Diana

Or was it different because you had changed? Or was it a mix of both?” You could introduce this topic by sharing an example from your own life of a time when you revisited a place you hadn’t been in a while and something seemed different. Maybe you could share with your class a story about visiting as an adult the place where you grew up. You can tell your class about physical changes (such as if there are any new buildings or if other people are now living in your childhood home) or any internal changes of yourself (like if the place seems quieter than you remember because you are comparing it to noisy cities you have visited or might live in now).

To practice reading comprehension, ask students to share some of the reasons why the camp feels different to Diana. “Were most of the changes because the camp is now different, or because Diana has grown and changed?” Now that students have interacted with two examples of how people relate to places over time (both from the example you shared at the beginning of the lesson and from Diana’s story), encourage them to share times in their own lives where this has happened. “What were some of the changes you noticed? Were these changes physical differences or were they changes in how you personally related to the place? Do you think it is it easier to notice the changes in the place or in yourself? Why might that be? Did you expect that the place would be exactly as you remembered it? How did it make you feel to experience it in a different way?”

As a group, write down physical descriptions of the place (such as what it looks like, its size, what are the nearby sounds and smells, and how many people visit) and then include descriptions of how it makes students feel (excited, bored, overwhelmed, or any memories associated with it). After you write down what the place is currently like, ask your class to imagine that you are now visiting the place 50 years into the future. For each current description, write down how you imagine it to have changed or stayed the same, and the potential reasons why. For example, you might imagine that the perimeter of the place has become smaller, and that the potential reason is because more people are moving to the area so housing development has encroached on the space. To practice perimeter word problems, you can ask each student to write down an estimation of the current perimeter and by how much they each think it may grow or shrink in the future. From there, ask them to calculate the new, imagined perimeter and explain why to the class. An example of a change in how a student feels about the place could be that she feels more connected to it in the future then she does right now because she has visited it with more members of her family. If you want to introduce comparing fractions of different wholes, you could imagine that the student in the present visited the place with 1⁄2 of her 4-person family. In the future, the student also visits the place with 1⁄2 of her family. If the fraction is the same, how can it be that the student feels a greater connection because she visited with more family members? (hint: maybe there are now more people in her family - if her family grew to 8 members, 1⁄2 would now be 4, as opposed to the 2 that composed half her family previously.)

Later, you will learn the official definition of a refugee and discover if it is similar to or different from what they first imagined. You could use this topic to introduce or expand upon the concept of stereotypes, using their own brainstormed list to ask, “What are some stereotypes that people might make about that word? How can we learn if those things are true or not?”

Diana explains she was born in a refugee camp and how people sometimes make assumptions about a person based on a label like ‘refugee.’ She points out that her experience is very different from Johnfreeco’s even though they both live in a refugee camp. It wouldn’t be fair to assume that they are similar just because of their status as a ‘refugee.’ Next, share a definition of ‘refugee’ from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence... most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so.” 1 Remind everyone that although this explains what it means for a person to have refugee status, it does not mean that all refugees have the same story. “Have you ever heard someone stereotype another person? How do you think it made the person feel to have assumptions made about them? What are some ways that you can help others realize no two people have the same experience and that we all have our own reason for living how and where we do?”

To practice comparing fractions, look at the fraction of global refugees/population for one year and compare it to a different year. “Is it higher, lower, or pretty similar? What might be some reasons why?” You can also click on different countries within the same year and compare their fraction of refugees/ population. The numbers may be larger than those your students are used to working with; you could use them to think broadly about the concept of fractions as opposed to creating math problems. Each country also shows the top three places of asylum for refugees leaving that country, and some countries even have a story associated with them which explains some current events that impact the refugee status. If you would like to compare the area and perimeters of the countries, you can look at two countries with different shapes and estimate which one has a larger area and perimeter based on their boundaries. “Does a country that has a larger perimeter automatically have a larger area? Do you think that a country’s size influences how many people leave it to seek refuge in another country? Do you think that a country that has a longer border – and therefore a greater perimeter – might have more refugees enter the country?” Remember that there are so many different factors that influence how many refugees may be in a country, but this is a good opportunity to brainstorm with your students some ways that a country’s physicality could have an impact.

How can you welcome, rather than stereotype, people who come from a different environment than you? What are some ways that you can encourage others to do the same?”

Keep students connected to the question by asking, “How did you feel when someone offered a solution without knowing the whole situation, making it too simple?” Then ask, “What do you imagine it would be like to get married right now?” Explain to students that you are going to explore the idea of oversimplifying by using the example of child marriages, which is when someone who is not an adult is expected (by their parents or society) to start their own family even though they are still young. Say that you are using this example because people do often present just a single solution to this big challenge (such as education or money). Rather than find an easy solution by simplifying it, you as a class are going to learn the value of using critical thinking to approach the issue from multiple angles. Remind students that this topic is complex, and that this can be motivating rather than intimidating! Also keep in mind that some students may know someone who was married at an early age, so frame this conversation as one that focuses on the issue rather than passing judgement or blaming the individual involved.

You can chose a number for your pattern, and then write down a few numbers that follow that pattern with blank spaces in between, so that students can figure out the missing numbers by using the pattern (for example, you can tell the class that the amount of child marriages in increasing by 50 each year, and to use that when filling in the missing numbers in this pattern: 0 _ 100 _ 200 _ 300). Then imagine that through a combination of efforts child marriages were reduced each year, and set up a pattern with decreasing numbers and blank spaces for your students to solve. Because you are imagining these numbers, you should tell students that you are making them up for the lesson and that these are examples but not real pattern trends for child marriage– remember, the real issue is much more complicated! To practice properties of multiplication such as commutative, you can use some of those numbers and write multiplication equations where you change the orders of factors to see how it affects the product.

“Do you think that education alone will be enough to help end child marriage? Why or why not? Do you think that many issues have only one solution?” According to the organization Girls Not Brides, “While it is not clear if child marriage causes school dropout or vice versa, it is clear that child marriage often means the end to a girl’s formal education... however, education alone is not enough to end child marriage.” Explain to students that while education is a factor that can have a positive influence, it is not a full solution to a complicated issue. You can explore the website “Girls Not Brides” to learn about some other factors such as gender inequality and home insecurity, and make sure to point out that the organization acknowledges that it can be detrimental to simplify and provide “easy” solutions. You can discuss with students: “Education doesn’t completely solve child marriages, but it can help– can you think of any other challenges where education is a step in the right direction?”

You can ask students, “How would you feel if people were making decisions about your life without talking to you?” Have students work in small groups to brainstorm thoughtful questions to ask someone who is in an early marriage so that their perspectives can be heard and understood.