"Migrations in the 20 th century and their consequences – ways forward for history lessons within a European context"

3. Didactic/methodical approaches to the theme
Suggests for teaching approaches may be grouped in four categories:
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Points of entry in teaching sequences
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Suitable materials
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Teaching techniques
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Other ideas
3.1. Points of entry in teaching sequences
When a teacher wishes to deal with the theme of migration, he should not expect pupils to 
recognise its importance on their own initiative or to share his interest. Therefore, it is important 
to strengthen motivation through a cleverly chosen point of entry. This can be a means of both 
illustrating the relevance of the theme and arousing interest and curiosity. The following 
possibilities exist:
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Brainstorming on the theme of "foreigners"
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Maps showing the direction and quantity of main migratory flows in the 20th century
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Headlines, statements, articles on current affairs, eg on new flows of refugees or political 
discussion concerning immigration or asylum matters
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Images and photographs, particularly items whose meaning is not clear at first glance but 
must be inferred by the pupils; this process guides the class towards the theme
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Caricatures, whose pointed features provoke and challenge one to take a standpoint; the 
use of pictures makes it easier to involve caricatural depictions from other European 
countries if desired and consider a number of different perspectives

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Discussion of the pupils' own experience; one tried and tested option is to draw up a kind of 
family tree showing the places/countries of birth of family members, in order to illustrate the 
family "migratory history" (it can also be useful to sound out pupils' future plans as regards 
training or working abroad).
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Statistics and data: besides official statistics, showing the scale of migration for example, 
data documenting changes in the demography of the country and local area are also to be 
considered. Given the right circumstances, pupils could ask fellow pupils in the class or in 
the school about their origins. Their findings would provide a starting point for an in-depth 
examination of the theme.
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Theme-related consideration of attitudes, previous knowledge and prejudices: national and 
international statistics may be used here (eg reliable statistics are available on young 
people's attitudes towards foreigners in different European countries)
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. On similar lines, a 
survey can be carried out in the class to identify attitudes towards pointed statements.
Another previously tested idea is to have pupils estimate the number or proportion of 
foreigners in a municipality or state and then compare with the actual figures. Material 
revealing attitudes towards migrants (café conversations, sayings, proverbs, graffiti, 
stereotypes, jokes etc) could also be gathered.
3.2. Suitable materials
Work with literary texts
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The theme of "migration" in its broadest sense has often been portrayed in literature. Texts 
range from poems to full youth novels
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. In history teaching such texts can be used to broach or 
illustrate the subject matter. They also provide an opportunity for a more in-depth 
transdisciplinary approach in conjunction with literature studies, with pupils continuing the text 
where it left off, transposing into a play or writing their own texts on the subject.
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Relevant data and other material feature in the study "Youth and History. A comparative European 
survey on historical consciousness and political attitudes among adolescents. Magne Anqvik/Bodo von 
Borries (ed.), Hamburg 1997.
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Experiences of a foreign country were conveyed in poetic terms to the seminar participants through a 
reading of the Italian-born writer Gino Chiellino who has lived in Germany since the 1970s. The reading 
was kindly arranged by the Robert Bosch foundation.
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Here we can quote just a few examples: Henk Barnard: