Central functions of society
3^rd Grade – History – Swedish Education System

	Materials for the class Phase 1. Music player, Phase 2. Different clothes with role cards. E.g. a white coat for the doctors.
	Layout of the classroom Phase 1 and 2. The room setting is empty to move freely Phase 3. There should be some chairs in each corner for each group. Phase 4. A stage to present the solutions. Phase 5. Normal classroom settings.
	Phase 1

The teacher starts the music and let the students walk in the room freely. The teacher wants the students to think about the different roles in the society. Whenever the teacher stops the music the teacher goes around and asks the students whom you are. The students answer according to role that they think.

–        I am a policemen

–        I am a fireman

ase 1

The teacher starts the music and let the students walk in the room freely. The teacher wants the students to think about the different roles in the society. Whenever the teacher stops the music the teacher goes around and asks the students whom you are. The students answer according to role that they think.

–        I am a policemen

–        I am a fireman

–        I am a mother

–        I am a child

–        I am Swedish

–        I am a tourist etc…

The music starts again and the students think another role. The activity continues until the students can come up with several roles in the society.

 

Phase 2

The teacher give the role cards and costumes about different roles you find in a society:

–        A religious chief,

–        A politician,

–        A doctor,

–        A teacher,

–        An artist etc…

The teacher can use the roles that the students brainstormed in Phase 1.

Each student plays his/her role, the teacher guides them in building the character. In the beginning the teacher asks them to find the way the character walks. Then how they stop, think, laughs. The teacher asks to explore howthe character acts when it is happy, sad, angry, excited.

Then the characters imagine to be in astreet and to meet others and greet each other. Suddenly, the teacher says STOP and divides the whole class into tree groups.

 

 

 

Phase 3

Each group goes to one corner of the class. Each group has individual characters. The teacher explains that a massive catastrophe is starting: “It’s an earthquake! And then tsunami will come. The end of the world is near, in order to survive you need to work together?”

The teacher suggeststhat each group thinkscarefully and decide a solution that their group can survive. The teacher also suggests them to think about the new society the survivors will create. How do they build the new society?

If the groups cannot make an agreement they have to vote the best solution.

 

Phase 4

Each group has time to present their solution as improvisation.

 

Phase 5

When all groups have decided the teacher asks students some questions to reflect how the group discussion went.

It can be good to compare similarities and differences between groups and how they think so.

Why is it important to work together for future?