Oxfam_EdLibLab

What kind of education leads to the best //kind// of thinking beyond internalization and repetition of specific ideologies?

This page is not an endorsement, but an invitation to revisit what we mean by curriculum and look again at how we build pedagogy.




 * Happy New Year! This month’s**** //**//**lab** report//**// ****features lesson plans from Oxfam, an international aid agency that has an education department based in**** ****Britain********, related to environmentalism and globalization. The lessons cover a wide variety of topics including**** ****Darfur********, the coffee trade and climate change. This report also includes lessons on Native American culture and politics that were shared on the Education for Liberation Network listserv in November. We hope network members will continue to enrich this important social justice education tool by posting their own teaching materials.****


 * ////the////**** ****////lab report is a monthly update of curriculum materials posted to the////**** ****////[|EdLib Lab]////********////, the network's online database of social justice teaching materials. To join this community of educators,////**** ****////[|sign up here]////**** ****////for the Education for Liberation Network listserv.////****

A resource for teaching about the Iraq conflict for ages 8–16. The activities allow you to explore students’ questions about the conflict, discuss the effect that the war has had on this country, examine techniques for resolving conflicts, and debate whether wars can ever be just. Grade Levels: All Cost: No
 * [|Iraq: War and Peace]**** ****by Oxfam****

Using the stories of young people caught up in the conflict, this resource helps you to introduce the realities of life in Darfur to students aged 13+. Sections include: a history of the conflict; stories from young people living in the camps about their daily lives, the fears they face, and their hopes for the future; information about Oxfam’s work in Darfur; and ideas for actions students might take about the issues. Grade Levels: High Cost: No
 * [|Darfur: Teaching About the Issues]**** ****by Oxfam****

A simple introduction to global trade for Primary schools. These lesson plans help your pupils to understand the basic principles of global trade. Starting with everyday items – things from the supermarket – the lessons explore where items actually come from and how they reach us. Drawing out links between raw materials and finished items, and helping pupils to understand the supply chain, this resource also gets pupils thinking about global trade rules and who benefits from them. Grade Levels: Elementary Cost: No
 * [|Find Your Way Through Trade]**** ****by Oxfam****

Profits from the coffee industry are unfairly distributed – explore why with these materials for students aged 13+. Coffee companies make huge profits, while the farmers who grow the coffee make barely enough to live on. These resources show the contrast between farmers who sell their coffee on the open market, and those able to sell their coffee to Fair Trade buyers. Includes powerful interviews with coffee growers in Uganda. Grade Levels: High Cost: No
 * [|Coffee Chain Game]**** ****by Oxfam****

A resource exploring cotton production and the textile industry in India for pupils aged 7–11. Lessons include an exploration of the journey of cotton from the field to the shops; a quiz about India; and a class survey about the origins of students’ own clothes. They all explore the concept of Fair Trade. Grade Levels: Elementary Cost: No
 * [|Clothes Line]**** ****by Oxfam****

A week of activities about climate change for ages 9–11. These materials provide an overview of the causes and consequences of climate change, and help teachers to explore its impact on everyone, especially people in the developing world. The activities also help pupils to understand their own contribution to climate change, and that of their school. Grade Levels: Elementary Cost: No
 * [|Climate Chaos]**** ****by Oxfam****

Teaching Tolerance offers a wealth of activity ideas tied to Thanksgiving, Native mascots and indigenous people's proud heritage of resistance. Grade Levels: Unknown Cost: No
 * [|ABCs of Native American Heritage Month]**** ****by Teaching Tolerance****

This site contains several lesson plans related to the history, legends and culture of the Serrano Indians of California. Grade Levels: Unknown Cost: No
 * [|Serrano Indian Classroom Activities]**** ****by Amy Wahe****

This site contains a wide variety of teaching materials and lesson plans about the Native People of Alaska. Grade Levels: Unknown Cost: No
 * [|Alaskool]**** ****by Alaskool****

////The//// ****////[|Education for Liberation Network]////**** ////is a national coalition of teachers, community activists, youth, researchers and parents who believe a good education should teach people—particularly low-income youth and youth of color—to understand and challenge the injustices their communities face.////