The documentary Kanraxël is a rich resource for use in the classroom across different subject areas. Teachers should feel free to use the documentary as a resource in lessons and for extra-curricular activities. The ready-made resources provided here fit into two categories: lesson plans based on short clips from the documentary and suggested essays titles based on the entire documentary. There are six 60-minute lessons plans that are recommended for groups of students in Key Stage 3 (ages 12-14), Key Stage 4 (ages 15-16) and Key Stage 5 (ages 17-18). The subject areas covered by the Key Stage 3 and 4 lessons are Geography, MFL, PSHE and Economics. These lesson plans include the relevant film clips and all required resources. Each lesson plan indicates a suggested subject area and Key Stage(s) for relevance. However, teachers should use their own discretion in terms of lesson content and how the lessons could fit into their schemes of work.

The suggested essay titles are targeted at Key Stage 5 students who might want to extend their thinking, research and writing beyond the curriculum. The essay questions have been designed to both support A-Level content whilst also stretching students toward university level discussion. The subject areas covered by these lessons are Languages/Linguistics, Geography, Sociology, RS and Philosophy, Economics, History and Media Studies. Resources have been provided in both PDF and Word/PowerPoint formats to support ease of download and the ability to modify respectively.

View or download suggested extension essays

LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use a clip from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to explore why some people speak two or more languages. ‘Kanraxël’ is set in a multilingual village in Senegal. Students identify the varied reasons for multilingualism and apply this analysis to other contemporary case-studies.
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:
MFL (upper KS3, or KS4)
Geography (KS4)

LESSON PLAN

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LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use a clip from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to explore the meaning of the term ‘linguistic environment’. Students interpret data on French language use around the world, and design data collection methods to find out more about their own school’s linguistic environment.
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:
MFL (KS3)
Mathematics (KS3)

LESSON PLAN

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LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use a clip from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to explore the meaning of the term ‘linguistic environment’. Students interpret data on French language use around the world and design their own question on language use for the 2021 census.
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:
MFL (KS4)
Mathematics (KS4)

LESSON PLAN

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LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use a clip from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to explore the benefits of learning languages. ‘Kanraxël’ is set in a multilingual village in Senegal. Students identify how multilingualism plays a part in the lives of four people in the community, and how multilingualism is seen as ‘a resource’ that they can foster in their own lives.
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:
MFL (KS3 or KS4)
PSHE (KS3 or KS4)

LESSON PLAN

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LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use a clip from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to explore the concept of ‘code-switching’ between two or more languages in a conversation. ‘Kanraxël’ is set in a multilingual village in Senegal where people often code-switch between - and within - sentences. Students also identify examples of code-switching in fictional films, and practice their own examples of code-switching, both verbally and in written form.
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:
MFL (KS3 or KS4)

LESSON PLAN

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LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use a clip from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to analyse and evaluate the fishing market in a local economy. ‘Kanraxël’ is set in a multilingual village in Senegal called Agnack Grand. People in this village are heavily reliant on the fishing industry. Students are encouraged to consider solutions to the problems they identify through their demand and supply analysis. 
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:

Economics (KS4 or KS5)

LESSON PLAN

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LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use clips from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to evaluate the impact of an infrastructure project on a Senegalese village called Agnack Grand. People in the village once used the freshwater from a tributary river to grow rice. A dam constructed as part of a road project rerouted the water supply and limited the rice production. The impacts of this are explored.
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:

Economics (KS4 or KS5)
Geography (KS4)

LESSON PLAN

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LESSON SUMMARY:

Students use clips from the documentary ‘Kanraxël’ to explore different types of migration, including internal, external and forced migration. Real life stories are used to help students identify and distinguish between the different factors that contribute to migration. Students end the lesson by applying the language of ‘forced’ versus ‘voluntary’ migration to discussions around the current refugee and migration crisis.
 

SUBJECT AND KEY STAGE:

Geography (KS4)
PSHE (KS3 or KS4)

LESSON PLAN

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LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

We would appreciate all feedback on any of these resources, and would encourage teachers to contact us.

INDEX
THE FILM
THE PROJECT
UNIVERSITY TEACHING RESOURCES
SCHOOL TEACHING RESOURCES