| Welcome to the BEYOND THE
FIRE education resources. Before you get started using
this site in your classroom, we recommend you first read
the Site Intro and Ways to Use this Site.
This site is designed to
provide teens with an experience that is unique, interactive
and educational. For the full BEYOND THE FIRE experience,
we recommend visiting the Flash
feature by clicking on "Begin your
journey" above, or the "Stories" button
on the left. Key features of the site include:
Interactive
world map: The “world view” map allows
you to navigate the site by clicking on teens in their
different home countries.
Teen
refugee stories: Told through audio and Flash-animated
movies, the real-life stories of 15 teens from around
the world who have lived through war are the heart of
the site. Each of these teens now lives in the U.S.
The teen refugee transcripts are also available on the
site and as a printer-friendly document
below.
Conflict
timelines: Each teen’s story is accompanied
by a timeline that gives a brief history of the conflict
in his or her country. The conflict timelines are also
available as a printer-friendly document
below.
Country
facts: Next to the conflict timeline is the flag
of that nation. Rolling over the flag reveals key facts
about the country, such as size, population, type of
government and number of refugees fleeing war.
User
passport: Each person coming to the site is assigned
a passport that is customized and retrievable with each
visit. To get a passport, students simply enter their
email address, a password and provide their first name,
birthplace and if they’d like a photo of themselves
to make it look like a real passport. See the Terms
and Conditions of this site to know how this information
is used. Please note that the optional passport photo
provides an opportunity to enhance each teen’s
passport, and will not be posted anywhere on the site.
Site visitors will also store their own thoughts and
responses to the refugee stories in their passports.
This feature allows the site to be truly interactive
and tailored to the individual user.
Travelog:
Each visitor will also be given an online travelog.
After each teen refugee story is finished, the travelog
opens with a thought-provoking question about that refugee.
Students will record their answers to these questions
in their travelogs. Once a student has made it through
all 15 of the teen refugee stories, these answers will
be posted on the site after they have been reviewed
by our moderator. The posting feature is intended to
create community on the site, and allow teens to share
their opinions and impressions with each other. The
travelog questions can also be used in a group setting
to spark discussion. The travelog questions are available
as a printer-friendly document below.
Border
Control questions: Before leaving each country,
passport holders will be given a challenge question
on a relevant topic, such as child soldiers or the impact
of war on education. The answers to these questions
provide important statistics and background on the refugee
experience. The Border Control questions are also available
as a printer-friendly document below.
Lesson
plans: Two lesson plans, developed by a secondary
level classroom teacher, are included on the site, one
looking at the issue of child soldiers, and the other
exploring and comparing the experiences of teen refugees.
The lessons meet McREL
standards for Geography, Civics, World History and
Language Arts.
Teacher
talkback: We want to hear how you are using the
site in your own classroom. Post
your ideas and reactions to the site here. We will
share them with your peers online.
Resources:
If you want to expand upon the content found on this
site, or want to help your students get involved in
organizations in your own community, check the Resources
section for valuable links. These include international
sites with information on history and conflicts, local
news sources for each country and links to organizations
that deal with issues such as landmines, teen soldiers,
refugee services and conflict resolution.
In a one-computer classroom:
While this site is designed
primarily with individual users in mind, it is possible
to use parts of the site in large group settings where
computer access is limited.
With access to a single computer
and a projector, groups can view the teen refugee stories
online. Alternatively, with a set of good speakers,
the group could listen to the audio of these stories.
After each story, you can pose one of the travelog questions
provided on the site as a discussion starter, or make
up questions of your own.
You could also print out
a selection of teen refugee stories as a handout. Have
the students read these (either silently or aloud) and
use them as the basis for group discussion. Again, the
travelog questions could be used here. Or, you might
ask students to compare and contrast two or more of
the teen refugees’ stories, or look for similar
themes.
The Border Control questions
provide a form of online game play for the individual
user, but they could also be used in a group setting—either
as a game or as a discussion starter. Simply print these
out and pose the questions to your students. You might
divide the class into two teams. As an extension of
this activity, you could have students come up with
their own questions after they’ve spent some time
on the site.
In a multiple computer
setting:
If each student has a computer,
you could assign the site in its entirety, having each
student create a passport, and proceed through all 15
teen refugee stories, answering the travelog questions
along the way. When the travelog questions are answered,
the student will have the option to print these out
and can turn them in for your evaluation. Things to
consider in evaluation include thoughtfulness of response,
mastery and understanding of the subjects presented
on the site, grammar, spelling and use of language.
You could also assign the
site as homework, and ask students to complete the travelog
questions on their own time, either at home, or at a
library or other community setting with computer access.
If they don’t have access to a printer, they could
print out their responses when they get to school by
simply retrieving their passport online.
If students are working in
small groups, they will not be able to fully utilize
the customized passport. However, one student could
fill out the passport and take turns navigating through
the site with other members of the group. When each
travelog question is posed, members of the group could
write down their responses in a notebook, and either
turn this in, or return to the site later to input them.
Downloadable documents are
in PDF format. You will need Acrobat Reader 4.0 or above
to view. Get
the latest version of Acrobat Reader.
Teen Refugee Transcripts
 (PDF)
Conflict Timelines
(PDF)
Travelog Questions
(PDF)
Border Control
Questions (PDF)
Lesson Plan 1 (PDF)
Lesson Plan 2 (PDF)
Michael Hutchison is Technology
Curriculum facilitator for the Vincennes Community Schools
in Vincennes, Indiana. In 1996 and 1997, Michael was
named a national winner of the 21st Century Teacher
competition. In 1998, he was the first-place prizewinner
in Compaq's Teacher Lesson Plan contest and in 1999,
he was the Midwest regional winner in Technology
& Learning magazine's Teacher of the Year program.
In 2002, Michael was named Teacher of the Year by the
Indiana Computer Educators and Technology-Using Teacher
of the Year by the International Society for Technology
in Education. Michael hosts a weekly social studies
forum for TAPPED IN and serves as a faculty member of
Connected University, as well as a member of the PBS
TeacherSource Advisory Group.
Back to top |
