Diversity and Inclusion at the Games - British Council Schools Online

Project template: Diversity and Inclusion at the Games
Age range: 15-18 years old
Duration 6 weeks
Summary
Prepare
First Week
The Paralympic Games aim to set new standards in equality, diversity, inclusion and
skills that will create positive, lasting changes in the society at large. Paralympians’
values and spirit will inspire your students and encourage them to do their best in order
to overcome problems or failures they may face, appraise their own talents, skills and
potentials and those of others.
Ask students to find out the meaning of Inclusion and Diversity. Have students explore
the Visual Thesaurus (see Resources). Encourage them to discuss the connotation of
Inclusion and Diversity within the Paralympic Games (see Resources).
Ask students to watch the video “Diversity and inclusion at London 2012” (see
Resources). If possible set up a jigsaw viewing and:
• Have students discuss the content and message of the video in pairs. Hold a class
debate.
• Ask students to write, in groups, their conclusions on a poster or multimedia
presentation. Display it in the classroom.
Ask students to watch the video “Archbishop Desmond Tutu visits the Olympic Park”
(see Resources) and:
• Report on Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s concept of diversity.
• State what values they associate with the Paralympic Games.
• In groups, make 2 statements to convey the spirit of the Games and pool all the work
on values to make a Word Cloud (see Resources). Have students print the Word Clouds
to display in the classroom/school.
• Write a poem/rap on those values.
Optional
• Have students apply the KWL plan (What I know What I want to know What I
learned), read and discuss the text on “Inclusion (disability rights)” (see Resources).
• Have them listen to one of the “Ouch! Disability Talk Shows” (see Resources) and, in
pairs, write a review of the programme they listened to.
You may take pictures of students working to share them later in the Project Space.
First activity
Second and
Third Week
Divide the class into two groups. Have each group discuss what disability arts are and
watch only one half of the video “Unlimited - celebrating disability arts” (see Resources).
• Have students team up with their partners from the other group, get together in small
groups and agree on the most relevant features of the video.
• Ask the class to watch the video again and state what Unlimited includes.

Ask students to research the Paralympic sports in the Games and in pairs choose 2 of
the sports played at the Paralympic Games they are not familiar with.
• Have them find out their characteristics, do the online activities and in groups, write an
acrostic poem on 1 of the sports chosen (see Resources).
• Ask students to get into small groups to write an interview with one of the Paralympian
athletes and role play it (see Resources). Take photos or video the activity to share it in
the Project Space.
• Ask students to research the Stoke Mandeville Games to find out who created them,
when they took place and the connection with the Paralympic Games (see Resources).
• Ask students to write a Trivia Quiz on the selected sports and Paralympic Games to
share with their peers in the Project Space. Have them check their peers’ quiz on their
own.
• Have students describe 3 sports for their peers to guess what they are and make a
Word Search with several other sports.
Interchange
Fourth and
Fifth Week
Have the class watch the video “Never give up” and read Sarah Storey’s blog (see
Resources). Divide the class in two groups and:
• Assign each group one of the athletes. Members of each group must state why either
Kelly or Sarah should be chosen as the Paralympic flag bearer. After the debate, have
students write a short biography of the athlete they supported.
• In smaller groups, ask students to write a story about a disabled boy/girl who wants to
become an athlete and participate in the Paralympic Games.
• Put them in larger groups again and collaboratively combine the best parts of their
stories to write the script for a play about the final story.
• Ask students to storyboard the play in cartoon format to be displayed in the classroom/
school board and post it to the exchange area of the Project Space. Students can also
make a photo story, digital collage, a video clip or other short multimedia production.
• Have students prepare the setting, props, wardrobe for the play. Encourage students
to share their work with the other group/s within the class to get feedback on their work
and if necessary, introduce adjustments.
Take photos or video them as they carry out the activities and share the photos or
footage in the Project Space. The play can be performed at school for all the
community.
Share
Sixth Week
Extension
activities
Useful
resources
Access the exchange area at the Project Space and check the multimedia productions
created by students from other participant classrooms, choose at least one and share it
with your students.
• Have your students agree on the values highlighted by the other participant
classroom’s production and find similarities and differences between their own
productions and their partners’.
• Ask your students to share their findings with their peers from the other participant
classroom.
• Encourage your students to point out what they learned from their partners during the
duration of the project. Ask them to write an acrostic/ words cloud/ poem/ rap/ make a
collage/ video / role play to convey it, and share it with their peers.
Encourage students to discuss and resolve situations or problems related to conflict that
may crop up in your school/community as if they were Paralympians. Ask students to
write up the suggested solutions, agree on the final decision collaboratively and post it.
Prepare (First Week)
Inclusion / Diversity
Dictionaries are one of the most valuable and accessible resources our students can make use
of while working on line to increase their vocabulary and command of the language. They can
look up the words they do not know the meaning of, get their phonetic transcription or the actual
pronunciation in British and American English.
Cambridge Dictionaries Online: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/
The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com
Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Visual Thesaurus: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
(Suggested activity for Argentine teachers: Ask students to discuss the connotation of the way

disabled / impaired people are referred to in Argentina: “…con capacidades diferentes”.)
Olympic Games - Then and Now
Interesting text on the Olympic Games that can be read / listened to, provides reading
comprehension task and questions to trigger discussion.
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/olympic-games-then-and-now
Official website of the Paralympic movement
Provides information, videos, photos on the Paralympic Games held in Beijing 2008, Vancouver
2010 and London 2012. The Paralympic Games can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.
http://www.paralympic.org/ParalympicGames
London 2012 Paralympic Games
http://www.paralympic.org/Events/London2012/AboutUs
Diversity and inclusion at London 2012 video
http://www.london2012.com/videos/2011/diversity-and-inclusion-at-london-2012.php
Archbishop Desmond Tutu visits the Olympic Park video
http://www.london2012.com/videos/2010/archbishop-desmond-tutu-visits-the-olympic-park.php
Word Clouds
http://www.wordle.net/create
Inclusion (disability rights)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusion_(disability_rights)
Ouch! Disability Talk Show
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ouch#playepisode1
First activity (Second and Third Week)
Disability Art
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Inclusion+(disability+rights)
Unlimited - celebrating disability arts video
http://www.london2012.com/videos/2009/unlimited-celebrating-disability-arts.php
History of the Paralympics
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/7582206.stm
Paralympic Sports
http://www.london2012.com/paralympic-sport
Acrostic Poems
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/acrostic/
The Stoke Mandeville Games
http://www.abilityvability.co.uk/files/factsheets/FS3%20-
%20The%20Stoke%20Mandeville%20Games%201948.pdf
London 2012: How Stoke Mandeville put Paralympics on the map. More related stories and Internet links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14896776
Word Search
http://www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/
Puzzle Maker
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp
Interchange (Fourth and Fifth Week)
Never give up
Kelly Cartright, Australian Paralympic athlete video
http://www.paralympic.org/BelieveInYourself/OurHeroes
Athletes’ blogs
http://www.paralympic.org/blog/sarah-storey-lets-hit-road

Tips on drama in the classroom
http://esldrama.weebly.com/
Additional Resources
Skin Again Pack - Schools Linking Network
Lessons to develop discussion on the concepts of identity, diversity, uniqueness and belonging.
http://www.schoolslinkingnetwork.org.uk/resource-area/resources-for-linking/sln-skin-again-pack/
Olympic and Paralympic Heroes
Students can meet some of the most talented Olympic and Paralympic athletes, see their photos,
read their bios and watch videos featuring them.
http://getset.london2012.com/en/heroes
Survey on Paralympic Games in the UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16004258
Against racism in America
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/world_olympic_dreams/9616012.stm
Dr. William Penny Brookes
http://www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk/history/wpb/index.shtml
Paralympic Torch Relay
http://www.london2012.com/paralympic-torch-relay
http://www.london2012.com/games/paralympic-torch-relay/history.php
Get Set Games
Students can play very appealing and engaging games suitable for all ages and levels of
language proficiency either in class or at home.
https://getset.london2012.com/en/resources/14-16
https://getset.london2012.com/en/resources/16-19
Warm-up for the games
British Council has got a whole range of exciting activities to help you get warmed up and ready
for the Games.
http://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/warm-up-for-the-games
Crosscurriculum
/
Global
Dimensions
Participation in this project offers schools the opportunity to integrate the main concepts of the
Global Dimensions into their classrooms through:
Diversity - Understanding and respecting differences and relating these to our common
humanity. Challenging racism and other forms of discrimination, inequality and injustice.
Understanding and valuing equal opportunities. Developing multiple perspectives and
new ways of seeing events, issues, problems and opinions. Questioning and challenging
assumptions and perceptions. Understanding that values that people hold shape their
actions. Using different issues, events and problems to explore children and young
people’s own values and perceptions as well as those of others.
Global citizenship - Understanding the roles of language, place, arts in own and others’
identity.
Conflict resolution - Developing skills of communication, advocacy, negotiation,
compromise and collaboration. Recognising conflict can act as a potentially creative
process.
This project can also link with the Global Dimensions Key Stage 4 (UK) for:
ICT
Students use ICT to share and exchange information effectively, and work with others to carry
out and evaluate their work.
Geography
Students learn about people, places and environments in different parts of the world.
Citizenship
Students learn about rights and responsibilities, discuss a range of moral and social issues
including racism and prejudice and learn about the importance and need for respect and
understanding in a tolerant and democratic society. They consider views and experiences that
are different from their own.