Think And Act, the contemporary story of an immigrant child’s journey to Ireland has been developed as a new online teaching resource for primary teachers interested in social justice issues. It was launched by Frances Fitzgerald, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in Dublin Civic Offices on February 7th.
The website tells Abbi’s story, re-creating her experiences in a new country through animation and multi media resources. Pivotal Arts Studio (formerly FOMACS) developed the web and multi-media content and the curriculum and teaching resources were developed by Educate Together. The result of a unique collaboration using high-quality animations with age-appropriate stories and scenarios, Think & Act lesson plans have been developed by teachers for teachers. Lesson ideas, starting with the issue of migration and family reunification, are provided in a range of curriculum areas. With the emphasis on active learning and critical thinking, Think & Act will get your class thinking and talking about the world around us.
Primary Education Officer for Educate Together Fionnuala Ward stated:
“Think and Act tackles a range of issues in age and classroom appropriate scenarios and stories. The animation and learning resources really engage children – getting them to think and talk about the world around us, and hopefully in the future, to act as enlightened and compassionate citizens. Think & Act lesson plans have been developed by teachers for teachers. Lesson ideas, starting with the issue of migration and family reunification, are provided in a range of curriculum areas. With the emphasis on active learning and critical thinking, Think and Act really brings social justice issues to life in the classroom. We encourage all teachers to check it out, use it in their classroom and help develop it further“
At the moment, there are 35 different resources on the site, each accompanied by a video, downloadable notes with tips and ideas on how to tackle the theme and some supplementary resources. Themes on the site include Schools, Home, Family, Diversity, Migrants, Faiths From Around the World, Discrimination, Child Labour and many more. The resources are aimed at 5th and 6th classes and can be searched by curricular area, by strand of the Learn Together curriculum and by teaching pack. Although the teaching material has been developed by teachers from Educate Together schools, it would be a shame if teachers in all different types of schools did not make use of the wealth of free resources contained on this website. There is much on this website that could contribute to strands of curricula in English, SPHE, Geography and others.
This is an example of one of the video resources on the Think And Act website. It is from the unit on the theme of “School”.
Visit the Think And Act website HERE
