Trailer

Watch the first 6 minutes of the film (up until the disco scene), asking students to identify how the young people in the film describe themselves and then to write these descriptions onto the map according to where in Britain they come from.

After this, ask pupils to consider why these young people describe themselves differently, even though they all live in they same country.

This simple exercise should help pupils to consider that there are many different ways of describing our identity, even though we all live in Britain. Our ethnicity or religion may also be a significant part of this.

It may be necessary to clarify geographically what we mean when we talk of Britain i.e. a state/country which is made up of four other countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Main Attraction

The aim of this activity is for pupils to consider why people have migrated to Britain and how this might impact upon their subsequent British identity.

Begin by asking pupils to stand up if they were born in another country. Then ask pupils to stand up if their parents were born in another country. Then ask pupils to stand up if their grandparents were born in another country. Finally ask pupils to stand up if any of their relatives/close friends were born in another country.

Depending on the backgrounds of your pupils, this exercise should indicate that most people's families have had an experience of migration at some point in their history.

Now, give each pupil a post-it note and ask them to write down at least one reason that a person might have for migrating to another country (they should use the film as a source of information, but you might like to supply some additional stimulus material, either from this DVD or images reflecting different motives e.g. natural disasters, war/conflict, economic well-being, education). Insist on at least 2 minutes quiet thinking time before pupils write down their suggestion.

Encourage pupils to share their suggestion(s) with another pupil. Ask that pair to join up with another pair and share their suggestions. You might choose to have a pupil or a number of pupils responsible for recording ideas on the whiteboard/smartboard. What links can the class find between the various ideas - can students identify any different clear categories or themes?

End Credits

Pupils complete the first identi-kit section of this series of lessons to produce a description of their own identity.