Holocaust Memorial Day, marked all over the world, is one of the most important days in the calendar.  It takes a different theme each year - and in 2020, on and around January 27th we’re able to offer three different programmes to primary and secondary schools, all designed to explore the theme of "Stand Together" -  and all accommodating up to 30 pupils at a time.

All Holocaust Memorial Day School Workshops are adapted to suit the age range / key stage and ability level of the class.

As Creatives School Workshop

Welcome Gems (KS2 - 4 / P4 - S4)

Reflecting on ways we can Stand Together with newcomers, to make them feel at home

The news is often, unfortunately, full of stories recounting how words and deeds have made survivors of persecution feel less than welcome and stand apart as they try to build homes in their host countries and communities. Designed to remind us all that “life” is about more than simply existing, this emotionally engaging (and safe) workshop uses drama in everyday situations to help students consider the impacts of being made to feel unwelcome. Reflecting on how we can help stop others feeling this way, they then turn this all around by designing their own “Welcome Gems” - a series of vignettes illustrating how being welcoming and standing together can improve the well-being of all.

Duration: 1½ hours – half a day, depending on your needs

Exploring: empathetic thinking, speaking and listening skills 

Cross-Curricular Links: Literacy, History, Geography, MFL, Drama, RE, PSHE

 

Rosa Parks – Sitting Down to Stand Together (KS1 – 4 / P1 - S4)

Celebrating the lives of an amazing role model – through poetry

The moment in December 1955 that an exhausted Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white person changed the world – and ultimately led to people of all races and cultures standing together in the cause of equal rights. This workshop uses a range of drama techniques to introduce pupils to Rosa Parks and her legacy, then guides them through ways of creating their own powerful poetry. KS1 pupils will write and perform collaborative poems, whilst older children will explore structures including from long-form clerihews and cinquains.

Duration: 45 minutes (KS1 / P1 - P3) to 90 minutes (KS2 / P4 - P7 upwards).

Exploring: Rosa Parks, the civil rights movement, poetic structures.

Cross-Curricular Links: History, Geography, Literacy, PSHE, Drama

 

Anne Frank: Standing Together in Hope (KS2 / P4 upwards)

A true story of determination and co-operation

Faced with deportation to the Nazi concentration camps, Anne Frank, her family and friends were forced into hiding. This workshop explores how “standing together” helped them survive for so long. Colleagues risked their own lives, standing together with the Franks to keep them fed and hidden – and despite the tensions of living in such cramped conditions, the attic-dwellers, too, managed to stand together for two long years before ultimately being discovered.

Duration: 1 – 2 hours, depending on your need and the numbers we work with.

Exploring: relationships, sacrifice, values, the Holocaust in context.

Cross-Curricular Links: History, Geography, Literacy, Drama, RE

 

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