Teaching Peace
The classroom is a place not just of knowledge but also where students become citizens, inspired to make the world a place of peace, tolerance and understanding.
Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war. - Maria Montessori
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It sounds corny but I still believe that Christmas is a time to think about a world without war, violence, hate, prejudice, and anger. That’s the essential message, it’s a universal message. I think of John Lennon’s classic - Happy Christmas (War Is Over) or also, A Christmas Truce. I looked back at one of my earlier blogs - 14 years ago I was writing out loud about how important peace is, in our classrooms.
So for me, Christmas in the classroom is a special time when peace can enter into the curriculum, and enjoy a central role (though I think it should be a mandatory part of all official curriculums). Christmas can be tricky to teach in the classroom given how so much of its theme is of a religious nature. But focusing on peace makes it a more universal theme.
Next week, I’ll share some ideas and inspiration for Christmas-themed lessons and share my official list of lesson materials. But this week, I’d like to share some resources and ideas for promoting peace in the classroom.
What is peace? - It’s probably best to start by asking students to define what peace is - to them. What does it really mean? You can use this handy template to get students to express their own thoughts through words - about peace. Also, see this - Peace is … / Peace is not … poster.
Discuss peace. What solutions do your students have to bring peace to the world, their lives and communities? What other questions do they have? Try to prompt students with some questions to get the conversation started. See this writing/sharing activity or also these conversation questions about conflict.
Music. Music and peace are tied closely together. There are so many songs about peace that would work in the classroom. Peace Like A River. Give Peace A Chance. War, What Is It Good For? Peace Train and so on … Please see our Project Peace - an international project where classrooms all over the world made song videos (doodle videos) to send messages of peace. You could make a video with your class too!
Quotes about peace. Get students to create posters using quotes about peace. Put them up around the school and add some visuals.
Vocabulary related to peace. Teach students the important words related to peace and the names of the symbols of peace. See our full bundle of resources about peace and related words.
Change? What would students do to change the world so it would be a place with less war, and more peace? Get students to list the things they want to be changed in the world. See John Mayer’s powerful song about this - Waiting For The World To Change.
Here are some more readings about how important peace is - as a topic in our classrooms and curriculums. Christmas is a great time for lessons about peace, for sure.
Peace. Out.
Prompting Peace In The EFL Classroom. Andrew Finch sets out to convince teachers of the need to make peace an important part of their teaching.
Edutopia - The World Peace Games. A grade 4 class sets peace into motion. Great TED talk.
Other Resources. See our full list on Project Peace. A page of links, and suggestions for teaching about peace.