A group activity for the Burnet News Club.

1. SYRIA: HOW DO YOU THINK BRITAIN SHOULD BE INVOLVED?
GROUP ACTIVITY
SYRIA: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Introduction
You are the Burnet News Club Conflict Resolution Team (BNC-CRT). Imagine that Theresa May,
the British prime minister, has asked you all for your advice on the Syrian conflict.
What should she do next?
Instructions
Before the session you will need to:
1. Print and cut out four copies of the courses of action.
2. Write the four ‘courses of action’ titles on a board or large piece of paper pinned to the
wall so the whole class can see.
3. Print the writing scaffold for each student.
1. Read the introduction aloud to the class.
2. Split the club into four groups. Hand them each the set of four ‘courses of action’ and
ask them to read aloud between each other.
3. Ask each group to place the four actions in order of best to worst.
4. Hand out the writing scaffolds.
5. Each group takes it in turn to explain their order of the actions to the whole club, giving
reasons for their choices.
6. While the rest of the club listens, they must fill out the writing scaffold about each
group.
7. Once a group has finished feeding back, ask some of the listeners to read out what they
wrote in their scaffold.
8. Students spend time on the Hub discussing their solutions to the Syrian conflict.
TEACHER PROMPT QUESTIONS
– Why do you think that would be the best ‘course of action’?
– What reason can you give for that?
– Why is XXX a better ‘course of action’ than XXX?
– Can you think of reasons for why people might disagree with you?
– What/who do you agree with?
SESSION 3

2. WHO
BENEFITS?
Civilians – fewer civilians
might be killed or hurt.
Aid workers – fewer people
trying to get humanitarian
aid to Syria might be killed
or hurt.
WHO DOESN’T
BENEFIT?
Syria – it could mean no
progress is made and
therefore the conflict would
last longer.
Russia – they couldn’t
support President Assad
without being able to drop
bombs on the rebels.
WHO
BENEFITS?
Britain – by not doing
anything, they wouldn’t have
actively done more harm.
Russia - with less
opposition, Russia could
continue to bomb rebel
positions.
WHO DOESN’T
BENEFIT?
Civilians - while we wait
another year, more civilians
could die.
Rebels – without support,
the rebels might not gain
more power.
WHO
BENEFITS?
Rebels – more weapons
would make them more
powerful.
WHO DOESN’T
BENEFIT?
Britain – this might turn
Russia into an enemy.
Russia supports President
Assad.
WHO
BENEFITS?
Civilians – they would have
better resources such as
food and medicine.
Europe – fewer Syrian
people might need to
flee their homes, so less
refugees would need homes
in European countries.
WHO DOESN’T
BENEFIT?
Aid workers – more people
trying to get aid to Syria
might be killed or hurt.
British civilians – money
and support sent to Syria
could be used in Britain
on things that benefit
British people, for example,
the NHS.
COURSE OF ACTION #1
No fly-zone
COURSE OF ACTION #3
Wait a year
COURSE OF ACTION #2
Rebel support
COURSE OF ACTION #4
Humanitarian intervention
WHAT?
Ban aeroplanes from flying over a warzone to
stop the number of bombs landing on civilians.
WHAT?
Continue discussions for one more year to
make sure a bad decision isn’t made.
WHAT?
Continue giving weapons to rebels so they can
force Syria’s president, Bashar al Assad, to give
up his power.
WHAT?
When one country uses its military to end
human rights abuses in another country.

3. SESSION 3 ACTIVITY – SYRIA: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
WRITING SCAFFOLD
GROUP:
What did you agree with? Which ideas did you like? A positive thing I heard was…
GROUP:
What did you agree with? Which ideas did you like? A positive thing I heard was…
GROUP:
What did you agree with? Which ideas did you like? A positive thing I heard was…