Celebrating Age-Promoting Positivity!
Please find below some suggested tasks that can support your students to explore concepts
around diversity and celebrating who we are as individuals. Some of the activities are based on
the Equality and Human Rights Commission Toolkits which can be found here.
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/education-providers
The tasks are planned to follow on from one another to build up the student’s knowledge. Tasks
can be differentiated by using just one of the elements within the task .e.g. use of photos to
discuss positive attitudes towards older people.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will begin to explore what a stereotype is and how this can lead to discrimination
- Students will explore what diversity means
- Students will have a chance to reflect on the steps they can take as individuals to promote
positive attitudes towards young and old in their community
Definitions:
Stereotyping: Thinking all people who belong to a certain group are the same and labelling them
(e.g. all young people who wear hoodies are badly behaved). Stereotypes are often based on old
fashioned ideas or are deliberately untrue and designed to hurt people.
Discrimination: Treating someone unfairly because they belong to a certain group (e.g. saying
somebody can’t join a football game because they’re female).
Diversity: Many different forms, types etc. a variety of different cultures, groups etc.
Task 1: Stereotyping and Discrimination: Use the headings on sheet A to start a discussion
about words we associate with each of these headings. Headings can be placed on a flipchart
and students move round or they can work in pairs on a printed sheet. Review the words used to
check understanding. Students then need to choose who they would like to come and give them a
talk in school. Students need to think through their decision making and be able to explain their
thinking. Show the photos/snapshots of each of the individuals. Are there any surprises? Review
their words on the flipchart. Explain the word stereotyping e.g. old, immobile, grumpy, yobs etc.
How can stereotyping impact how we live our lives? Sort the students into groups based on a
characteristic e.g. brown hair, tall, short etc. Sit the groups in different places. This is the new
government’s seating plan! How does it feel? Ask students to identify the ways in which young
and old people are discriminated against in every day life. What can we do to stop that?
Task 2: Diversity:
Choose one of the following opening activities:
1. Ask each person to complete the quiz on Sheet D. Collate student answers to show the
range of answers. They are different. They are diverse.
2. In pairs, list things in your everyday life that are influenced or come from other countries. It
can be a person in your family or a friend, music or food, fashion or sport. List as many
things as you can.
Positive Statements: In pairs, complete statement
- Younger people can…….
- Older people can…….
- Younger people are good at………
- Older people are good at………….
- Younger people support the community by……….
- Older people support the community by……..
This could be played like a game of consequences where the statement is on top of a piece of
paper and is folded over and passed to the next group. See Sheet E for an example. This can
then form a discussion about the positive attitude we can bring when thinking about old and
young together.
Task 3: Promoting Positivity: How can we as a school promote a positive attitude towards
younger and older people? How can we celebrate age within our community?
Use the intergenerational scale, Sheet F, to explore the different activities that students could plan
and run to promote positive links between younger and older people.
SHEET A
A thirteen year old boy
A one hundred and one year old
grandfather
Marathon Runner
Inventor
69 Year old Grandmother
Abseilor
100 year old woman
President
SHEET B
14 year old boy and an inventor:
Richard Turere, a 13 year old Kenyan
boy and inventor. When Lions were
attacking his family’s livestock, he
invented a solar powered lighting system
to keep the predators away! By creating
a new way to protect his cattle, he not
only solved his own problem, but also
helped save the lives of many lions and
earned himself a scholarship to one of
the best schools in Kenya.
101 year old man and a marathon
runner: Fauja Singh World’s oldest
marathon runner. Born April 1 1911. In
2000, at the age of 89, he ran the
London marathon, his first, and went on
to do eight more. His best time was 5
hours and 40 minutes at the 2003
Toronto marathon.
69 year old grandmother and
president: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf,
President of Liberia. Liberia recently
marked ten years of peace and eight
years of leadership by Africa's first
female head of state. Johnson-Sirleaf, a
Nobel laureate and former World Bank
officer, has become an icon since her
days fighting against dictators and
corruption in Liberia.
100 year old lady and abseilor: Doris
Long celebrated her 100th birthday by
abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower.
She's now a world record holder and is
raising money for The Rowans Hospice
in Hampshire.
.
SHEET C
All old people
are grumpy
and rude.
All young
people are
yobs and
hoodies.
Don’t speak to
that young
person…they
might steal
your money!
Don’t say hello
to that old
person they
might start
talking and
never stop!
Sheet D
Question 1: What is your favourite food?
a) Roast dinner
b) Curry
c) Chinese
d) Pizza
e) Pasta
Question 2: Which of the following sports do you like most?
a) Martial arts
b) Dance
c) Football
d) Tennis
e) Skiing
Question 4: What is your favourite colour?
a) Black
b) Red
c) Green
d) Blue
e) Pink
Question 5: Which of the following statements do you agree with most?
a) I think it is wrong to talk about people behind their back
b) I don’t believe in God
c) I do believe in God
d) I believe everyone is born free and equal
e) I think it is important to protect the environment.
Sheet E
Older people can…….
Fold along dotty line before passing on
SHEET F
Description:
Examples:
Learn about the other group:
‘Learning about aging’ in the
Participants learn about the lives of curriculum but never meet an
the other age groups, though there
older person.
is no actual contact of any kind.
2
Seeing the other age group but at Writing to each other, making
a distance: Project participants find videos.
out about each other but there is no
actual contact.
3
Meeting each other: There is a
A group of students visit a
meeting of some sort between
nursing home as a one off
younger and older people but the
event; young and old come
meeting is planned and is a one off
together for an arts event.
experience.
4
Annual or periodic activities:
Grandparents Day, Harvest
These meetings occur on an annual Festival, Tea Dance.
or regular basis. They are typically
tied to community events or
organisational celebrations.
5
Demonstration projects: These
Younger and older work
initiatives involve regular meetings
together to put on a play.
and involve a number of meetings
Older coach younger in job
or shared activities. The
skills, interview techniques and
intergenerational dialogue, sharing
work preparation.
and learning can be quite intensive.
6
Ongoing Intergenerational
Age UK IW Young Volunteer
Programmes: These are projects
Good Neighbour Scheme: A
from the previous category that
school based volunteer
have been deemed to be
scheme in which structures
successful/valuable from the
are established, placing them
perspective of participating
in assignments and providing
organisations. These are integrated support and recognition.
into general activities and are a
sustainable part of each
organisation’s working practices and
approaches.
7
High
Intergenerational Community
Community develop an
Level Settings: Values of
intergenerational setting with
of
intergenerational interaction are
facilities for children and young
Contact infused into the way community
people; a community park
settings are planned and function.
designed to attract and bring
Opportunities for meaningful
together people of all ages and
intergenerational engagement are
accommodate varied (passive
abundant and embedded in social
and active) recreational
norms and traditions.
interests.
Implementing Intergenerational Practice: (based on the M Kaplan ‘Toward an
1
Low
Level
of
Contact
Intergenerational Way of Life’ (2004) and adapted by Beth Johnson Foundation)