Although elementary school students may seem too young for assignments about prejudice and discrimination, even young children are capable of understanding issues of fairness and favoritism. Studies have found that children show ingroup preferences and favoritism as early as age 3 or 4, and that racial and gender stereotyping follow soon after.
To teach young children about prejudice, consider ways to have them imagine life from other points of view. From an early age, children can be taught to take the perspective of others, empathizing with those who are disadvantaged and taking action to correct social wrongs. The activities below offer just a few examples of how this might be done.
Goal
To have students become more aware of handicap accessibility in their community and think about ways to make public places more accessible.
Assignment
Have students go through an entire day imagining that they are in a wheelchair. If students are old enough, have them keep a journal in which they record which activities are hardest for them and how these activities can be adapted to fit their new needs. Ask students to pay special attention to the accessibility of public areas, and to answer the question: If you were in a wheelchair, could you go everywhere you want? (If you have students who do spend time in a wheelchair, they can still participate in this exercise by paying extra-close attention to accessibility and recording what they encounter.)
Once students complete the assignment, have them share their findings in class. Some questions for group discussion:
- Which tasks were the hardest to do?
- Which places were the hardest to go?
- How did you feel when you couldn't do something or go somewhere?
- What can be done to make places more accessible?
If students have good ideas on what might be done to increase accessibility, encourage them to follow through, whether it be building a ramp outside the school or calling a city official to ask about sidewalks and curb cuts. Older students may even write a report on what actions they took to increase accessibility in their community.
Source
Adapted from: Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Goal
To teach students what stereotypes are and make them aware of stereotypes in popular culture.
Classroom Preparation
In class, explain that sometimes groups of people are presented in unfair ways that either distort how they look (e.g., yellow Chinese people) or make everyone in the group look the same (e.g., Native Americans wearing feathers). Tell students that these unfair images are known as "stereotypes."
To illustrate, show students 5-10 examples of stereotypes taken from book illustrations, cartoons, greeting cards, lunch boxes, and other sources. When showing each stereotypic image, hold up an accurate image at the same time so that students can see the difference, and ask students to point out what's wrong with the stereotype. Once students understand the concept of a stereotype, introduce the assignment below.
Assignment
Challenge students to find one or more stereotypes on their own and write a one-page report answering the following four questions:
- What is the stereotype you found?
- What group of people is being stereotyped?
- Why is the stereotypic image unfair?
- How would the image make the group feel, and why?
Alternatively, students might be invited to bring the image to class for a show-and-tell session in which they discuss these questions orally.
Source
Adapted from: Derman-Sparks, L. (1989). Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
