the Royal Commonwealth Society Lesson 2 Resources 1- 4 Blue

1© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth 51

2

Note - This lesson could be split into two for students to have more time to prepare and discuss: activities 1 and 2 in the first lesson, and activities 3 and 4 in the second lesson.

Lesson aims/key questions

1 » in which ways is the Commonwealth diverse?2 » what is life like in other countries around the world? what are some similarities

and differences with our own lives?3 » what is agreement by consensus? to what extent does diversity make reaching

consensus difficult?

Learning outcomes and key processes

Students will be able to:a » list three ways in which Commonwealth countries are diverse.b » examine the similarities and differences between our own lives and the lives of

people living in another Commonwealth country.c » explain what is meant by agreement by consensus.d » evaluate some of the advantages, limitations and challenges of consensus among

diverse countries.Key processes: empathising with others; discussion and debate; arguing a viewpoint other than your own; communicating ideas; listening to others; working with others to solve problems.

Key words/ concepts / terms

Commonwealth | diversity | consensus | trade | language | religion | culture | heritage | microfinance | Fairtrade | trade bloc | free trade agreement | world Bank | international monetary Fund

Summary of activities and links to learning outcomes

activity 1 (starter): Diverse Commonwealth Quiz (Powerpoint presentation) a »

activity 2: Commonwealth Letters (letter-writing task) b »

activity 3: The Challenge of Trade (Structured Role Play Debate in groups) c »

activity 4 (plenary): Reaching consensus (Feedback from Debate) c » d »

Assessment opportunities

» activity 2 could be assessed if marking criteria are established and letters are collected in and marked.

» activity 3 and » activity 4 (plenary) could be a group assessment either by one person in each group acting as an ‘observer’ or ‘assessor’ of the others (in groups of five rather than four), or through informal assessment of individual contributions to class discussion.

Differentiation » activity 2: the letters from Pakistan and Singapore are more accessible and those from tanzania and trinidad and tobago are more challenging.

» activity 3: Students needing extra support for group discussion work could work with a partner to represent a single country, with time beforehand to talk through the viewpoint of the country they represent.

» activity 4: thorough questioning (level and challenge of question during feedback pitched to needs of individual students).

Homework or extension tasks

Students could:Research a new country » individually or in small groups, ask students to pick a Commonwealth country which is new to them – one they do not know very much about (all Commonwealth members are listed below). you could ask students to carry out online research on their chosen country, using the Commonwealth Secretariat website ‘Country profiles’: www.thecommonwealth.org/s/YearbookHomePage/152099/country_profile » they could find out the following:1 » name of capital city2 » languages (official and local) 3 » life expectancy4 » land area5a » and 5b » two facts they found particularly interesting or surprisingWrite a short briefing note » for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting describing the benefits and challenges of a consensus method for making decisions amongst Commonwealth countries.

» Diversity and the Commonwealth

Commonwealth SCHOOL RESOURCES » Lesson 2

leSSon 2 oF 4

© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth52

Resources needed » activity 1 (starter) and » activity 4: Diverse Commonwealth Powerpoint (2r1)» activity 2: Commonwealth Letters (1 each or 1 per pair) (2r2);

Blank World Maps (2r3) (a coloured-in world map is also included in this resource showing all the Commonwealth countries)

» activity 3: The Challenge of Trade briefing sheets (1 set per group of four students) (2r4)

» Diversity and the Commonwealth continued...

1r2

» Full List of Commonwealth Countries (for possible research task)

• antigua and Barbuda • australia •the Bahamas•Bangladesh • Barbados •Belize•Botswana •Brunei Darussalam •Cameroon•Canada •Cyprus •Dominica•Fiji islands •the gambia •ghana •grenada •guyana •india •Jamaica •Kenya •Kiribati •lesotho •malawi •malaysia•maldives •malta •mauritius •mozambique •namibia •nauru •new Zealand •nigeria •Pakistan •Papua new guinea •Rwanda •St Kitts and nevis•St lucia •St Vincent & the grenadines •Samoa •Seychelles •Sierra leone •Singapore •Solomon islands •South africa •Sri lanka •Swaziland •tonga •trinidad &tobago•tuvalu •uganda •united Kingdom •united Republic of tanzania •Vanuatu •Zambia


leSSon 2 oF 4 2

© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth 53

» Introducing the Commonwealth » Suggested time allowance for activities

» Activity 1 (starter): Diverse Commonwealth Quiz

use the Diverse Commonwealth PowerPoint (2r1), to get students thinking about the diversity amongst Commonwealth countries.

give students 10-20 seconds to write down their answer to the question on each slide.

at the end, go through the answers (which are below), encouraging students to feedback on what they got right and wrong and what surprised them.

alternatively, you could make this a competitive activity by dividing the class into two teams and marking down the scores of each team with ticks and crosses for each quiz question they get right or wrong: the team with the highest number of correct answers wins the quiz. Diverse Commonwealth answers: 1 » What is the average temperature on 1st July?

(Source: The Weather Channel – uk.weather.com) [NB You might want to award a point for ‘the temperature in Summer’ or ‘the temperature in July’ or similar.]

2 » (c) Uganda (Source: 2008 World Population Data Sheet, Population Reference Bureau)

3 » (b) Languages in use (Source: the country’s government or Ethnologue - www.ethnologue.com)

4 » (c) 5m (Source: www.cia.gov.uk)

5 » Join the Commonwealth (Source: www.thecommonwealth.org)

» Activity 2: Commonwealth Letters

give out the Commonwealth letters (2r2) to students along with a blank world map (2r3).

the letters are based on real letters written by young people in Commonwealth countries, detailing what their lives are like. ask students to mark or shade in on the blank world map the country the letter is from. then ask them to read the letter and reply to it, answering the questions within the letters.

if you have time, ask students to feed back on the most interesting or surprising fact they have found out.

Discuss with the class the similarities and differences students noted between their lives and the lives of the letter-writers and introduce the term ‘diversity’ (differences or variations between people in communities and societies)

emphasise that these narratives are not representative of all the people in that country, just like the students’ lives will be different from those of their peers and those of others around their country or region.

0-10m

10-30

2r1

2r32r2


2leSSon 2 oF 4

54

» Activity 3: The Challenge of Trade

ask students to get into groups of four (any extra students should pair up with someone in a group).

give each group a set of ‘the Challenge of trade briefing sheets’ (2r4). ask each student to take one of the sheets without showing their sheet to the other members of the group.

explain that each student in the group represents the Minister for Trade from the country shown on their briefing sheet (2r4) (india, ghana, australia or Bangladesh). they will shortly be having a discussion in their group about trade. as part of the discussion, each member of the group will put forward the idea described on their sheet.

they should do their best to explain their idea and persuade the other group members to support it. on each sheet there are also notes about the ideas they will not be keen to support.

give students around 5 minutes of quiet time to read their sheet and ask any questions, and then 10-15 minutes for their discussion (more if you have time).

By the end of the discussion, the aim is to have reached an agreement within the group on which idea they will go for.

explain that this is the way decisions are made at Commonwealth meetings – countries must reach agreement, which is called ‘consensus’.

» at the end of the 10-15 minutes, stop the group discussion (even if students have not come to an agreement), and ask students to get out of role (it may help to ask them to move back to their original seats).

» Activity 4 (plenary): Reaching consensus

ask students to discuss the following questions with a partner, (who ideally should have been in a different group for Activity 3):

1 » Did you reach consensus in your group?

2 » why/why not?

3 » what are the advantages and disadvantages of making decisions like this?

4 » to what extent do you think the diversity of the Commonwealth might make reaching consensus easier or more difficult?

5 » what are the necessary qualities a person needs in order to work well with others? which ones do you have? which do you need to improve on?

» you can also find these questions on the Diverse Commonwealth Powerpoint (2r1).

give students five minutes of discussion time and then ask different pairs to feedback their views on different questions.

if you have time, you could add an extra step before the class feedback, asking each pair to join another pair and share their answers. emphasise that these sheets and ideas do not necessarily represent the views of the governments or people of the countries concerned: it is important not to fall back on stereotypes but to consider all new information with an open mind.

2r4

30-50m

50-60m

2r1

» Suggested time allowance for activities


leSSon 2 oF 4 2

© Royal Commonwealth SoCiety | www.theRCS.oRg/youth

View p3-20CommonGround guide


Diverse Commonwealth Powerpoint » Resource 2r1

» Please view powerpoint presentation supplied on resource disk

ReSouRCe 2r1Page 1 oF 1 2r1

» The Diverse Commonwealth powerpoint presentation

P.S. Look at this coinfrom my country...Do you know what thecrescent symbolises?

BaddomalhiNarowalPakistan

Dear Cousin,

I wanted to write to you to tell you a bit about my life in Pakistan, and to find out

about your life too.

I live in a village north-east of Lahore, very close to the border with India. My

village is surrounded by green fields and trees. Life here is very different from all the

pollution and noise you have probably heard about in the big cities of Pakistan. My

house is located in the centre of the village, and it is two storeys high. We have three

bedrooms, a kitchen, a TV lounge and two bathrooms. We also have a room that is for

guests. My bedroom is spacious and airy and it’s on the top floor. Where do you live?

What is your bedroom like? How does your village or town compare to other places in

your country? Is there any overcrowding?

My bedroom faces the east, so in the morning the sunlight comes in and wakes me up.

Once I am up, I usually have chapattis, butter and milkwater for breakfast before

school. What do you have for breakfast? My mother is a housewife. She is a fantastic

cook and she makes chapattis and vegetables for lunch, and dal (lentils) and rice for

dinner. We are really lucky to have fresh vegetables. After school, I take our two

buffaloes to the field for grazing and sometimes I ride on the brown one. The milk of the

help your family with? What do you do in your spare time? Does the local government

or anyone else provide activities for young people in your area? My village has a big

playing field, where my friends and I play cricket and football.

There is a railway station in our village that links us to Lahore and Narowal. In

our village there is also a church where Christians go for worship and a mosque where

and respect each other here, but this has not always been the case in Pakistan. What

religions do you have in your country? Do they live peacefully together?

Write to me soon!

Love from, Farhan


Commonwealth Letters » Resource 2r2


A view of my city for you!




Trinidad

Tobago

P.s I’ve drawn you amap of my country!




» World map for students

» World map for students


WORLD MAPS » Resource 2r3


Can

ada

Uni

ted

Kin

gdom

Kir

ibat

i

Guy

ana

Sam

oa

Mal

taC

ypru

sPa

kist

an

Indi

aBang

lade

sh

Sri L

anka

Mal

dive

sM

alay

sia

Brun

ei

Sing

apor

e

Papa

New

G

uine

a

New

Zea

land

Aus

tral

ia

Sout

h A

fric

a

Nam

ibia

Bots

wan

a

Mau

ritiu

s

Tong

a

Beliz

eJa

mai

caD

omin

ica

Baha

mas

Ant

igua

& B

arbu

da

St L

ucia

Barb

ados

Trin

idad

& T

obag

o

St K

itts

& N

evis

St V

ince

nt &

Gre

nadi

nes

Gre

nada

Sier

ra L

eone

The

Gam

bia

Gha

na

Nig

eria C

amer

oon Uga

nda

Ken

ya

Tanz

ania

Moz

ambi

que

Zam

bia

Rw

anda

Mal

awi

Swaz

iland

Leth

oso

Seyc

helle

sSo

lom

onIs

land

s

Nau

ru

Vana

tuFi

jiTuva

lu


WORLD MAPS » Resource 2r3

» World map for teacher reference


COMMONWEALTH DEVELOPMENT BANK

the world Bank and the international monetary Fund (imF) are

currently the main organisations that provide loans and grants to

countries around the world to help with their development. however,

they have been strongly criticised by organisations such as greenpeace

and Survival international for giving loans out for projects that harm

the environment or for promoting policies that hinder rather than help

the development of some countries. what is needed is a new

international bank that would be a not-for-profit development

organisation rooted in Commonwealth principles. Bangladesh is an

example of a country that has received a number of international aid

packages and loans over the past decades (including many from the

world Bank) and it has made great progress in its development and

now relies very little on outside assistance. a new Commonwealth

Development Bank would help to promote microfinance schemes,

new industries and infrastructure projects (e.g. transport links) that

would help many Commonwealth countries to develop in a similar way.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should set

up a new Commonwealth Development Bank that would give loans

and development grants to countries around the Commonwealth.

this would be rooted in Commonwealth principles and would help to

promote diversity, development and democracy around the

Commonwealth.

Can you convince the other Ministers for Trade to agree to your idea?

Note: you are not keen on the idea of Commonwealth Fairtrade because

you think the current Fairtrade organisations are doing a very good job and it

would be confusing for people around the world to have a different label on

their products.

Note:

BANGLADESH


The Challenge of Trade Briefing Sheets » Resource 2r4

You are the Minister for Trade for Bangladesh.

You are at an international trade meeting and you have

been asked by your Head of Government to try to get

consensus (agreement by all) on the following idea:

information from the greenpeace website (www.greenpeace.org.uk); the Survival international website

(www.survivalinternational.org); and the seminar paper ‘aid effectiveness in Bangladesh’ by m.g. Quibria

(www.economics.illinois.edu/docs/seminars/aid-effectiveness-in-Bangladesh.pdf). 2r4

» Minister for Trade for Bangladesh


COMMONWEALTH MICROFINANCE

the Commonwealth has 640 million people living in poverty and

these people can potentially be helped out of poverty by microfinance,

which is the lending of very small amounts of money (for example, $20

or $100) to people on a very low income (particularly women), to help

them set up a business that could take them out of poverty.

the money is gradually paid back to the lenders with interest once

the business is up and running. the microfinance market within the

Commonwealth is worth over 100 billion uS dollars.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should

expand the microfinance schemes which have already been set up in

india by the Commonwealth Business Council to other countries all

around the Commonwealth.

this should be accompanied by legislation (laws) in all Commonwealth

countries to ensure that people taking part in microfinance schemes

are not kept in poverty by very high interest rates.


Note: you are not keen on the idea of a Commonwealth Development

Bank because you currently receive a lot of grants and loans from the world

Bank, which would be likely to see this new bank as a competing institution

and might remove some of its financial support for members of the

Commonwealth, including india, if this idea goes ahead.

Note:

INDIA


The Challenge of Trade Briefing Sheets » Resource 2r4The Challenge of Trade Briefing Sheets » Resource 2r4

» Minister for Trade for India

You are the Minister for Trade for India. You are at

an international trade meeting and you have been

asked by your Head of Government to try to get


information and statistics from ‘Summary note on ‘Commonwealth trade – time for action!’,

which is available on the Commonwealth Secretariat website

www.thecommonwealth.org/files/231053/Filename/worldtradersSeminar300910Summary.pdf;

and from the Commonwealth inclusive growth Services website

www.cigs.in/index.php” http://www.cigs.in/index.php. 2r4


COMMONWEALTH FAIR TRADE

ghana exports cocoa (from which chocolate is made) and other

produce to many countries around the world. the country’s economy

lies heavily on agriculture (farming), which provides over half of the

country’s employment, mostly through small landholders (people who

own and farm small plots of land rather than vast areas). it is very

important to ensure that the idea of Fairtrade is spread around the

Commonwealth, in order to protect ghana’s economy and society

and also those of other countries in a similar position.

Fairtrade is where farmers and other local producers and suppliers

(particularly small-scale growers) are paid better prices for their goods

and must meet standards that show that they have good working

conditions for their employees and work towards sustainability in

relation to protecting the natural environment. over 4 billion uS

dollars of Fairtrade products are sold each year around the world.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should set

up a new certification called ‘Commonwealth Fair trade’ which has

the highest standards for employment and sustainability. this would

help to promote the idea of Fairtrade around the Commonwealth and

improve the lives of people everywhere.


Note: you are not keen on the idea of a Commonwealth trade Bloc

because it might interfere with the free trade agreements within the african

union and also with the good trading relationships you have developed with

the netherlands, the united States, China and France.

Note:

GHANA



You are the Minister for Trade for Ghana. You are at

an international trade meeting and you have been



information and statistics from the Fairtrade Foundation website: www.fairtrade.org.uk; and the Fairtrade

labelling organizations international website: www.fairtrade.net/facts_and_figures.html

2r4

» Minister for Trade for Ghana


COMMONWEALTH TRADE BLOC

a trade Bloc is an agreement between countries that they will reduced the

barriers to trade between themselves, for example by having ‘Free trade

agreements’ where they do not charge each other taxes (or customs) to

trade goods between themselves. this means they have an advantage

over other countries that are not in the agreement. Sometimes trade

Blocs extend as far as having borderless travel between the countries (so

people don’t have to get visas to travel between them) and they may even

have a common currency (for example, the euro in the european union).

already, australia has (or is negotiating) Free trade agreements with

countries such as new Zealand, Singapore and malaysia.

if the Commonwealth today were a trade Bloc, it would be equal in size

to the united States; it would have thirteen of the world’s fastest growing

economies; and it could have an economy valued at over 45 trillion uS dollars.

it would make it much easier for smaller countries around the Commonwealth

to grow in wealth much more quickly and it would bring the spotlight

back on the Commonwealth as a vibrant and relevant organisation.

Your idea » is that the Commonwealth ministers for trade should set up

a trade Bloc called the ‘Commonwealth Free trade area’ which will help

Commonwealth countries develop in wealth and reputation. as part of

this trade Bloc there could even be a ‘Commonwealth Currency’ that all

members of the Commonwealth would use.


Note: you are not keen on the idea of Commonwealth Microfinance

because you have heard that microfinance schemes have been charging some

people such high interest rates that they may have led to some recent suicides

in india. also, you are not very keen on the idea of a Commonwealth Development

Bank because australia already has a bank called the ‘Commonwealth Bank

(of australia)’ and the similarity in names would be too confusing.

Note:

AUSTRALIA



You are the Minister for Trade for Australia. You are

at an international trade meeting and you have been



information and Statistics from the Commonwealth Conversation website (article by Brent Cameron)

(www.thecommonwealthconversation.org/2009/09/commonwealth-its-time-to-talk-trade)

and from the economist website (www.economist.com/node/1742020). 2r4

» Minister for Trade for Australia


the Royal Commonwealth Society Lesson 2 Resources 1- 4 Blue

Documents

Transcript of the Royal Commonwealth Society Lesson 2 Resources 1- 4 Blue