TY1 – Section 1 – Introduction

This video was AI-generated. The script was written by Dr Philip Murphy, University College Cork, Ireland.

Welcome to Lesson 1 of this ‘Introduction to the EU’. It focuses on students’ conception of the European Union. What comes to mind when they think about, or hear of, the EU? Is it Brussels, Bureaucracy, the Birds Directive, of do they draw a blank? Is it travel, currency, security, agriculture, or the environment? Is it one thing or many things? Or is it nothing at all?

The aim of this lesson is for your students to reflect on their understanding of the EU, and how they engage with it. To start them thinking of how everyday life is impacted by it. And to explore how and why others may see it differently. It builds on the Effecting Global Change strand in the CSPE curriculum and is a primer for the Power and Decision-making at National and European Level, and Globalisation and Identity strands in the Politics and Society curriculum.

The lesson starts with a drawing exercise, a blank canvas for students to depict the EU in their mind’s eye. This is followed by a quick writing exercise where they explain what they drew and why they drew it. Through these exercises you have an opportunity to facilitate student reflection on their sense of the EU. It is not about a display of knowledge or facts. If nothing comes to mind for some students, that’s an important realisation. Through the discussion topics in the lesson, you can task students to explore what is common or unique in drawings. Realising that classmates see things similarly or differently based on their own experience is a useful step in their engagement with the EU. In the latter part of the lesson, students can see what other young people in Ireland tend to draw; be it, symbols, flags, economic things, or politicians and institutions. You can use these slides as prompts to explore such aspects.

This lesson content is intended as a template. You’re welcome to adapt its structure, content, instruction, or delivery, to suit your purpose. The exercises and discussion topics can be altered to Think-Pair-Share exercises. The discussion topics can be tweaked as homework or follow-up exercises. You are welcome to import any linked content in the Resources tab for your running of the lesson.

Section 2 of this lesson contains a presentation. We advise that you download and edit it to run the lesson. It includes instructions for yourself and students. Section 3 has the drawing and writing template for students to use. You can print it double-sided for the exercises, or simply use blank A4 sheets with the visual prompts from the template. If you have a query, don’t hesitate to contact us at dabtheeu@ucc.ie.