Session 2: inclusive environment

Aim and outcome

The aim of this exercise is to encourage children to look at their inclusive environment and be part of creating a group picture or montage that celebrates it.

Session plan

This is a group exercise. Use inspiration from Dianne Lorriman’s humorous pictures of a school canteen and a classroom in our image bank.

See if the children can describe what is happening.

Reveal the descriptions if necessary and then tell the group that their aim is to create a scene that shows how the setting whatever is decided upon has been changed so that everyone can take part.

This is a good exercise for a montage. Workshop leaders may want to decide what seems appropriate. For example for the playground setting use a landscape sheet of sugar paper. With a small rectangular sponge and pinky/red paint ask some children to print bricks to denote a brick wall over the top half of the page (or stick on some printed bricks!)

When dry, add some playground games such as a few large white circles or numbers or maybe a hop scotch or painted playground snake on the ground in the bottom half of the picture – whatever is in your playground but not too much.

Then start work!

When individual children have completed their ‘this is me in the playground’ picture cut out the pictures and add as appropriate. As you go along, keep an eye on the sizes of images so they fit in. You may be able to reduce or enlarge on a copier if necessary. If possible photograph and print the whole picture so the children can hold on to the fact that they are ‘In The Picture’.