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Welcome to The Literature of the Troubles Project
Teacher Resources
As the Project Development Officer for The Literature of the Troubles Project, I request a block of three weeks with the class who are chosen to participate in this unit. In order to give the pupils consistency and more depth to their study, I follow their timetable, teaching them for all the available lessons during that time.
However, this Creative Writing scheme of work which has been developed is designed primarily for the classroom teacher to teach – not necessarily within the three week time constraint. It can be adapted and abridged as the teacher sees fit, making it relevant for all levels of ability. The scheme is fully comprehensive: it begins with a global outlook, and then becomes more focused on local issues.
The scheme has also been created with the Revised Curriculum in mind, incorporating Key Skills, Active Learning Strategies and Assessment for Learning. It has a cross-curricular dimension – linking particularly with History and the Citizenship strand of Learning for Life and Work.
Due to the sensitive nature of the material involved, I found it was a good idea to engage the pupils by starting with a look at their own thinking about Northern Ireland society. Only when these outlooks have been established is it possible to present the ideas and opinions pupils are familiar with, before presenting neutral material, and then moving into the areas which directly challenge their beliefs and allegiances. For a teacher who has taught a class for some time, and knows them well, it will be easier to judge what, they feel, is important and relevant to the pupils in front of them. Sharing personal experience of the Troubles is a very valid way of relating the topic to the class, however, it is expected that this would be a decision which the individual teacher should make for themselves.
Feedback from pupils through the research aspect of this Project tells us that they like having the opportunity to discuss the Troubles in a safe environment. Pupils who have participated in the Project have enjoyed the experience and felt it was worthwhile.
Please find all the lesson plans used in the scheme of work, as well as a selection of resources below.
Copyright is pending for the literary extracts used. If you have any questions regarding their use in the classroom, please contact Joanne McCauley through this website.
Some of the files below are .PDF
to view them you must have Acrobat Reader Installed which can be downloaded free from the Adobe Website.
Also some of the files are .ZIP to open them you must have a program to unzip them e.g Filzip which can be downloaded here |
