Interviews on the theme of anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance

News article/report/podcast/video

This lesson plan is suitable for work on democracy, human rights, history teaching, social sciences and in teaching language. The arrangement is well suited for cross-disciplinary collaborations.

The lesson plan gives students the opportunity to meet and interview people who have knowledge of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, racism or other forms of intolerance – then or now. Students will do research before the interviews regarding the Holocaust, the people they are going to meet and their possible activities. Students will account for each used source’s credibility and peer-review each other’s content. The interviewees become sources and the interviews can be produced for example, in a podcast, a news article or a short video that can be published and a part of the Young Voices for Tolerance campaign and spread on social media with the hashtag #YoungVoicesforTolerance

Tip: The work could be carried out in English or other languages. 

background

We all need to understand history in order to be able to see, reflect on and resist the racism and intolerance that exists in society. The Holocaust has happened once and can happen again, says Peter Kadar (1935–2020) in this video from EDUT:

“The vaccination against this is that young people tell and that they do not let any form of anti-Semitism, racism or intolerance pass by.”

This task can be conected to any area of work dealing with the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, racism or other forms of intolerance. It is important that students have a knowledge about Holocaust and anti-semitism before they start work on finding interviewees. At the Forum for Living History you can find classroom exercises like What was the Holocaust? and Anti-Semitism then and now and Antiziganism in history and today that can form the base for further work. At Forum for Living history, you will also find recorded testimonials from survivors, with associated classroom exercises. You can also find testimonials at the narrator group EDUT and at Eternal Eco. If your school wants visits, digitally or physically, from survivors, their children or grandchildren, you can register your interest at EDUT or Zikaron. In the “Resource Bank for Young Voices for Tolerance” you will find, among other things, a list of people available for student interviews.

Tip: Classroom exercises “Learn history and about racism in history” from the Forum for Living History.

Discussion exercise: Who/what can be a credible source? Let students make suggestions. Write up on the board or in a common document.

example:

  • Expert. If your source is an expert you have spoken to, such as a researcher, it should be clear what makes that particular person credible. The expert should have a special knowledge of exactly what they are speaking out about.
  • The case. The case is an interviewee who is in some way affected by what you are writing about. It can be someone who has experienced an injustice or someone who has done something good and who can inspire others.
  • Witness. A witness is someone who can confirm what you are writing about You should preferably collect more than one witness who indicates that the incident you mention in your article has taken place.
  • Image. An image, still image, or moving image, showing a something happening can also be a source. Keep in mind that images may have been manipulated and are not always true.
  • Document. A document can be, for example, a written letter or email, notes from a meeting or a decision from an authority or from the government.
  • You. Of course, you become a source when you post something online.

Tip: Let students read the article “Responsible publisher: How journalists work with source criticism” that can be found under “Content” in mobile stories tools.

“Sources and credibility” is a model for creating structure for source review in sharp mode. When students search for information online, the classic criteria Authenticity, Time, Dependency, and Tendency should be used, in combination with checking what other sources say about the first source.

When practicing: Give some suggestions for sources related to the topic, both good and some less good. Invite students to use the model below in groups to reflect on the relevance and credibility of the source in the context in which the source will be used. Then review what the students have come up with. Note, students don’t have to put a negative if they can’t find anything.

Here the template can be downloaded:

Feel free to have students read the help article “Methods of Source Criticism” in the signed-in mode in mobile stories tools: https://app.mobilestories.se/content/info_article_x_16812

This is a guide for those who want to source-check like a pro. This poster was produced by Therese Personne at Nya Elementar with the aim of helping schools value digital sources. Print a copy and set up in the classroom! The poster is available to download here:

Here students can take a digital self-test developed by Uppsala University in collaboration with the research institute Rise and the association Science & Public.

In this quiz, students in high school or high school can sharpen their knowledge of media, source criticism and online laws!

They can take the test up to 15 times. By explaining after each question, students can improve their performance and become more online smart every time they take the test! If they get 90 percent of the questions right, you can download a piece of evidence that they can put in their resume or share on social media.

Curriculum and Agenda 2030

Subjects: Social studies, history, image, Swedish and Swedish as a second language, English or other language teaching.

UN Global Goals: 16 PEACEFUL AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES

Teacher support: Difficult questions in the classroom | Forum for Living History

"Student Publisher's Ethical Rules"

If you haven’t done so before, read “Student Publisher’s Ethical Rules” in the mobile stories tool (in logged-in mode). Please also discuss what the various points mean. Put simply, they are about:

  • Be careful with their sources and never publish inaccuracies or contribute to the spread of rumors online.
  • Never violate anyone’s copyright or the terms of use of free images downloaded from the web (preferably use your own images or illustrations!)
  • Avoid hurting or offending an individual or group in society.

From idea to finished article

This guide with exercises aims to find interesting persons to interview and do research on persons and subject. You also need to figure out which contact paths are most suitable. When the time is booked, the interview itself remains, arrange photo opportunity and finally production in the Mobile Stories tool and dissemination.

1. Brainstorm together in class on the theme of interesting people that students would like to contact within the framework of the subject. How can we understand, tell and highlight from different angles the subject of anti-Semitism, antiziganism, racism and intolerance through interesting people – then and now? Perhaps you can find people at the school, in the students’ own or in parents’ networks? Perhaps students want to contact a writer, a director – or survivors from Holocaust? Students can work in groups or individually. Make a list of possible interviewees on the board and distribute the suggestions among among the students.

2. Think about which way might be best to go to get in touch with the persons. Let the students help each other. Also, write possible ways for  making contact on the board.

3. How can the interview be conducted? A physical meeting, by link, email or maybe phone? How can you arrange pictures If you can’t meet In person.

4. What type of article is suitable for the interview? Please look at the descriptions, in Mobile Stories article templates before you decide. Depending on how the meeting with the interviewee then takes place and what the interviewee wants to participate in, this may need to be adapted.

Feel free to let students use the “Editorial Meeting” template to get structure at work. The template is available to download here:

If you haven’t done so before, read “Student Publisher’s Ethical Rules” in the Mobile Stories tool (in logged-in mode).

The interviewees could be:

    • A Holocaust survivor or a survivor’s relative.
    • A person who himself encounters prejudice on the basis of religion or ethnic origin. Contacts can be found through congregations or associations.
    • Someone who works actively to combat anti-Semitism or racism in the local community or online, such as someone from a nonprofit, an artist or an influencer.
    • An expert, such as a researcher, an author, journalist or a person with a government assignment.
    • A person who has shown civil courage, who can inspire others.

    In “Young Voices for Tolerance” resources, students can find suggestions for interviewees.

Contact people

Before contacting the interviewee, students should conduct research on the person they are going to meet and on the subject: They should have basic knowledge of the Holocaust, which shows what intolerance can lead to. Your students are welcome to use one or more of the exercises in the “Source Criticism Folder. Students can work in groups or individually. 

Students should tell the interviewee at the first contact if they intend to publish their work on the open platform Mobilestories.se. Ask students to ensure that the interviewee is comfortable with this. The interviews can also be arranged by the teacher, for example, by inviting a few people via link to the classroom on one or more occasions. Then the entire class can listen to all the guests and a group of students can be tasked with asking the questions of “their” interviewee. Here, too, it needs to be clear to the invited person that the meeting may be recorded in order to make it easier for students to quote correctly. The person also needs to be given the opportunity to read their quotes before possible publication.

Students can use this template when contacting the people.

Hi, my name is __________ and I go to school ___________ We have a task about_________ We think it’s important to spread knowledge about ___________och spread your experiences/knowledge ____________ further. We are therefore using an educational publishing tool and aims to produce and publish articles on an open platform, Mobile Stories. You will of course have the opportunity to read your quotes before publishing and change if something is wrong. We would love to  use a nice picture, too. If we meet, we would like to photograph ourselves, if you prefer to be seen digitally or over the phone, we would be happy if you have one or more images that we can use.

Feel free to contact us with suggestions to set up the meeting.

Thank you in advance. Sincerely _____________

Contact details ______________________

Students can also get support in the interview with DN journalist Björn af Kleen: How to get the interviewees to volunteer (requires login in Mobile Story’s publishing tool).

Now the students have hopefully got hold of a person who will be in the interview.. Time for research. Have students search online for the person. Maybe they’ll find articles where the person have participated? If the person is active in an association, parish or profession. Have students seek information about the association, congregation or profession. Instruct students to save links to credible sources. These should then be reported in the article in the box “sources” in the mobile stories tool where the student should also reflect on why the source is credible.

Give students access to “Young Voices for Tolerance Resources.” Also, ask students to write up credible sources on the board or in a joint document to tip each other off. In a joint discussion, students can together reflect on why the sources are credible or not.

Checklist for students for the interview:

  • Keep track of your phone’s recording function. Try it before. Make sure the interviewee knows you’re recording.
  • Make sure your phone is charged – bring a charger as a precaution.
  • Make sure that your questions is available to start with(but don’t forget the follow-up questions!).
  • Make sure you have some prior knowledge of the person and subject through your research.

Practical tips for students during the interview: https://mobilestories.se/så-lyckas-du-med-intervjun

  • Feel free to use the recording function on your mobile phone to record the interview. Feel free to use two phones to secure, or record the meeting on your computer if the meeting is done via link.
  • Don’t forget follow-up questions. To do a good interview, you need to go further and deeper into each topic. Let your own curiosity rule!
  • Choose a quiet recording location, if the sound is to be used in, for example, a podcast, the room should be without echo. Pillows and textiles takes away disturbing noise.

Tips for students when shooting:

  • Think about who’s going to see the picture. What do you want the viewer to feel?
  • Vary tight portraits and images from a distance, preferably in an environment that is natural for the interviewee or has other connection to the subject.
  • Take many pictures from several angles! It often takes time for a person to be relaxed in the situation.
  • Think about norms, how can you break prejudice through the image?
  • Let the photographed person see the pictures. If the person is satisfied, they are more likely to spread your work.
  • In the vast majority of article types on Mobile Stories, landscape formats are best, i.e. images taken horizontally as in the example below.

Horizontal image of Hedi Fried. Photo: Lotta Bergseth

Time to process the image and text material in Mobile Stories. Show students the help texts in the tool, both the instrumental ones under the small question marks and those under the (i) characters, or under “Content” in the main menu. Embed any sounds or movie clips according to the instructions. Ask students to put extra care into the title and preamble as well as the choice of image. Ideally, students should take their own pictures – or illustrate. If this is not possible, ask the interviewee to send pictures that are approved for use. Follow the process in the peer review tool, check queries, and editor approval. Check with the student ethical rules for publication. Students can publish on one or more of the sites on the Mobile Stories network and preferably on Young Voices for Tolerance. Tell students that the articles can be nominated for the Young Journalism Prize, by publishing them on the Young Journalism Prize page that all Mobile Stories schools have access to.

Tip: Let students see the help texts under “Content” in the main menu of the Mobile Stories publishing tool:

Tips from the digital editor: How to find an enticing headline

What you need to know about pictures

Tips from the photographer: How to capture the news image

If students want their article, podcast, or movie to reach more than Mobile Stories readers. Let students use this inspirational tips template. Download it here:

Reflect

Suggestions for reflection questions.

  1. What have we learned?
  2. Who else might have learned anything?
  3. What can we do when we see anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance in society? Try to list different ways to react in different contexts.