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Lesson plan: The arms bazaar – a mystery
From Making Sense of World Conflicts online resource
Age group:
14–17
Objectives
Learning outcomes
You will need
What to do
Objectives
- To interpret information and make judgements informed by reasons and evidence.
- To create a basis of understanding of the issues of arms dealing and the arms trade.
Learning outcomes
Pupils will have:
- identified some initial facts about the increasing use of small arms.
- used information-sorting, processing, interpreting and explaining skills.
You will need
- Source material: Statements – The arms bazaar cut up and put into envelopes for groups of three pupils. For teachers who wish to differentiate between pupils of different abilities, a shorter and simpler version of this exercise can be made by missing out statements 18 to 25 inclusive.
- Source material: The increasing use of small arms for each pair .
You will need to have discussed the definition of 'small arms'.
Small arms
Small arms are designed for personal use; light weapons are designed for use by several people serving as a crew. Small arms include revolvers and self-loading pistols; rifles and carbines; sub-machine guns; assault rifles; and light machine guns.
What to do
Starter
1. In pairs, pupils should complete the following sentences:
- ‘If I ruled the school, my rule on weapons would be …’
- ‘If I ruled my family, my rule on weapons would be …’
- ‘If I ruled my community, my rule on weapons would be …’
- ‘If I ruled the country, my rule on weapons would be …’
- ‘If I ruled the world, my rule on weapons would be …’
2.
Ask for brief feedback and discuss the similarities in the lists.
Activity
3. This is a ‘thinking skills’ activity. Pupils will carry out a ‘mystery’ exercise in which they are given 30 statements on individual pieces of paper and should produce an answer to a central question. The question is ‘Why is there a big increase in the number of arms in the world?’ The mystery is designed to encourage pupils to deal with ambiguity through addressing a question which has no single correct answer and where they are not even sure which information is relevant, so they must sift and evaluate ideas. It is important that the statements are presented on separate pieces of paper so that pupils can physically categorise them and move them around. The successful completion of the task depends on co-operative group work – three in a group is recommended.
4. Give each group an envelope with the cut-up statements inside and the key question that they must answer written on the envelope. You can also give them copies of the ‘The increasing use of small arms' statements as supporting material if you wish. Ask groups to lay out all the statements in any order and check if there are any words that need explaining.
5. Explain that they are going to become detectives and use the statements to come up with an answer to the key question. There is not a right order or a right answer. Tell them sorting the statements is important but they need to keep looking at the links between statements. As detectives they must come up with the most convincing explanation using the evidence plus any other knowledge of the issue. They should give as much detail as they can.
6. You might need to think about how to ask pupils to give their feedback, as lower-ability groups will need more structure. They could, for example, be asked to identify five key answers to the question (giving evidence) and then rank them. As groups work, check that they are manipulating the information effectively, and give guidance if necessary.
7. Ask each group to report back to the class on their answer to the mystery, giving their reasons. Discuss the findings.
Closing discussion
8. Ask for feedback on the activity and discuss their responses. Discuss with the class anything that surprised them about the information on the arms trade or the arms companies. What do they think could or should be done about the situation?
From Making Sense of World Conflicts online resource
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