Step 2 aims to:

• enable students to brainstorm issues, classify and question them in order to reach a group consensus on which one to take action on
• develop and extend skills in enquiry - ask questions and identify issues; select and organise information to construct arguments; communication - contribute to exploratory group and class discussions and take part in debates; express, justify and defend own opinions about an issue orally and in writing; participation - negotiate, decide and vote on an issue.

Email globallinks@actionaid.org.uk with any new lesson ideas and/or examples of student's work. We'll put these in the Global links gallery.

Fruit salad game
Sit on chairs in a circle apart from one person who stands in the middle. Each person sitting down is allocated to one of three countries. The person in the middle shouts out one of the countries and all people who have that country have to swap places. The person in the middle has to try to get one of the seats leaving a new person in the middle for the next go. If the person in the middle shouts global links, everybody has to change places.

Trigger photos
Have a look at some of the photographs in the gallery and print the one showing an interesting issue. Place the photograph in the centre of the Trigger photos worksheet and answer the questions.

» Trigger photos worksheet (.rtf)

Vote with your feet
Write all the main issues that concern your class on pieces of paper and display them around the room. Firstly move to the issue that you think is the most important. Some people could argue for their issue and see if anyone changes their mind. Then move to the issue which you think you could do the most to improve. Argue your case again. Decide whether to have groups working on different issues or for everyone to work on the issue that received the most votes.

Why-why-why
Use the why-why-why chain to consider the reasons for your issue. Write your issue in the box and then write a reason for your issue in each of the next two boxes. Try and think of reasons for the reasons, and add these to the next boxes. You can add more arrows and boxes if you want to, or change the direction of the arrows.

Look at each box and ask if it is fair. If not, what can you do to change things? You could write solutions in a different colour on your chain.

» Why why why chain worksheet (.rtf)

Reasons for my issue
Summarise your decisions and what you have learnt about your issue using the sentence starters on the worksheet.