesting to them.  Sounds like something your coworkers might be interested in discussing and hearing your opinions on though.  Open a discussion with them.

Quote from: DLJL on July 11, 2016, 10:34:22 AM

Quote from: JNM on July 11, 2016, 02:46:30 AM

Quote from: GotMyTowel on July 11, 2016, 02:17:34 AM

S... so that students were engaged but still understood.

I think that they would lack the cultural context for that topic.

This. I don't think elementary school students are old enough to have the critical faculties to discuss an issue like that, never mind in a second language.

I'm inclined to agree.  The intention is good, but the age group, and especially as it will be in a foreign language will make this a very hard subject to engage the kids on, even if they understand.

This above. As an elementary teacher in my 3rd year, I can tell you the students lack the comprehension skills to understand the topic. The current racial climate in the world is an extremely important topic but it is not going to be understood at all by elementary school students. You're going to have some very uninterested students - already English is their second language, so that's hard enough for them.

thanks for the advice, I'll just find some games/summer lessons to fill the time. Much appreciated.

Good luck GotMyTowel! Sorry for the bad news but you'll be okay! Fighting! Let the kiddies enjoy their youth a little more before they realise the world they live  ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Teaching about the Black Lives Matter movement specifically would be difficult as another poster said, the students don't have the critical capabilities or context to understand. What CAN be done however is to teach racial acceptance through other means! There are lots of children's books about these topics!

http://humaneeducation.org/blog/2014/06/26/14-childrens-picture-books-exploring-race-racism/

Again with all these books keep in mind the cultural context the students have to understand. Happy lesson planning! You got this!

I think this lesson could be done if your students have

1. Very high level of English.  I'm talking they can express themselves fully and not in broken sentences. 

2. They are mature 6th graders.  When I worked at a hakwon I had the opportunity to work with some VERY VERY intelligent and mature 6 grade girls.  They were very worldly  (travel outside of Korea often) and their English was superb.  (They were CDI students after all,  so they came to my English hakwon and that hakwon as well.)  I was able to have a lesson about global terrorism with them and how it effects the lives of normal everyday Muslims.  It was probably one of the most rewarding and simulating lessons I ever had.  And the girls came away with a better understand of how radical groups were not the same as normal worshipers. 

Only under these circumstances you could attempt a lesson about this but it would have to be simplified and not get too complex.   Even explaining 9/11 was a very complex issue because I had to explain why the US was targeted to begin with. 

But if your students have VERY POOR ENGLISH SKILLS AND you can see they are very immature to begin with THAN DON'T EVEN WASTE YOUR ENGERY OR BREATH.  Seriously I once did a powerpoint presentation about my wonderful vacation to Egypt and I had some little 6th grade snot kept saying ISIS, ISIS,ISIS the whole time.  I was only showing pictures of food, the people, and the pyramids and this dumba** kept saying "EVERYONE ISIS"  It really worked my nerves I told him to go stand outside till class was over because he kept disrupting the presentation.  Mind you my presentation wasn't a huge history lesson.  I even played a game in the end where the kids had to write numbers in Arabic.  For those who appreciated it, they had a good time 

I WOULD NOT DO A Blacklivesmatter lesson with any grade under 6th.  It's too scary and complex.  And showing VIDEOS ARE OUT OF THE QUESTION IN MY OPINION! 

I think that there is already enough racism in Korea without introducing Korean kids to a group of racists who are obsessed with skin colour, and dedicated to making race relations worse.

If you are so preoccupied with skin colour yourself that you want to plan a lesson about it, there are plenty of role models who speak about the need to get over race and stop using 'racism' as an opportunity for people to virtue signal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d2SzRZvsQ

Race is apparently such a non issue in the USA that BLM need to fake racist tweets.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/woman-admits-tweeting-fake-threats-fellow-black-students-204320195.html

You want to teach your students about this group? Why not the KKK?

Talk about hammering the point home. He admitted it was a crap idea eight posts ago.

Don't do politics to elementary kids.  They won't get it.  Kids will go home tell their parents and some may not want it.  Avoid politics in the classroom.  Maybe high school or university or some adult classes are ok.  But, younger kids won't get it.