Teaching Sequence

15 minutes	Part A: Conceptualising Fear
35 minutes	Part B: Push Factors
20 minutes	Part C: Poetic Devices and a Framework for Analysis
40 minutes	Part D: Group Work and Deconstruction of Poems
10 minutes	Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Conceptualising Fear

Step 1.

Introduce the concept of fear to the class by asking them to complete a Y-Chart that considers what fear looks like, sounds like and feels like. A Y-Chart is a useful strategy for introducing concepts that students might be familiar with but find difficult to articulate - it gives them three ways to understand how the concept can manifest. Students can use this Y-Chart or create their own.

Step 2.

Watch the following clips from Chasing Asylum and ask students to watch and listen closely for elements of fear that they can see or hear in the clips. For the first clip, the key section is from 1:30 onward, though the entire clip can be used to contrast fear with other emotions. In the second clip, the key section for this activity is in the first minute.

Chasing Asylum Clip 11 (https://vimeo.com/184275993/ad1b352ae9)

Chasing Asylum Clip 12 (https://vimeo.com/183258013/dbe3e13a72)

Step 3.

After watching the clips, lead a discussion about the ‘fear’ that was observed. Ask students to recall what it looked like and sounded like, and how it might have felt. Students may refer to the frightened looks on asylum seekers’ faces in the clips, or the sounds of fighting and violence in the backgrounds.

It is important to establish with the class that fear is a normal human emotion and feeling, and our unique fears and experiences are not made insignificant or irrelevant by examining other fears that might seem more threatening.

Part B: Push Factors

Step 1.

Explain to the class that in contexts of seeking asylum and refuge, 'push factors' describe factors that influence people to flee as a result of fear for their lives and safety. In other words, they are things that ‘push’ people to leave their home country. These can include, but are not limited to, government persecution, environmental issues, famine, conflict and persecution based on religion, gender, cultural background or sexual orientation. Explain to students that pull factors also exist - they are the things that draw people to certain places, such as safety or employment opportunities.

Step 2.

Before discussing examples with the class, ask students to complete a 'Think, Pair, Share' routine to speculate and list the things that might be considered push factors for people seeking asylum or refuge in another country.

Think Pair Share
Think pair share is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question.
Think - Students independently think about an issue or questions and record their thoughts.
Pair - Students work in pairs to discuss their ideas and record new thoughts.
Share - Students share their thoughts with the whole group or with other pairs to reach consensus.

Ask students to 'Think, Pair, Share' around the question: "What might force or push someone to leave their home country?" Students should record their thoughts on the Student Worksheet.

Ideas can be shared with the class and a list of ideas generated. For example, students might refer to natural disasters that force people to flee temporarily or permanently, famine and/or drought causing food and/or water shortages, civil war or religious persecution or intolerance. They could also refer to things they saw in the clips viewed in Part A of this lesson.

Step 3.

View the following video with the class. The clip is a BBC summary of the Syrian civil war that began in 2011 and incorporates some maps and interviews that articulate the different push factors that result from this conflict. Students should add these factors to their list on the Student Worksheet.

Migration to Europe - why now? BBC News (https://youtu.be/cScllA3cpL0)

Step 4.

Next, play the following clip from Chasing Asylum that includes an extended feature on the story of Khadim, a Hazara refugee currently living in Indonesia. Again, ask students to think about the push factors that have influenced Khadim’s journey as well as any fear that is part of his story. Students can add this to their list on the Student Worksheet.

Chasing Asylum Clip 1 (https://vimeo.com/183257814/b17dee15c7)

Step 5.

After viewing the clips, ask students to reflect on their new or changed understanding of push factors and the influence of fear by writing their own definition or understanding of push factors in the space provided on the Student Worksheet. Encourage students to link fear or the influence of fear to push factors and seeking asylum. Invite students to share their summaries in a brief class recap.

Part C: Poetic Devices and a Framework for Analysis

Step 1.

Explain to students that one-way complex issues and emotions, such as seeking asylum and fear, can be understood is through abstract and creative text types such as poetry. Ask the class to think about what they know about poetry and if they can recall some poetic devices. If needed, distribute one copy of the Poetic Devices Glossary to each student.

Step 2.

Show students the SPECS/SLIMS Framework and briefly explain each letter of the acronym. Depending on the familiarity or experience of the class, some more detailed modelling might be suitable before students complete their own deconstruction of a poem about refugees and asylum-seeking.

Note: There are many different frameworks that can be used to deconstruct poetry, a common one being the SPECS/SLIMS framework. Your school may use a specific framework so the one here can be utilised at the teacher’s discretion.

Part D: Group Work and Deconstruction of Poems

Step 1.

Invite students to form pairs or groups of three. Provide each group with a blank copy of the SPECS/SLIMS Framework (also available on the Student Worksheet) and a copy of one of the poems below:

Ask students to work in their group to deconstruct the poem using the SPECS/SLIMS framework. The theme of fear is present and referred to both explicitly and implicitly in the three poems and students should be guided to look for these references and make comments about fear when deconstructing the poem.

If some more scaffolding of this activity is required, Escape by Mercedes Killeen is the shortest and simplest of the three poems and would be suitable to model the activity with the class first.

Home by Warsan Shire contains infrequent references to sexual and racial abuse and this should be referred to and explained to students at the teacher’s discretion.

Step 2.

Reconvene the class and ask groups to share their analysis. This could be done by projecting the poem at the front of the room and inviting the group to present their analysis to the class. Alternatively, show the poem and invite groups to talk through the poem in their seating arrangement. All students should see or read the poem being discussed before the group sharing begins. This could also be done in a ‘snowball’ style by asking the groups that had the same poem to share one thing at a time, working down the SPECS/SLIMS framework so that the rest of the class can get a sense of the poem and the way it refers to and draws on the idea of fear in communicating a message about refugees and seeking asylum.

Reflection

Ask students to reflect on what they have learned throughout the lesson about fear and push factors and how they manifest in seeking asylum. They can do so on the Student Worksheet.

How does thinking about fear inform or shape how we might think about the plight of refugees and people seeking asylum?
What are some of the push factors that create fear and lead to people seeking asylum?
How does poetry communicate feelings such as fear differently to other forms of information or texts such as news articles, documentaries and stories?
In what ways can poems effectively communicate issues associated with seeking asylum?
Why do you think it is important for complex issues such as seeking asylum to be examined and communicated to audiences through mediums and text types?

Assessment

Use the Stories of Chasing Asylum - Assessment Task Lesson so that students can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the topics and English outcomes explored throughout the unit.

Take Action

Use the Stories of Chasing Asylum - Social Action Lesson so that students can apply their knowledge and design a social action project. Students can raise awareness by organising a screening of the film or take action to promote positive change in their own community.

Stories of Chasing Asylum - Stories Of Fear

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