Lesson Plan #1
The Rainbow People

Introduction

Although our first lesson plan comes from the Primary School Kit on the United Nations, it can be used on many different levels. This book is the first in the series: Intermediate School Kit on the United Nations and Secondary School on the United Nations. These valuable resources were edited by David Barrs and Maura Juffkins. For inquiries about purchasing these sets of books go to: http://www.un.org/Pubs/k12/educate

If you use this lesson in your classroom and find it to be of value we would like to hear from you. Please email Narin Stassis atfirstvicechair@un.org with your remarks and suggestions.

The Rainbow People— An original story by Carolyn Askar

Read this story with a friend. List all the things you would need to stay alive. Which colour would you prefer to be?

In the beginning, the world was very still and quiet. The ground seemed to be covered with dull coloured rocks and stones. But if you took a closer look, you could see that they were not stones but tiny people who were not moving at all. One day a wind blew over the land. It warmed the people and filled them with life and with love. They began to move... to look at each other... to speak to each other... to care about each other.

As they explored their world, they found coloured ribbons lying on the ground. They were excited and ran about collecting them up. Some chose blue, some green, some red and some yellow. They enjoyed tying the ribbons round each other and laughing at the bright colours.

Suddenly another wind blew. This time it made them shiver with cold. They looked at each other, realised they looked different... and stopped trusting each other.

The reds gathered together and ran into a corner.
The blues gathered together and ran into a corner
The greens gathered together and ran into a corner.
The yellows gathered together and ran into a corner.

They forgot that they had been friends and cared for each other. The other colours just seemed strange and different. They built walls to separate themselves and keep the others out. But they found that:

The reds had water but no food.
The blues had food but no water.
The greens had twigs to make fire but no shelter.
The yellows had shelter but nothing to keep them warm.

Suddenly a stranger appeared and stood in the centre of the land. He looked at the people and the walls separating them in amazement, and said loudly,”Come on out everybody. What are you afraid of? Let’s talk to each other.” The people peeped out at him and slowly came out of their corners in to the centre. The stranger said, “Now just tell one another what you have to give and what you need to be given."

The blues said, “We have plenty of food to give but we need water.”
The reds said, “We have plenty of water to give but we need food.”
The greens said, “We have plenty of wood for fire but we need shelter.”
The yellows said, “We have plenty of shelter but we need warmth.”

The stranger said, “Why don’t you put together what you have and share it? Then you can all have enough to eat, drink, keep warm and have shelter.”

They talked and the feeling of love returned. They remembered that they had been friends. They knocked down the walls and welcomed each other as old friends. When they realised that the colours had divided them, they wanted to throw them away. But they knew that they would miss the richness of the bright colours. So instead they mixed the colours to make a beautiful rainbow ribbon. They called themselves the Rainbow People. The rainbow ribbon became their symbol of peace.

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