Warm Up Shopping Dash: Give each student a card with a picture of water, food, house, friends or study. Students sit on chairs in a circle, with one person standing in the middle. Person in the middle calls out a card. Ex. "water." All people with water cards and the person in the middle must run to find a new chair. If the person in the middle calls "Shopping" everyone must change. Person left without a chair is the next caller. (NB. This is a fun adaptation of the language game 'Fruit Basket' I have used it in Japan and Thailand with both students and teachers and it always creates a fun atmosphere)

Making Groups: Ask the students to get into groups using the cards from Shopping Dash. Possibly the students will break into homogenous groups (ex. All water together) If this happens, ask what will they eat? Possibly the students will break into heterogeneous groups (ex. water, food, house, friends and study) If this happens, ask why they choose this group? After groups have formed ask students what are the basic needs for living? Can everyone in Japan / our world achieve these basics?

Introduction What is education? In their new groups (ideally of four students each) ask students to discuss the questions: What is education? Groups have 1 or 2 minutes to think of an answer(s) and record on a piece of paper and keep for later.

Overdose: Watch the movie Overdose, by the N.F.B. of Canada (6 mins.) about a young boy burnt-out by the demands to achieve success. After watching have students discuss in their groups the following:

1. Is this the same as life for some students in Japan?
2. Why do we go to school?
3. What do you think the Canadian boy should do?

 

Groups report to the class on ideas of what they discussed.

Global Education 10 Step Game: (for this game you will need 10 sheets of reused paper for each group) In their small groups ask students to line up at one end of the room. Place the pieces of paper at the other end of the room. Ask students to listen the following questions and for each time someone in their group answers yes, they can go and pick up a piece of paper (note only 1 piece of paper per group per question).

1. Is someone in your group wearing some clothing made in another country?
2. Can someone in your group name a country that receives foreign aid from Japan?
3. Can someone in your group name three countries that Japan imports lumber from?
4. Has someone in your group been a tourist in another country?
5. Can someone in your group name three countries in which a Japanese company operates?
6. Does someone in your group enjoy eating foods from another country?
7. Does someone in your group have a pet whose species originated in another country?
8. Can someone in your group name a country where Japanese peacekeepers have operated?
9. Can someone in your group name three other countries in the G8?
10. Does anyone in your group have a friend or relative living in another country?

After finishing the questions, ask the students to keep their paper to be used after watching the next video.

To See The World: The following video (To See The World by N.F.B. of Canada) is about a grandfather who wants to show his grandson the real world. The boy takes a train ride around the world and along the way sees how life really is for most people. Issues such as hunger, child labour, street children, orphans, bullying and war are addressed. This is a hard hitting video, but shows optimism, has no spoken language and clever animation. After watching the video give the students time to discuss in groups the following:

1. Do you believe what the video showed?
2. How many of these issues were you aware of before watching the video?
3. Is there anything that your group can do about these problems?

Facilitators circulate listening and helping students to express their ideas.

Marshmallow Game: Sometimes problems can seem impossible to solve. If we try to do it on our own, they very well may be impossible. However, by working together we can accomplish great things. The following game is to help 'lighten' the atmosphere after watching the video and to let students know that they can work together to solve difficult problems - for we are all in this hot chocolate together! Ask students to line up at one end of the room. Tell them that the centre of the room is an ocean of incredibly hot, hot chocolate. The pieces of paper that they collected from the previous game are marshmallows. Using the marshmallows the group must find a way to get everyone in the group from one end of the room to the other, without their feet touching the floor (only marshmallows). Note, to make the game more challenging you can tell them that if they leave a marshmallow unattended it can be eaten by the sharks swimming in the hot chocolate.

Children Around the World: Show the next two videos (Jonas and Lisa, and Baroque n Roll, both by N.F.B. of Canada) The first is about children living in the favellas in Rio Di Janeiro. The second is about new Canadian fitting in and facing prejudice. After watching the videos ask the students to talk about: How their life would be different if they were living in Brazil or Canada? How are they connected to kids in Brazil and Canada? Facilitators circulate listening and helping students to express their ideas.

Trading Game: This game is taken from Pike, G. & Selby, D. (2000) In The Global Classroom Toronto, Pippin Publishing pgs. 188 - 190 (ISBN 0-88751-081-7)

Needs vs. Wants: Ask the students to work with a partner to divide picture cards sets of basic needs and consumer goods into two groups - those they need and those they want. After students have divided the cards ask: Can everyone in our world achieve both these needs and wants?

Conclusion Rainbow War video: (available from the British Columbia Ministry of Education and or Canadian Embassy Libraries) A fairy tale style video showing the negative effects, and optimistic potential for the globalisation process going on in our world today. This is a nice way to end the workshop with an upbeat feeling and to let students know that all is not dark.