Race DiscriminationClassroom Notes

Age Range: KS3 or KS4

Timing: 1-2 hours. Rough time allocations have been given for each activity, not all activites need to be completed if time is limited.

Curriculum references:

Citizenship KS3: ■ ‘The precious liberties enjoyed by the citizens of the

United Kingdom, the nature of rules and laws and the justice system, including the role of the police and the operation of courts and tribunals.’

Citizenship KS4: ■ ‘The legal system in the UK, different sources of law

and how the law helps society deal with complex problems. Diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom and the need for mutual respect and understanding.’

Related lessons plans: ■ Discrimination ■ Tackling Discrimination

Context This series of activities introduces students to the laws relating to race discrimination and institutionalised racism. They can be delivered as a stand-alone lesson(s). However, they could also be run as part of a wider unit of work on discrimination. Additional lesson plans are available on the SmartLaw website.

Worksheets and Resources:

■ Worksheet 1 - Statement Cards■ Worksheet 2 - Death in Custody■ Worksheet 3 - Racism in Football■ Worksheet 4 - Racism at the Oscars■ Worksheet 5 - Research Task (Football)■ Worksheet 6 - Research Task (Oscars)

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Lesson Objectives By the end of this lesson students will be able to:

■ Give a definition for the terms race, racism, and institutionalised racism.

■ Give an explanation of how the law is designed to protect people against race discrimination. ■ Critically evaluate whether they consider cartain actions and institutions to be discriminatory.

Race DiscriminationClassroom Notes

Cross Curricular links:

SMSC: ■ Recognise legal boundaries and, in so doing,

respect the civil and criminal law in England. Accept and engage with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberties and mutual respect

PSHE KS3:■ The similarities, differences and diversity among

people of different race, culture, ability, disability, sex, gender identity, age and sexual orientation and the impact of stereotyping, prejudice, bigotry, bullying, and discrimination on individuals and communities.

■ Strategies for safely challenging stereotyping, prejudice, bigotry, bullying, and discrimination when they witness or experience it in their daily lives

PSHE KS4: ■ About the unacceptability of all forms of discrimination,

and how to challenge it, prejudice and bigotry in the wider community including the workplace.

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Activity 1: Is it racist? (15 mins) The following activity asks students to consider how racist they believe certain statements are. It can be completed in two different ways. Choose one of the following:

■ Split the class into small groups. Give each group a set of the statement cards on worksheet 1. Ask the groups to discuss whether they think the statements on each card are racist, ask them to sort the cards into three piles: racist, not racist and don’t know,

OR ■ Split the classroom into three areas: racist, not racist and don’t know. Show the class each of the statements on slides 7-15 and ask them to stand in the appropriate place in the room to demonstrate how racist they think the statement is.

Having completed one of the above lead a whole class discussion on how students decided if the statement was racist or not. As students explain their reasons not down their ideas on the board (this will be useful for the next activity

The following questions could be used to extend the discussion:

Q: What do we mean by racism? Q: Are there degrees of racism? Q: Do most people harbour some form of racial prejudice? Q: Is some degree of racial prejudice inevitable?

Conclude the activity by asking students to consider the following question:

Q: Do you, personally, have any sympathy towards any of the statements we have looked at?

Race DiscriminationClassroom Notes

Activity 1 - What is racism? (15 mins)

Introduce the topic of today’s lesson using slide 2. Then ask students to consider the following questions:

Q: What is race?Q: What is racism?

Some definitions for both race and racism can be found on slide 3, do students agree with these definitions?

Having established definitions of race and racism ask students if they think racism is illegal? Having taken in stu-dents views use slides 4-6 to provide a brief overview of what the laws says about discrimination.