Section 2: Investigating our place in the community

Key Focus Question: How can you use storytelling and local knowledge and culture to enhance learning?

Keywords: cultures; community; role play; discovery; behaviour; storytelling; networks; family trees

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will have:

  • found out more about the local community through discovery learning;
  • used role play to identify acceptable behaviour in different situations;
  • used storytelling to develop pupils’ awareness of different cultures.

Introduction

Discovery learning, stories and role play are active ways to explore the different communities in which pupils live. They allow pupils to find out things for themselves – which is much better than you just telling them how things are.

The purpose of using stories and role play is to stimulate discussion and help pupils to look at their own attitudes and behaviour in a non-threatening way. Because these scenarios are more removed from the pupils’ real situations they may find it easier to talk more freely.

It is important that life skills lessons do not preach, but help pupils to find out for themselves and think about their own lives and ambitions. You need to be aware that different children will ‘discover’ different things about themselves, others and their lives.

There are some notes about communities in Resource 1: What is a community?

Resource 3: Role plays for exploring school networks

1.Exploring the local community