International Day of Peace September 21 st Target audience (age): Ensino Médio Aims: Reflect upon peace and war, get in touch with blog language, write a reply to a text in a blog Duration: 30-40 minutes Organization: individual and group work Material: computer, internet access, worksheets Preparation: Have the worksheets ready, check the links below (accessed on 7/17/2014), have the song recorded or use the internet access for the song/ video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwf-earnf6u: http://www.vagalume.com.br/michael-jackson/heal-the-world.html#ixzz386ncqzhj; http://outreach.un.org/mop/; http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/ Further information about International Day of Peace: http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/ (accessed on 7/17/2014). Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace. Procedure: Distribute the worksheets, ask students to read the words in the box and check if they have any doubts. Ask students to predict the topic of the song and its content. Play the song a couple of times and verify the lyrics with students. Check if their prediction was valid. Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwf-earnf6u (accessed on 7/17/2014) http://www.vagalume.com.br/michael-jackson/heal-the-world.html#ixzz386ncqzhj (accessed on 7/17/2014) Divide students into groups and ask volunteers to read the text of the blog. Ask them to discuss in groups and answer the questions in the worksheet. Talk about the International Day of Peace and have students express their opinions about the answers, which will vary. Ask students to write a comment to Gerardo Mena concerning his text as if were to be posted to the blog. Wrap up: Have students research about a messenger of peace at the United Nations website and talk about the person the following class: http://outreach.un.org/mop/ (accessed on 7/17/2014)
Answer Key 1. Listen to the song and place the words in the correct spots. heart high fear shine nations living brighter die joyful space wound dying sorrow need glow world better dream cry care heal race reveal Think about the generations and they say: We want to make it a better place for our children And our children s children so that they know It s a better world for them and think if they can make it a better place? There s a place in your heart and I know that it is love And this place could be much brighter than tomorrow And if you really try you ll find there s no need to cry In this place you ll feel there s no hurt or sorrow There are ways to get there if you care enough for Make a little space, make a better place Heal the world make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race There are people dying if you care enough for the living Make it a better place for you and for me Will shine again in grace Then why do we keep strangling life wound this earth, crucify its soul though it s plain to see This world is heavenly, be God s glow We could fly so high let our spirits never die In my heart I feel you are all my brothers Create a world with no fear Together we ll cry happy tears. See the nations turn their swords Into plowshares We could really get there if you cared enough for Make a little space to make a better place Heal the world make it a better place For you and for me and the entire human race There are people dying If you care enough for Make a better place for you and for me And the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful face and the world we once believed in Link: http://www.vagalume.com.br/michael-jackson/heal-the-world.html#ixzz386ncqzhj (accessed on 7/17/2014) Based on The Enemy, Through the Eyes of a Child By Gerardo Mena http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/ (accessed on 7/21/2014) It was dark. Iraq. The middle of the night. The explosion shook our insides. I ran up to my friend and looked at what was left of his body. His eyes were still open but he stared off into nothingness. I did everything I could to save him, but he still died in my arms. This is what I brought home from the war with me, and it almost killed me. Or, I should say: This, and many similar incidents like this from my deployment, is why I almost killed myself when I returned home. I was just a boy when I joined my country s military. Eighteen years old. I was untested and unproven and I thought that joining a Special Operations unit and fighting in a war was the only way to prove my love of country, and my self-worth. But I learned an extremely hard and valuable lesson: War is not glorious. It is messy. It is violent. It makes you hate your enemy, even long after the war is over. It brings out the worst in people. It brings out the worst in you.
2. Talk to your partners. a. Explain what happened to him during the war. b. How did he feel about the war? c. What consequences do you think the war had in his life? d. How can you relate the song and Gerardo Mena s text? e. What can be done to change future wars? f. List three actions to provide peace in the world. 3. Write a comment to be posted at the blog in reply to his text.
Name Date / / 1. Listen to the song and place the words in the correct spots. heart high fear shine nations living brighter die joyful space wound dying sorrow need glow world better dream cry care heal race reveal Think about the generations and they say: We want to make it a place for our children And our children s children so that they know It s a better for them and think if they can make it a better place? There s a place in your and I know that it is love And this place could be much than tomorrow And if you really try you ll find there s no to In this place you ll feel there s no hurt or There are ways to get there if you enough for Make a little space, make a better place the world make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human There are people if you care enough for the Make it a better place for you and for me Will again in grace Then why do we keep strangling life this earth, crucify its soul though it s plain to see This world is heavenly, be God s We could fly so let our spirits never In my heart I feel you are all my brothers Create a world with no Together we ll cry happy tears. See the turn their swords Into plowshares We could really get there if you cared enough for Make a little to make a better place Heal the world make it a better place For you and for me and the entire human race There are people dying If you care enough for Make a better place for you and for me And the we were conceived in will a face and the world we once believed in Link: http://www.vagalume.com.br/michael-jackson/heal-the-world.html#ixzz386ncqzhj (accessed on 0/17/2014) Based on The Enemy, Through the Eyes of a Child By Gerardo Mena http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/ (accessed on 7/21/2014) It was dark. Iraq. The middle of the night. The explosion shook our insides. I ran up to my friend and looked at what was left of his body. His eyes were still open but he stared off into nothingness. I did everything I could to save him, but he still died in my arms. This is what I brought home from the war with me, and it almost killed me. Or, I should say: This, and many similar incidents like this from my deployment, is why I almost killed myself when I returned home. I was just a boy when I joined my country s military. Eighteen years old. I was untested and unproven and I thought that joining a Special Operations unit and fighting in a war was the only way to prove my love of country, and my self-worth. But I learned an extremely hard and valuable lesson: War is not glorious. It is messy. It is violent. It makes you hate your enemy, even long after the war is over. It brings out the worst in people. It brings out the worst in you. Photocopiable Student s copy
2. Talk to your partners. a. Explain what happened to him during the war. b. How did he feel about the war? c. What consequences do you think the war had in his life? d. How can you relate the song and Gerardo Mena s text? e. What can be done to change future wars? f. List three actions to provide peace in the world. 3. Write a comment to be posted at the blog in reply to his text. Photocopiable Student s copy