ENGLISH LESSON PLAN HONY

Lesson: English
Focus: Humans of New York/Refugees and Asylum seekers
Class/Year: 10
Learning Intentions:
- Students will be able to articulate and understand why people
become asylum seekers and refugees.
- Students will be able to empathise with the situation of people
who are refugees or are seeking asylum.
- Students will be able to identify and explore the values and social
and ethical positions of others within the HONY refugee stories,
as well as their own.
Success Criteria:
- Students will create their own definitions of asylum seekers,
refugees, migrants etc.
- Students will actively participate in class activities by verbally
responding to questions, justifying answers and engaging in class
discussions.
- Students will summarise a HONY story
Assessment Criteria:
- Students will be assessed through their participation in class
discussion
- Reflection on the question What did it feel like to be in a
refugees shoes?
- Homework task.
Resources:
- PowerPoint
- Handout 1: Muhammads story (taken from Humans of New York
Refugees Story)
- Handout 2: Amnestys International Fact Sheet

LESSON STRUCTURE
DO NOW/
INTRO:

(HOMEWORK SHOULD BE WRITTEN ON BOARD FOR

STUDENTS THAT WILL BE EXPLAINED AT END OF LESSON)
Students consider why people become refugees using
facts on PowerPoint slide.
-

Go through learning intentions and link to

curriculum on slide
Do now: Define the key words on slide 4
Compare them with the international definitions on
slide 5
Ask the class questions about numbers of refugees
on slide 6
Compare their ideas with the answers on slide 7

TIME
8 min

I DO

Ask the students what they already know about the

Humans of New York blog? Ask the students what they
already know about Syria and the Refugee Crisis?

10
min

Tell the students you are going to read out the first four
parts of Muhammads storythe first story on HONY.
(Give hand out of story so students can read along)
In between each part, ask students to quietly summarise
what happened to Muhammad in order to engage them
within the text.
WE DO

ACTIVITY: Ethical Responses

8 min

We are now going to respond to a series of questions.

When I say go I want everyone to quietly stand up and
move into the middle of the room. I am going to read out a
question, and I want everyone to respond with either a
yes, no, or undecided by:
o Moving to the left side of the room means
yes
o Moving to the right side of the room means
no
o And staying in the middle means undecided.
In between each question, ask students why they choose
yes, no or undecided in order to engage the class in
discussion:
o Do you think what happened to Muhammad
and his family is fair?
o What do you think Muhammad wanted when
he was trying to move countries?
o Do you think Muhammad worked hard
enough to move countries?
o If you were on the board of protection, would
you let Muhammad come into Australia?
o Do you think Muhammad and his family
values freedom?
o Do you value freedom?
YOU DO

ACTIVITY: HOT SEAT

(optional: read out or ask students to read the rest of
Muhammads story.)
As a class, construct a series of questions to ask
Muhammad about his values, social and ethical position,
relationship with family and place, as well as questions
that further investigate the conflicts and emotions felt by

20
min

Muhammad.
(Ask student to write this on the board as the class
construct it together)
e.g. how did Muhammad feel when he found out about his
brother being killed? And his little sister finding his
brothers head? What does Muhammad value? What is
Muhammads relationship with his family? What are the
types of conflicts Muhammad is facing?
Tell the students to think about the questions individually,
as it will come in handy for the homework.

Three students sit at the front of the class in the hot

seat. Ask the students to begin to imagine that they are
Muhammad and their families are in danger. The class
chooses a question to ask the three students who then
have to respond as if they are Muhammad.
Closure:
- Students to have two minutes reflecting on the following
question:
What did it feel like to be in a refugees shoes?
- Give students an Amnesty International fact sheet on Refugees
and Asylum seekers to read over and reflect.
Explain homework task:
Begin to write a draft personal journal entry as Muhammad using the
co-constructed questions made in class.
Evaluation:
What worked well? What would I modify? What would I do differently
next time? Which students do I need to follow up? What do I need to
reteach or build upon in the next lesson?

4 min