Citizens of Europe Teacher Resources:: Communities and identities

Communities and identities

Learning objective

Learn what it means to be a UK citizen in a changing and diverse society

Success criteria and assessment activities

   Describe some of the different identities that people have
   Describe some of the ways that those differences reveal themselves
   State some of the values and behaviours UK citizens have in common

Introduction to learning	(In small groups) write down what you think it means to be a citizen of this country. Suggest up to three things. Pupils may give one or more of Speaks English Lives in Britain Born in Britain Question them: could you be a UK citizen without any of those criteria being met?
Main body of lesson	Class discussion on what identity means, eg membership of a group. And how people can have many identities/ belong to many groups. List on the whiteboard in any order (possible answers) Member of the human race Age groups: old people, young people, middle age Gender Ethnic Skin colour Education: school/ college they go to/ went to Things they do in their spare time, art, music, sport Nationality Where people live: town/country, north/ south etc Where they come from, immigrants If they are employed what job they do, their employer, profession Religion, the church, mosque, synagogue they go to In some cases you can easily tell which groups people belong to.
Task in pairs	(In pairs) think how you can tell the groups a person may belong to. Take one or two groups. Two lists on the board: one list, prepared in advance, of the identity groups, the other a list of factors showing membership. How they speak, regional accents, foreign language What they wear How they spend their time What they eat How they vote, perhaps TV programmes they watch etc How they communicate with each other
Challenge and extension activities	Imagine the differences between a woman in her 30s who has come from India, lives in London and works in a large store in Oxford Street. And an elderly retired white couple living in a village in Northumberland. A day in the life. What it means to have a British identity and behave as a British citizen. The values game. If this can be done safely distribute same set of cards among the students (small groups.) Each student (group) gives the scale of importance from 1 to 5 for each card as indicators of being British.
Cards	Speaks English Lives in Britain Born in Britain Obeys the law Protects the environment Respects other people’s rights Votes in elections Is kind to animals Other indicator: suggest one Get a ranking (from the groups) of these factors and come up with a British identity. (Tell pupils that an immigrant wishing to become a British citizen has to meet certain residency and other requirements and pass a test on knowledge of English and life in the UK.)
Support activities	Name some other things that are typical of British people and help us get on with each other. One or two ideas: Sense of humour Sense of fair play Drink in pubs Put up with things like the weather and queuing
Silent work	Write down and list the identities you have and what effect you think they have on the way you behave. Closing thought What we have said about the differences between groups and the things they have in common in this country would be just as true in many other countries.
Feedback and assessment	Teacher questioning of individuals (and groups.)

References

Citizenship Education for KS3, Hodder Education 2014

Citizens of Europe

Nationality laws

Download associated PDF file Lesson plan KS3 - Communities and Identities