We have a range of diverse downloads for you to use in the classroom or group setting, and which will help you challenge established and conventional thought. Many of them originated through projects we’ve run in the past and are still relevant and useful resources.
Our Community - A Place of Welcome
resource kit for nurseries and Early Years practitioners
CDEC has produced an exciting 'Our Community - A Place of Welcome' resource kit for nursery and Early Years practitioners to support young children and families who use English as an additional language (EAL). The aim is to help young children using EAL become more fluent and ready for school, and for parents to feel more integrated into their local community.
It is free and available for any setting to use and you can access it here.
Themed activity packs
These activity packs are broken down into broad themes to help you choose which are the most appropriate for what you want to explore with your pupils. Some of these activities may be available in more than one category.
Community time
- Explore your community through different eyes and find out what you love about it; create a response to your explorations in this 'Love is in the Air' activity.
- Part of living in a community is helping to make it a better place, and this means resolving conflict. How good to you think you are at this? Take our 'Conflict quiz' and learn a bit about yourself and how you can develop your own ability to talk about a problem without it becoming an argument.
- Can we make our communities a plastic free space? Start at home with our 'Family plastic challenge' activity, and adapt it to your school too to see how much single-use plastic you can avoid using.
- Exploring cooperation! Use our 'Cooperating for Cooperatives' activity to find out more about what cooperatives are and how they benefit our communities. The activity was created to celebrate International Day of the Cooperatives.
Family time
- Let's explore our family treasure! Use this 'Family Treasures: show and tell' activity to encourage families to get together and to share memories, and different perspectives on similar events and objects. It promotes sharing, listening and empathy skills amongst the whole family.
- Get to know your granny or grandpa a bit better with our 'Zooming Granny' activity. This can be done face-to-face or via Zoom, What'sApp or phone. Developed during the pandemic to help reduce loneliness amongst isolating older generations, the value of talking to older generations, listening to their stories, adventures and experiences is relevant every day and will reap a wealth of benefits for your pupils.
- What is it like to be part of a family from a different part of the world? Explore an online directory of photos of families and complete the 'How do families really live in other countries?' activity.
- Learn a bit more about your own identity and that of the rest of your family or class by packing your very own 'invisible backpack'. Think about the skills and qualities of character that you value, the objects that bring you comfort, the things you 'invisibly' carry around with you and how these might have changed over the last year or so.
Space for yourself
- Want to help your class explore peace and to help them find space for themselves in our busy lives? Use this activity 'Make a place for peace', which they can do at home or in the classroom.
- Find a space outside in your playground, garden or local park, close your eyes and open your ears and explore your local sound landscape with this 'Sound landscapes' activity.
Looking out for others
- Get to know your granny or grandpa a bit better with our 'Zooming Granny' activity. This can be done face-to-face or via Zoom, What'sApp or phone. Developed during the pandemic to help reduce loneliness amongst isolating older generations, the value of talking to older generations, listening to their stories, adventures and experiences is relevant every day and will reap a wealth of benefits for your pupils.
- Is what you see what others see? Explore differences in perception and learn skills to step into other people's shoes using 'The Tale of Two Cities' story and 'What do you see? What do I see?' activity sheet (the sheet includes links to the story).
- For Empathy Day, the Empathy Lab has created this very useful 'family activity pack' - send it home with your pupils and see how they get on.
- How well do your young people work together? Help them to explore cooperation with our 'Cooperation Trust Walk' activity and to see how they can rely on each other.
Anti-Racism
- Black Lives Matter - What does this mean? Use this activity to think about what it is like to experience racism, particularly during 2020's pandemic lockdown?
- People who have campaigned for racial equality here in the UK - explore individuals who have stood up for the rights of black people in this 'Who is standing up for the rights of black people here in the UK?' activity.
- Think piece: As a think piece for parents and teachers, take a look at these two short films:
- INTERSECTIONALITY
- THE 4 Is of OPPRESSION
- How can you challenge oppression at each different level mentioned in the film? Can you apply this to your school?
- How do the concepts within the films question the status quo?
- Why should the status quo be questioned and challenged to make an equal society?
Migration
- Did you know that thousands of years ago, we were all nomadic and travelled from one place to another without a fixed place to live? Many communities still live in this way so what is it like to be 'On the Road'? Explore this activity (contextualised in 2020/21 lockdown, but can be easily adapted to today) that compares and contrasts life both as settled communities and those communities that move around.
- Refugees. What do you know about being a refugee? What is it like to be forced to leave the place where you were born or lived because your life is in danger? Take a look at his activity created for June's Refugee Week 'Simple Acts for Refugee Week' and begin to gain a greater understanding of being a refugee through the simple thinking tasks.
Special interest days - both international and local
- International Earth Day on 22 April.
- Use this day to explore the 'earth' in your home; you might be surprised, but some of today’s more popular house plants originally came from the rain forests. Try the 'Rainforest Plant Hunt' activity to explore the rain forest in your own house or classroom.
- The World's Largest Lesson have put together this activity pack to celebrate Earth Day by encouraging conversations about the climate.
- International Day of Cultural Diversity, 21 May. By understanding and respecting different cultures around the world we all will live better and more peaceful lives. Try out our 'Games from Ghana - Learn Something new' activity and learn to play the game 'Mancala', which is played in Ghana as well as other African countries.
- 22 May is International Day of Biological Diversity. The day aims to raise awareness of the importance and value of a rich and varied life on land. So, what does 'biodiversity' mean? Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth – the plants, animals, soils, water and other living things. These provide us all with food, clean water, fuel and other vital services that our health and wealth depend on. Take part in this 'Make a bug hotel - Welcome to way more wildlife!' activity and help improve the biodiversity of your school playground or garden at home.
- 8 June is World Oceans Day.
- Use this activity to think about what you might discover under the oceans and to pose the question 'Would you rather be a ... or a ...?' - there are many suggestions for questions within the activity 'Would you rather be a mermaid?'
- How much do you know about Cumbria's coast? Explore it using this activity sheet 'Ocean journeys'.
- Refugee Week - June - Take part in this 'Simple Acts for Refugee Week' activity and learn what it means to be a refugee and the contributions refugees have made to the UK.
- 21 June is World Music Day. This activity 'Tuning In' helps young people to explore their family and friends' favourite music; select and listen to music clips carefully and discover a different way of appreciating your family and their individuality.
- 4 July is International Day of the Cooperatives.
- What do your young people know about cooperatives? Use this 'Cooperating for Cooperatives' activity to explore the value of working together for the greater good.
- Do you cooperate with people in your life? Find out using the 'Cooperative Trust Walk' activity how you may actually be cooperating without realising it!
- And don't forget about the Fairtrade Foundation's education page and all they do to nurture cooperatives for the benefit of famers and traders around the world.
Religious festivals
- Buddhist faith: Wesak or Buddha Day (which is marked on a different day each year) is a celebration of Buddha's birthday and, for some Buddhists, marks his enlightenment (when he discovered life's meaning). It is also a time to reflect on his teachings and what it means to be Buddhist. Use this activity 'Make a place for peace' by creating a mandala (which are also found in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Native American Indian culture).
- Islam faith: Eid al-Fitr is a festival people of Muslim faith celebrate at the end of Ramadan - their festival of fasting. 'Eid al-Fitr' means ‘festival of breaking the fast’ and usually lasts up to three days. Our activity 'Celebrate Eid al-Fitr by cooking and sharing' encourages you to bake your own Eid biscuits to share with your neighbours.
- Hindu faith: on 23 June, Hindus celebrate the festival of Puri Rath Yatra. It is a festival of equality and integration and is held in Puri in the state of Odisha, India. As part of Ratha Yatra, deities are taken out of Jagannath Temple and placed in a ratha (which are huge chariots). This activity 'Celebrating the Hindu festival of Puri Rath Yatra' inspires you to make your own chariot!
Storytelling
- Become a Tiddalik storyteller with this activity sheet. Follow the sheet's links to watch professional storyteller Alia Alzougbi tell the story of this frog then make your own Tiddalik to help you retell the story in your own words.
- Use the 'Tale of Two Cities' story expertly told by Alia Alzougbi to explore different perspectives. The links to the videos of the stories are in the worksheet 'What do you see? What do I see?'
Art and creativity
- Explore different tastes and genres of music through this 'Tuning in' activity. Sit down with your friends and family to explore what they like listening to, and learn a bit more about them, as well as music around the world and through the generations.
Exploring the natural world
- How much do you know about frogs? Use this activity sheet to explore the 'Unusual world of frogs', and remember it is International Save the Frog Day every 29 April!
- What parts of the natural world can you find in your own home or at school? Why not take a look at any house plants you can find and discover where they come from in our 'Rainforest Plant Hunt' activity.
- What sounds can you hear out there? Use this 'Sound landscape' activity to listen more closely to the natural world. The sheet includes useful links to bird call identifiers and to sound landscapes elsewhere in the world for you to explore with your pupils.
- How much do you know about the oceans? This activity 'Would you rather be a mermaid?' gives us a chance to see how many species we know live in the ocean, what we would rather be or do, but also to talk about environmentally friendly behaviours. You can take this wherever you want to go.
- What about Cumbria's coastline? Have you been to our county's coast and explored it? Take a look at this 'Ocean journeys' activity to inspire your exploration of our local sea life.
Resources and activities to use either in the classroom or at home in the light of Coronavirus
- Ease your under 7s' anxiety over the virus with this story. It is an invitation for families to discuss the full range of emotions arising from the current situation.
- Explore any of the activities and links below under the themes of climate change, plastic and growing tomatoes.
- For a range of suggestions that bring the world to your doorstep, take a look at what Global Dimension has. They have a useful global calendar with links to information and activities so you can theme learning around notable festivals and dates.
- You can explore the Global Goals (or Sustainable Development Goals) through games that you can download from the World's Largest Lesson and play together.
- Fairtrade: The Fairtrade Schools team have put together a range of resources and activities for parents and teachers to use with children to explore fairness, understand where food like chocolate come from, and there's even a French comprehensive exercise.
These are just a few suggestions.
- 10 June: Black lives matter to us - In the light of the protests against racism across the UK following the death of George Floyd in the USA, we bring you activities to help you consider what it is like to be black in the UK, who has been campaigning for the rights of black people and a couple of short films to get you as teachers and parents thinking. This week, Hometalk Week 12 explores fairness, injustice and inequality.
- 17 June: This last week is Refugee Week and a time for us to think about the lives of people who have had to flee the country where they were born. Our activities for World Music Day and the Hindu celebration of Puri Rath Yatra give us a chance to be creative and have some fun! And there is also Dialogue Works' Hometalk Week 13 which looks at community.
- 24 June: On 4 July it is International Day of the Cooperatives, when people and groups working together for a common aim and good are celebrated. This week's activities look at cooperatives and also what it is to co-operate. Dialogue Works' Hometalk Week 14 is all about music - enjoy!
- 1 July: We look ahead to World Population Day - our activities explore the consequences of the human population on the finite resources on Earth. We also consider how the education of women can help make our society a better place for all as well control the population. And Dialogue Works' Hometalk Week 15 takes inspiration from beauty.
- 8 July: The legacy of Nelson Mandela is celebrated on Mandela Day on 18 July. Use these activities to learn more about who Mandela was and to be inspired to take action and create change, as he did. Use Dialogue Works' Hometalk Week 16 looks at playing games to stimulate discussions.
Resources to explore climate change
As climate change becomes an ever more pressing part of our world, it becomes increasingly important to engage our children in the discussion. The UN's Sustainable Development Goals designate no 13 to Climate Action, emphasising how important it is to understand and to take action where we can.
Here are some resources that we recommend to help you bring this topic into your classroom.
Teacher guidance and ideas from CDEC: Climate Change – Climate Action – local to global
Teachers' notes for climate change
Teaching suggestions - climate change
Resources from the UN:
Why it Matters: Climate Action
We also work with Wicked Weather Watch and they have lots of information about climate change on their website, including a video explaining what is happening now.
Activities:
Polar Bear Melting Ice activity - explore and understand the consequences of the sea ice melting, such as reducing polar bears' habitat and increasing sea levels, and help children understand what is causing the sea ice to melt.
Sea Level Change Impact UK activity - take a look at the impact changing sea levels will have in the UK, particularly in your town and at your school.
Global Schools Resources
The EU-funded Global Schools project (find out more about the project here) created two simple yet effective resources on what happens to plastic and on growing tomatoes:
Two larger teacher resources also came out of the project to aid thinking about global learning within schools:
- Philosophy for Global Learning has been created as a flexible and practical resource for teachers of all levels of experience. It is for those who want to teach global awareness to children through the structure of Philosophy for Children. Philosophy for Global Learning is aimed for use with children in Key Stage 2 but some parts can be used with younger children. You can purchase the reprint of this resource here.
Divided into three sections, with an introduction, P4C Session and resources, much of the P4C session section has split pages. So if you download the resource, cut pages from 17 to 56 into three so you can pick and choose the activities and stimulus you wish to use.
We would also like to credit Helen Griffin with the 'Concept Target: real and not real' activity on page 67-68, 'Concept Building: big ideas' on page 71 and 'Concept Play: How you interpret a word' on page 72. Thank you for allowing us to use them.
Who in the World Am I is a resource pack for teachers and children who want to actively explore their own identity from the personal right through to being part of a family, a community, a country and becoming a global citizen. The activities develop progressively through the global learning themes of valuing diversity and skills of self-awareness and reflection.
Map Your Meal
This is a great geography Key Stage 4 resource as well as one that is useful for youth group settings.