A MODULE ON “DUTY”

UNDERSTANDING DUTY IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

Treća srednja škola Vukovar, September 2007

Class: 3.cNumber of students: 30

Age: approx. 17Teacher/tutor: Antonio Sklepić

AIM

To raise awareness of the concept of ”DUTY” and to encourage our

students to accept the importance of it.

STAGE 1:Becoming aware of differences

Task 1: Brainstorming

Introducing the concept of DUTY by several short activites (for example spider diagrams, T-charts...).

Task 2: Group work

Students break into groups according to the subject of their interest. During the brainstorming the class decided to focus on four subjects: school, community, friends and family.

STAGE 1, TASK 2 – Group work

GROUP 1 School

GROUP 2 Community

STAGE 1, TASK 2 – Group work

GROUP 3 Friends

GROUP 4 Family

STAGE 1, TASK 2 – Group work

Group assignments:

Make a list of positive and negative sides concerning their subject

Think of concrete examples and expressions of Duty

Fill T-charts Briefly report on the findings

STAGE 1, TASK 3 – Class debate

Task 3: Class debateThe aim was to enable students to perceive different aspects of Duty and to elaborate their point of view. Students presented either negative or positive arguments on the issue of duty in general, using examples they came up with during the group work.

STAGE 2:Leading students from an individual to a

community perspective

Task 1: Collecting visual aids, propaganda slogans and making a poster

The aim was to widen students’ perspectives on the concept of Duty. They were given the assignment to collect advertisements, slogans and the propaganda of public institutions (e.g. WWF, Greenpeace, Charities, Red Cross, Army, NRA, Political parties etc.). They used all materials to make a poster.

STAGE 2, TASK 1 – Visual presentation (poster)

STAGE 2, TASK 2 – Role plays

Task 2: Role playsStudents write short sketches of controversial situations which tackle some of the following issues:How does duty feature in each of these groups?

What are your duties? What are the duties of other people in these groups? Are there rules that regulate duty?Are there consequences when duties are not respected?

The students assign themselves roles and act the sketches out.

STAGE 2, TASK 3 – Questionnnaires

Task 3: Questionnaires outside the classroom

Teachers provide students with guidelines on how to create an effective questionnaire, explain the aims and show how to analyse the findings, in order to achieve reliability of results. In groups students create their own questionnaires on research subjects (school, community, friends, family).

STAGE 3:Accepting differences and gaining new

insight into world complexity

Task 1: Data analysisIn group, students collate data and discuss results. They try to find similarities and differences and look at common trends. They edit their findings and produce presentations.

Task 2: Formal presentations of findingsTeachers provide students with presentation outlines and commonly used phrases and vocabulary.

STAGE 3, TASK 3 and 4

Task 3: Class debate on findings

Within the whole class students discuss the findings and conclusions and how their perception of duty has potentially changed via this process.

Task 4: Written assignment

Each student writes an individual essay on ‘What Duty means to me’.