Overview: Let’s Cross Colour and Other Divides

This part of the course uses the story Colourful Pete to teach children to cross racial, gender and other divides. Colourful Pete is what would describe as “a thinking story”. This story, and the activities that accompany it, is intended to allow children to simply think about the differences and commonality they have as human beings, why some people may be different to them, what those differences might be, and whether the differences are of any significance at all.

In these lessons we also use what we would describe as “a doing story”. These stories are about individuals who have managed to make their mark on history by doing something such as overcoming adversity, standing up to prejudice of whatever kind or somehow highlighting the plight of a people or group – these are real life heroes with whom children can identify. See: The Gallery of Heroes (which includes brief biographies of Malala Yousafzai; Iqbal Masih; Nelson Mandela; Helen Keller; Emmeline Pankhurst; Martin Luther King; Mahatma Gandhi; Anne Frank; Mother Theresa; and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama)

This part of the course includes reading, a comprehension plenary session, artwork (which includes illustrating the story and emphasises co-operative work), written work (which includes writing prose or a poem), a co-operative exercise centred on learning about real life heroes which could include research, public speaking, role-playing, hot-seating and other peer learning techniques; and a video which helps teach the children a song in sign language.