Review of 'Team Spirit - Film and Teaching Pack' by Barbara O'Toole, Lecturer in Inclusive Education, Coláiste Mhuire, Marino Institute of Education
This comprehensive pack, the second in the FOMACS series, will be greatly welcomed by primary teachers who approach world issues with their classes, such as refugees, child labour, people in exile, and family reunification. ‘Team Spirit’ builds on the work that was begun with ‘The Memory Box’ (FOMACS, 2008). It has been designed by the same writing duo: Liz Morris and Niamh McGuirk, two practising teachers in Dublin primary schools.
The country focus of ‘Team Spirit’ is Sudan, a country torn by ethnic conflict and civil war. The pack explores these issues with a combination of extensive information for teachers along with child-friendly and age appropriate lesson ideas. The focus is not solely on conflict however, with sections on music, art and food in Sudan, complementing the weightier aspects of the pack and offering lesson ideas on making instruments such as tambourines, shakers, rattles and drums.
The teaching pack centres around an animated film entitled ‘Team Spirit’. Here we again meet Abi from ‘The Memory Box’, and are also introduced to Sadiq, a young Sudanese boy who is distracted from his football match with thoughts of his grandmother in Darfur, separated from the rest of her family. Cut to images of Darfur, a dry and dusty landscape where a lone horseman appears in the frame, “slightly hunched, in a pose that suggests he is watching the village, and waiting….” The accompanying section offers teachers the possibility of examining this frame in more detail with their classes, introducing the subject of the Janjaweed, the armed militia who have intimidated Darfur since 1988.
The beauty of this pack is that it can be approached at so many different levels. Some teachers will prefer to take it solely from the perspective of SESE Geography, showing the animated film and using some ideas from the Country Focus section on Sudan, perhaps accompanied by some activities from the food and art sections. Others will opt to take the pack further with a cross-curricular approach, using activities and lesson ideas from the extensive range on offer here, touching on many important and topical global issues. For this latter group, this pack will be an important addition to their bank of development education resources. Each section is clearly laid out, with wide-ranging suggestions for classroom activities, on topics including: Child Labour and Children Working; Sport / Tackling Racism in Sport; Boycott; People in Exile, Family Reunification; Feelings and Emotions; Games Around the World; Logos. The animated film provides a creative entry point to all of these subjects, as each frame offers rich possibilities for further exploration with a senior primary school class.
As with ‘The Memory Box’, one of the strengths of this resource is the opening section, entitled ‘How to use this pack’, with a page of curriculum links for all of the topics covered throughout. This leads into ‘relevant and related books’, a section which will be greatly welcomed by teachers who want to continue the exploration with their classes through the use of fiction, or who wish to consult further teacher reference packs. Each book listed is reviewed in some detail, so that teachers can see at a glance which novel or resource will best suit their particular class. All sections of the pack contain extensive weblinks, enabling teachers to take their own investigations further as well as to source additional classroom activities.
Siobhán Twomey from FOMACS is the director of this series of animated films, designed to approach sensitive global issues through a child-friendly and creative medium. ‘The Memory Box’ and ‘Team Spirit’ have thus broken new ground.
The combination of animated films accompanied by such comprehensive teaching packs represents an innovative contribution to the world of development education and intercultural education in the primary school.
‘Team Spirit’ also confronts our policies on immigration and family reunification in Ireland. Sadiq’s grandmother is unable to leave the village in Darfur and reunite with the rest of her family in this country because: “In Ireland, the definition of family is narrow and does not include grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.” This brings the link between ‘local’ and ‘global’ sharply into focus. It challenges us to recognise the impact of our immigration and family reunification policies on some children and families here, and prompts us to take up our responsibilities as world citizens.
Team Spirit - Film & Teaching Pack
The animated short film, Team Spirit, is a follow-up to the award-winning Memory Box, and is accompanied by a new Teaching Pack that has been written by practicing teachers, Liz Morris and Niamh McGuirk.
Building on the innovative approach established in The Memory Box Teaching Pack, the strength of this pack is its focus on the primary school curriculum, offering suggestions for use in SPHE, History, Geography, Visual Arts, Mathematics and more.
The pack approaches global topics such as Refugees, Family Reunification, Sport and Racism by employing a combination of in-depth background information sections for teachers, together with a broad range of lesson ideas that are both child-friendly and age-appropriate.
The Team Spirit Film and Teaching Pack is a highly creative resource for teachers and an important, practical asset for intercultural education, one that promises to engage and captivate children.
This teaching pack is part-subsidised by State Street Philanthropy.
Please click resources for details on how to purchase this pack.