One morning when I was teaching I had reason to question whether I was getting the message across to my students about unity and caring about each other whatever colour, religion or gender you are. The refugees in Zaatari are an example of communities and families torn apart for reasons above them. By the world coming together and uniting, Camp Zaatari exists and it is allowing families to live their lives, not the way they want because they want to be in their country but by giving them a second chance until they can go back to their original homes.
This week as part of ‘The Global Write’ you will learn about Zaatari, take virtual tours of the camp and write descriptively as if you were there. We will unpack your thinking with words, feelings and write using descriptive language.
– Bronwyn Joyce ‘The Global Write’ Creator
Plant The Seed - Unpack Your Thinking
Zaatari is home to 77,258 refugees, nearly 20% are under five years old.
19,243 children are enrolled in 32 schools, with 58 community centers offering activities.
30% of refugees are female-headed households.
3,509 refugees engaged in Incentive-based Volunteering inside the Camp.
Average 7,303 weekly health consultations.
13,773 refugees have active work permits. 23% are women.
– Reliefweb https://reliefweb.int/report/jordan/zaatari-refugee-camp-factsheet-july-2020
Clouds Over Sidra
created by Gabo Arora and Chris Milk
Meet Sidra. This charming 12-year-old girl will guide you through her temporary home: The Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan. Zaatari has been home to 130,000 Syrians fleeing violence and war, and children make up half the camp’s population. In this lyrical VR film, Sidra leads you through her daily life: Eating, sleeping, learning and playing in the vast desert city of tents.
Lets listen to Sidra’s story:
REMEMBER the video is in VR so you can navigate the scenes and see a 360-degree view.
The visual thinking routine we are learning about this week is Beauty and Truth. A routine for exploring the complex interaction between beauty and truth.
After exploring Sidra’s story unpack your thinking by answering the following questions.
1. Can you find beauty in this story?
2. Can you find the truth in this story?
3. How might beauty reveal the truth?
4. How might beauty conceal the truth?
Sketch Noting Example
Here is my thinking – Bronwyn Joyce The Global Write Creator
Let's Write
Before you can write there is another VR View of Camp Za’atari that ‘The ‘Global Write’ Team would like you to explore.
ZA’ATARI 360
Prompt 1
You are a journalist who has arrived at Camp Za’atari to record a story about life in the camp. After touring the camp via Za’atari 360 create a video of your visit. Post your video on ‘The Global Write’ Flipgrid.
Prompt 2
Using these sentence starters imagine you are standing on top of the shed in the picture above and when you are virtually inside Za’atari 360. Write a descriptive piece of writing about what you see. Post your writing to ‘The Global Write’ Wakelet.
Here I stand………
I can see……
The sound of the……
I feel the…..
Imagine if…..
If I was a refugee at Za’atari…….
Prompt 3
Create a poster on Buncee or use poster paper to educate the world about Camp Za’atari. Use Sidra’s story to help you. Share your poster on ‘The Global Write’ Buncee Board.
Teacher Resources
For more information on the Beauty and Truth thinking routine go to
One reply on “Zaatari 360”
[…] https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/9b2ca31122bd4ee789b122d0c744b9a7 Zaatari 360 […]