Celebrated on 21 September, the International Day of Peace aims to inspire us to create a more peaceful world for everyone!
☮️ Art & Peace
Each year, there is a different theme for the Day of Peace. Visit the United Nations webpage for this day and find out what this year’s theme is. Then help your young students to make artwork with a message about peace. They could use a free online peace sign template, design their own peace symbols, create a picture of children holding hands around the globe or make an origami dove (you can find lots of free folding instructions and videos online).
Older students could present famous works of art about peace-related issues. If they need some help and ideas, suggest they focus on the well-known Guernica and Dove of Peace by Pablo Picasso. They could also work on creating elaborate acrostic poems on the theme of peace.
✏️ tip: Don’t forget to share some photos of your students’ creations and presentations on social media using the hashtags #PeaceDay and #Eplaneteducation in order to inspire their family members, friends and followers to learn more about the International Day of Peace. Well, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words!
☮️ The Nobel Peace Prize
What do you know about the Nobel Peace Prize? How many peace laureates can your students match with their awarded accomplishment? The fun Nobel Peace Game is here and your English learners can have a try!
✏️ tip: This is a great activity for adult learners. Well, the concept that children should have fun in an English class but adults can’t is absolute nonsense!
☮️ Peace & Negotiation Skills
How could your students practise the necessary skills to resolve misunderstandings and negotiate? Focusing on trying to understand another point of view instead of just interrupting the other person to defend their opinion, practising active listening and learning how to avoid taking things personally are some good ideas. What other tips would your English learners add to this list?
✏️ tip: A discussion that focuses on ways to negotiate and communicate with others helps your students to learn how to think critically, pay attention to the importance of body language and work on the skills they need in order to effectively structure and present their ideas in English.
