Migrants & RefugeesKristie Segond-Baldwin

Collège Brunet

Caen, France

English Literature Teacher -

British International Section

Migrants & Refugees1 theme:

refugee crisis in Europe

2 International sections, co-founders of the project :

Heather Bainbridge (near Marseille) et myself

3 months to accomplish...

November, December, January

4 European countries:

France, Netherlands, Germany, Norway

5 schools :

Brunet (FR), Monod (FR), Schiller (DE), Carolus Clusius (NL), Hovseter (NO)

6 teachers:

2 x Literature, English, Social Studies, Art, European club leader

Migrants & RefugeesThe project centered on a book we study in literature class :

« The Other Side of Truth » by Beverley Naidoo

The story is set in Nigeria in the 1970s. An assassination attempt is made on a popular journalist protesting the military regime after a coup d'état, but his wife is killed instead. The journalist decides to send his two children out of the country to protect them. The children are smuggled into England but are immediately abandoned, and they find themselves refugees, alone in a country they don't understand.

«Major» objectives : → link the themes in the book to the current crisis in Europe,→ help students understand the actual issues facing migrants in Europe, → put 'names and faces' on the crisis, → help students understand their place as European citizens in the midst of it all.

«Minor» objectives :Read, write, and speak English ; correctly research topics & cite valid sources ; describe and analyse graphics ; conduct interviews in an appropriate manner...

Migrants & Refugees

The project culminated in

an e-magazine which

included :

→ articles on research conducted by students

→ interviews with aid workers and refugees,

→ literary book reviews of the Naidoo text.

Migrants & RefugeesProjected Calendar and Activities:

Introductions: 1-7 November (1 wk)Brainstorming key words: 8-14 November (1 wk)Researching our topics: 15-28 November (2 wks)Interviews: 23-28 November (1 wk concurrently)Writing research articles: 1-19 December (3 wks)Reading the book: December (concurrent with articles)Writing book reviews: late December/early January

The project actually ended in late January...

Migrants and Refugees

Project Tools :

➢ Skype for planning/chatting➢ Twinspace Live Event freature for student discussions➢ Twinspace for sharing documents/videos➢ Padlet for sharing ideas, work➢ Titanpads as collaborative workspace➢ Madmagz website for producing magazine➢ Teamup online calendar for coordinating work periods➢ Poll-maker website for creating polls➢ Unicef Voices of Youth discussion forum

Migrants & RefugeesIn-depth Look...

1st Activity:

→ Talk about who you are in terms of ethnicity, culture and language.

→ Say what you know in general about immigration in your country.

→ Say how your country/city is being affected by the refugee crisis in Europe.

The Norwegianshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_C1-qCW0Co

The French from Caenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlJgsTw31rE

Migrants & RefugeesIn-depth Look...

2nd Activity :Brainstorm around the key words of the project—immigrant vs. refugee—using both images and words.

What do these words make you think of ?

The Norwegians→ refugee

→ immigrant

The Dutch→ refugee

→ immigrant

Migrants & RefugeesIn-depth Look...

Organizing the research step:

Organizing annex activities:

→ sign up on Twinspace for the research topic of your choice, and indicate who you will be interviewing

→ participate in Unicef's Voices of Youth forum discussion on the migrant crisis

Migrants & RefugeesIn-depth Look...

Twinspace organization:

Migrants & Refugees

The final product--

Migrants & Refugees

Migrants & RefugeesWeak points :

● Some activities poorly organized (polls, titanpad workspaces...) so were abandoned by some schools

● Unable to keep to our original calendar because of external issues (interview dates, availability...)

● The final rush to publish the magazine led us to carelessly forget to add articles on certain activities.

Strong points :● Freedom to choose topics and interview subjects corresponding to community

resources and student interests● Flexible schedule for all partners ensured participation and completion● Twinspace  organization: the Project Steps Overview page served as a 'Table of

Contents', and indicating dates in the page titles ensured clear visibility● Comparing our life stories and having students lead interviews led to a blossoming of

'citizen' attitudes (→ Voices of Youth discussion...)