Sharing is caring: Let your migration story be heard (EN-CUR-616)

This learning scenario (LS) mainly focuses on raising students’ awareness of migration and refugeeism through the process of exploring real-life migration stories cited in Europeana. Additionally, students self-reflect on their own existing migration stories or potential ones in the future as student-migrants and focus on the narratives about personal objects that connect them with their family, origin, past, and culture. In order to develop mutual respect and solidarity in today’s societies, students make solid arguments to promote the sharing of migration stories either by posting online either by physical presence during the Europeana Migration Collection Days.

One of the main reasons for selecting the migration topic was that Greece and other European countries in the past have been and still continue to be countries of origin and/or host countries for migrants so it was intended the LS to focus on a global issue that has a great impact on our everyday lives. If not follow the suggested course of activities, most of the activities can be implemented separately.

This learning scenario has been developed during the “Digital Education with Cultural Heritage” online course. The course aimed to improve teachers’ understanding of cultural heritage in order to efficiently integrate it into their lessons and practices. The courses can be accessed here.

Author: Konstantina Eirini Koufou

Age of students: 14-15

Subject and topic: Language (modern Greek and English), Literature, History, ICT, Social studies/ Migration and refugeeism through personal stories. A call for sharing the latter on Europeana Migration Collection Days or online.

Learning Scenario

Europeana-DSI-4-cur-2021-EN-Koufu.docx Download

Europeana-DSI-4-cur-2021-EN-Koufu.pdf Download

Public Domain Mark 1.0: the featured imag e used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Nordic Museum Foundation.

5 Responses to "Sharing is caring: Let your migration story be heard (EN-CUR-616)"

misabelvila says:

February 6, 2022 at 5:51 pm

Dear colleague,
Congratulations on your excellent work! I really liked the process in which students gradually approach the emotions that a person, whether a migrant or a refugee, experiences in their host country. Objects are often a link with the culture of origin, allowing newcomers to transplant their own roots in a new country. It is also interesting to imagine themselves as students who have to move to a new country for work or personal reasons. It is really an itinerary of activities that ensures a deepening of the essence of the reality of migrants and refugees.
Thank you very much for sharing this great Learning Scenario!

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Marianthi Tsepeli says:

February 28, 2022 at 7:38 pm

Such a topical and timeless subject. I really liked your approach, how you guided students into the experience of being a refugee. Very tacitly written scenario, as well.

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Emanuela Leto says:

March 19, 2022 at 8:50 pm

I found this scenario really interesting and useful for its double approach , clarifying the difference between migrants and refugees and representing history through objects. The matter is really contemporary since the recent political events. It was very inspirational since as a teacher living in Sicily , land of migration during the previous centuries yet of heavy immigration flows nowadays the theme touches our everyday life.
So I decided to exploit some the suggestions given in my CLIL Lessons on “Migrations from Europe to USA ” such as the video on the different kind of people movements within the world and the rights acknowledged to the refugees. This gave me the chance to compare heavy migration flows from Sicily to USA in the 18-19th century , supported by some Youtube videos on Ellis Island arrivals and interviews to our fellow Italians, the strong immigration currents from Africa to Sicily and lastly the recent movements from warfare scenarios towards the borders nearby.
I carried on a guided debate with my students on what implies leaving, although for different reasons, the mother country and adapting to a new life in a foreign country. The students through Mentimeter made a brainstorming on which are the most common changes migrants have to undergo in their process such as language, houses, family composition , food, school, job and traditions or customs, but also to what it is possible they bring with them in their new destination. As a suggestion the students used the objects of the link provided by this LS . https://www.europeana.eu/en/migration/explore-migration-stories-from-events-in-these-cities to search for Italian cities involved and re-read the history through objetcs. Moreover they did a research within their family context about migration stories which nowadays are still current affairs within our Sicilian community due to unemployment, and created a Padlet similar to the one provided in this LS where they shared through images , the migration stories of their families.
I actually found this Scenario full of hints and inspiration . Really a good job !

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sandratroia says:

March 25, 2022 at 12:32 am

Dear colleague,
thank you for sharing.
I was interested in trying out your learning scenario because in the past I have designed my own on the same subject and wanted to explore the topic further and compare different points of view.
I found the resources you selected interesting. I was particularly moved by the testimony “My grandfather’s ring”. I am convinced that in school it is important to make students aware of the issue of human migration in order to create more sustainable societies.

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anitalasic says:

April 16, 2022 at 6:02 am

Dear colleague,

Thank you for this very interesting learning scenario. It is understandable and easily applicable in the classroom. The structure is easy to follow. I have implemented a part of it with some modifications in the seventh grade during two consecutive lessons, 45 minutes each.

The topic of this lesson is also easily related to due to the conflict in Ukraine and a number of Ukrainian refugees who have been coming to our region and school on a weekly basis.

First, I asked students to comment on the proposed photos taken from the Europeana and Historiana. The photos quickly drew students’ attention. I encouraged them to try and figure out who the people in the photos were, why they were moving and what emotions they could see in people’s faces.

Then we watched the excellent video What Does It Mean To Be a Refugee by Benedetta Berti and Evelien Borgman. I had prepared an interactive worksheet with the post-reading activities. The aim was to distinguish the terms “a refugee” and “a migrant”, to understand terminology like displaced persons, asyllum seekers as well as to identify the reasons for migrations.

At the beginning of the second lesson, I explained we would deal with migration stories. I divided class into four groups. Using Microsoft Teams I sent them each a link to one of the stories as well as the accompanying questions they needed to answer. Students read the stories, discussed them and answered the questions. Each team appointed a person to present the summary of their story to the rest of the class and one to post their answers to the assigned Padlet.

At the end of the lesson, students were given the exit ticket with the instructions to identify three things that they had learned, two things they would like to know more about and one thing that they find surprising or difficult.

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