ONE UNIT LESSON PLAN: CULTURAL DIVERSITY.
These lessons, deal with stereotyping, prejudice, generalization, racism, and demonization as social practices that can be reconstructed and changed to lead to understanding, fairness and equal opportunities. It is the teachers’ role and responsibility to address these issues in the classroom.
Objectives:
At the end of the unit, students will…
* be willing to reconsider their prejudices, stereotypes, and discriminatory attitudes.
* be aware that stereotyping and discrimination are socially constructed and thus can be changed.
* realize that prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination can have serious implications.
N.B.: For Assessment students will be asked to keep a portfolio to turn in to the teacher at the end of the Unit.
LESSON ONE.
Reading: Itamar meets the Rabbit.
Materials:
* The story Itamar meets the Rabbit by David Grossman (attachment)
* Copies of the pictures of different individuals (attachment).
Procedure:
Warm-up:
A. Show six pictures (see appendix) of different people from different nationalities to all students. Then, ask them to work in pairs to guess the nationality of each person in the picture.
Reading: Itamar meets the Rabbit.
Materials:
* The story Itamar meets the Rabbit by David Grossman (attachment)
* Copies of the pictures of different individuals (attachment).
Procedure:
Warm-up:
A. Show six pictures (see appendix) of different people from different nationalities to all students. Then, ask them to work in pairs to guess the nationality of each person in the picture.
B. Discuss their responses briefly by asking them what made them think that person is from that country, region, or continent. I won’t comment or mention stereotyping.
C. Tell the students the real nationality of the people in the pictures.
1. A Saudi woman driving in Dubai
2. Najah Bazzy, Michigan, USA the indigenous Muslim American
3. Yahya Al fakharani, Egyptian actor.
4. Hichan elguerrouj, Moroccan Athlete.
5. Bouchra, the Moroccan girl who was mistaken for the missing British girl, Madeleine MaCann
6. Haile Gebrselassie, the famous Ethiopian field runner.
Reading:
Students read the story, Itamar meets the Rabbit by David Grossman and answer these questions:
1. What is the theme of the story?
2. What message does it convey?
Itamar Meets the Rabbit.
Itamar loved animals. Itamar loved all animals. Itamar even loved animals that didn’t really exist, such as the unicorn and the dinosaur. There was only one animal that Itamar was afraid of: the rabbit. Very strange! Itamar was never afraid of lions or tigers with sharp teeth or terrible dragons. Rabbits were the only animal he was afraid of.
Above Itamar’s bed, there were pictures of lions, and he loved to look at them every night. He wasn’t scared of them, but Itamar would refuse to look at a book that had a picture of a rabbit. And when he went to the zoo with his parents and reached the rabbit pen, he would cover his eyes so as not to see the rabbit.
Itamar kept thinking that a rabbit was a very dangerous animal. He also thought that a rabbit was as big as an elephant and that it had teeth all over its body; even in its tail. Itamar was even sure that a rabbit devoured kids, and there was no way you could convince him that he was wrong. He just wouldn’t listen.
However, one day something interesting happened: Itamar’s parents took him to the forest. While his parents were sitting and chatting on a big rock, Itamar went behind a tree and played with stones. His parents were discussing how to teach Itamar to dress for school and button his shirt in the morning, in preparation for going to kindergarten the following year.
Suddenly a very small, cute creature came scampering and ran into Itamar. Both of them were startled and screamed, “Mummy! Mummy!” This cute little thing looked at Itamar. It had brown fur, a short tail, long ears, and quivering whiskers.
“Who are you?” asked this little creature.
“I am Itamar.”
“Well, that’s a relief! For a second there, I thought you were a kid!”
“Why? Are you afraid of kids?”
“Yes, and you should be careful too; kids are very dangerous.”
“That’s not true,” said Itamar, somewhat indignantly.
“Yes, it is,” said the little creature with its ears crossing together over its head like scissors. “I was told that they’re very dangerous and that they devour rabbits.”
“They don’t devour anything,” corrected Itamar. “They just eat ordinary food, and sometimes they don’t even have an appetite.”
“They are very bad,” whispered the little brown furry creature, looking around in fear, its eyes as round as saucers. “They are as big as elephants, and they’ve got teeth all over their body - even on their tails! You surely never want to run into one!”
Itamar laughed, “They haven’t got any tails, and they are not as big as elephants! They are just like me - no more, no less.”
“Now wait a minute!” protested the little creature. “How do you know about them? Have you ever seen a kid?”
“I am a kid myself.” Itamar chuckled.
The little creature screamed, its ears trembled, and he started to run towards the forest. Then he stopped and looked back curiously. “You don’t look so bad, actually…”
“I am not bad,” said Itamar.
“And you don’t have any teeth on your body.”
“Only in my mouth,” said Itamar.
“Now I don’t think I am afraid of you anymore. But just to be on the safe side, why don’t you try to scare me? Let’s see if I have overcome my fear of you.”
Itamar screamed and jumped to scare the little thing. But the little thing was not afraid at all. It came closer and sat near Itamar. It even leaned on him.
“Do you think we could we be friends?” asked the rabbit.
“But you never told me who you were,” said Itamar.
“I’m a …. rabbit!”
“A RABBIT????!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Itamar, jumping and starting to run away. Then, he stopped and looked back.
“You don’t seem to be so bad,” said Itamar.
“I am not bad,” said the rabbit.
“And you don’t have many teeth in your body.”
“Only in my mouth,” said the rabbit, showing its teeth.
“Maybe I am not afraid of you after all. Why don’t you try scaring me now? I want to be sure that I am not afraid of you anymore.”
The rabbit screamed and jumped in the air to scare the boy. But Itamar wasn’t scared at all!
“Come, let’s play,” said Itamar.
They talked and played together. The rabbit taught Itamar magical spells against dragons, and how to move its ears. Itamar explained how it’s so difficult to button his shirt especially in the morning when he is in a hurry for school etc.
Then, Itamar’s parents called him. He said goodbye to the rabbit and left. From then on Itamar was no longer afraid of rabbits, and whenever he went to the forest with his parents, he would meet his rabbit friend. And now when he looked at books with rabbit pictures in them, instead of being afraid, he would think about his newly found friend and smile.
David Grossman
Discussion:
3. Have you ever been scared of someone or something in your life that paralyzed you and could not take action?
4. Have you ever disliked someone simply because this person is from a different background or region then after knowing this person closely, you changed your mind?
5. Why are people discriminated against? How can we handle this problem?
Follow up:
1. Work in small groups of 3 or four and create posters showing examples of discrimination.
OR
2. Search other authors who have written on the theme of prejudice and stereotyping. Who are they and what did they say.
LESSON TWO
Listening: “I have a Dream” by MLK.
Materials:
* MLK’s speech on video: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
* Copies of the speech: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Procedure:
Warm up:
Show students the picture bellow and discuss it so that students get enough background knowledge information to understand the context in which the speech was given.
C. Tell the students the real nationality of the people in the pictures.
1. A Saudi woman driving in Dubai
2. Najah Bazzy, Michigan, USA the indigenous Muslim American
3. Yahya Al fakharani, Egyptian actor.
4. Hichan elguerrouj, Moroccan Athlete.
5. Bouchra, the Moroccan girl who was mistaken for the missing British girl, Madeleine MaCann
6. Haile Gebrselassie, the famous Ethiopian field runner.
Reading:
Students read the story, Itamar meets the Rabbit by David Grossman and answer these questions:
1. What is the theme of the story?
2. What message does it convey?
Itamar Meets the Rabbit.
Itamar loved animals. Itamar loved all animals. Itamar even loved animals that didn’t really exist, such as the unicorn and the dinosaur. There was only one animal that Itamar was afraid of: the rabbit. Very strange! Itamar was never afraid of lions or tigers with sharp teeth or terrible dragons. Rabbits were the only animal he was afraid of.
Above Itamar’s bed, there were pictures of lions, and he loved to look at them every night. He wasn’t scared of them, but Itamar would refuse to look at a book that had a picture of a rabbit. And when he went to the zoo with his parents and reached the rabbit pen, he would cover his eyes so as not to see the rabbit.
Itamar kept thinking that a rabbit was a very dangerous animal. He also thought that a rabbit was as big as an elephant and that it had teeth all over its body; even in its tail. Itamar was even sure that a rabbit devoured kids, and there was no way you could convince him that he was wrong. He just wouldn’t listen.
However, one day something interesting happened: Itamar’s parents took him to the forest. While his parents were sitting and chatting on a big rock, Itamar went behind a tree and played with stones. His parents were discussing how to teach Itamar to dress for school and button his shirt in the morning, in preparation for going to kindergarten the following year.
Suddenly a very small, cute creature came scampering and ran into Itamar. Both of them were startled and screamed, “Mummy! Mummy!” This cute little thing looked at Itamar. It had brown fur, a short tail, long ears, and quivering whiskers.
“Who are you?” asked this little creature.
“I am Itamar.”
“Well, that’s a relief! For a second there, I thought you were a kid!”
“Why? Are you afraid of kids?”
“Yes, and you should be careful too; kids are very dangerous.”
“That’s not true,” said Itamar, somewhat indignantly.
“Yes, it is,” said the little creature with its ears crossing together over its head like scissors. “I was told that they’re very dangerous and that they devour rabbits.”
“They don’t devour anything,” corrected Itamar. “They just eat ordinary food, and sometimes they don’t even have an appetite.”
“They are very bad,” whispered the little brown furry creature, looking around in fear, its eyes as round as saucers. “They are as big as elephants, and they’ve got teeth all over their body - even on their tails! You surely never want to run into one!”
Itamar laughed, “They haven’t got any tails, and they are not as big as elephants! They are just like me - no more, no less.”
“Now wait a minute!” protested the little creature. “How do you know about them? Have you ever seen a kid?”
“I am a kid myself.” Itamar chuckled.
The little creature screamed, its ears trembled, and he started to run towards the forest. Then he stopped and looked back curiously. “You don’t look so bad, actually…”
“I am not bad,” said Itamar.
“And you don’t have any teeth on your body.”
“Only in my mouth,” said Itamar.
“Now I don’t think I am afraid of you anymore. But just to be on the safe side, why don’t you try to scare me? Let’s see if I have overcome my fear of you.”
Itamar screamed and jumped to scare the little thing. But the little thing was not afraid at all. It came closer and sat near Itamar. It even leaned on him.
“Do you think we could we be friends?” asked the rabbit.
“But you never told me who you were,” said Itamar.
“I’m a …. rabbit!”
“A RABBIT????!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Itamar, jumping and starting to run away. Then, he stopped and looked back.
“You don’t seem to be so bad,” said Itamar.
“I am not bad,” said the rabbit.
“And you don’t have many teeth in your body.”
“Only in my mouth,” said the rabbit, showing its teeth.
“Maybe I am not afraid of you after all. Why don’t you try scaring me now? I want to be sure that I am not afraid of you anymore.”
The rabbit screamed and jumped in the air to scare the boy. But Itamar wasn’t scared at all!
“Come, let’s play,” said Itamar.
They talked and played together. The rabbit taught Itamar magical spells against dragons, and how to move its ears. Itamar explained how it’s so difficult to button his shirt especially in the morning when he is in a hurry for school etc.
Then, Itamar’s parents called him. He said goodbye to the rabbit and left. From then on Itamar was no longer afraid of rabbits, and whenever he went to the forest with his parents, he would meet his rabbit friend. And now when he looked at books with rabbit pictures in them, instead of being afraid, he would think about his newly found friend and smile.
David Grossman
Discussion:
3. Have you ever been scared of someone or something in your life that paralyzed you and could not take action?
4. Have you ever disliked someone simply because this person is from a different background or region then after knowing this person closely, you changed your mind?
5. Why are people discriminated against? How can we handle this problem?
Follow up:
1. Work in small groups of 3 or four and create posters showing examples of discrimination.
OR
2. Search other authors who have written on the theme of prejudice and stereotyping. Who are they and what did they say.
LESSON TWO
Listening: “I have a Dream” by MLK.
Materials:
* MLK’s speech on video: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
* Copies of the speech: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Procedure:
Warm up:
Show students the picture bellow and discuss it so that students get enough background knowledge information to understand the context in which the speech was given.
Vocabulary:
Teacher introduces seven key words from the speech.
Listening & Reading 1:
Students will have a copy of the speech so that they read along while listening to the voice of the original speaker and they will be asked to underline parts of the speech where Dr. King raised or lower his voice in order to stress a particular point.
Listening & Reading 2:
Discussion:
1. Why did Dr King raise and lower his voice there?
2. What other techniques did he use?
3. Metaphor is used a lot in MLK’s speech, why so? Give examples.
4. What other civil right movement leaders do you know worldwide? Did they succeed to make their dream come true?
Follow up:
Work in pairs or group of three to create a speech to raise people’s awareness to an issue you think is urgent.
LESSON THREE
Literature Circle: To Kill a Mocking Bird
In literature circles, students work in groups of 4-6 to critically discuss a book, or a story, using the protocols of literature circles. The ‘student director’ or ‘discussion leader’ leads group discussion so they share thoughts, concerns and their understanding of the events of the book, in this case, To Kill a Mocking Bird. Each student is assigned a role.
Materials:
* The novel: “To kill a Mocking Bird”
* Notes on each student’s role as bellow.
Literature Circle Roles
Discussion Leader: Your job is to keep the discussion going, to make sure there are not silences, not gaps in the conversation. You should come to the meeting with at least five "thinking" questions to ask in case the conversation slows down. These "thinking" questions should be designed to get people in your group thinking about issues and topics in your reading. They should not be "recall" questions that ask for facts from the book. You are also in charge of keeping the discussion focused so that things don't wander too far from the main topic, which is the book
Question #1
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Is this question designed to get people thinking?
What connections do you anticipate your group members will make as a result of this question?
Summarizer: Your job is to write and then present a summary of the events that happened in the passage that the group decided to read prior to the meeting. Using your written summary as your guide, you will remind people in your group what the passage was about. In addition to writing and presenting your summary, you will need to bring a thinking question to the group, a question that prompts the others to think beyond the facts of the passage. It is also your job to look for places where you disagree with others in your group.
Journaler: Your job is to quickly sketch key scenes in the passage you read prior to your meeting and to explain what is going on in those scenes and why you think those scenes are important. You will also need to bring a thinking question to the group, a question that prompts the others to think beyond the facts of the passage. It is also your job to look for places where you disagree with others in your group.
Word Smith: Your job is to find between five and seven words that are new or interesting to you. You will need to define each word, tell the part of speech (choose the part of speech that is used in your passage), relay the origin of the word, and copy the passage from the book where the word occurs. You will then lead a discussion within your group about why you and the others think the author chose to use that particular word rather than another for that passage. You will also, with imput from your group, decide which word among the ones you selected should go up on the word wall and, after your meeting is over, you will make a word tile to put on the word wall. You will also need to bring a thinking question to the group, a question that prompts the others to think beyond the facts of the passage. It is also your job to look for places where you disagree with others in your group.
1. Word: _______________________________________________________________
Definition: ____________________________________________________________
Origin of word: _________________________________________________________
Part of speech (as the word is used in your book) ____________________________________
What other words are related to this one? _____________________________________________
Line Lighter: Your task is to find three to five lines or short passages that you think reflect good writing or that are key or important to the story.. You will copy these passages or lines and explain why you believe they are examples of good writing or why you think they are important to the story. You will also need to bring a thinking question to the group, a question that prompts the others to think beyond the facts of the passage. It is also your job to look for places where you disagree with others in your group.
Passage 1:
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why do you think this passage reflects good writing or is key or important to the story?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adapted from: Nancy G. Patterson: http://www.npatterson.net/reading.html
LESSON FOUR.
Reading: The Man at the Well by Tom O’Brian.
Material: Copies of the story.
Warm up:
Students look at the title of the story and jot down what they think the story is all about. Then students share their predictions.
Reading:
Students read the story and stop after each break to make predictions about the story.
Story:
The Man at the Well
He was just an old man, an old Vietnamese farmer. His hair was white, and he was somewhere over seventy years, stooped and hunched from work in the paddies, his spine bent into a permanent, calcified arc. He was blind. His eyes were huge and empty, glistering like aluminum under the sun, cauterized and burnt out. But the old man got around.
In March we came to his well. He stood and smiled while we used the water. He laughed when we laughed. To be ingratiating he said, “Good water for good GI’s.” Whenever there is occasion, he repeated the phrase.
Some children came to the well, and one of them, a little girl with black hair and hoops of steel through her ears, took the old fellow’s hand, helping him about. The kids giggled at our naked bodies. A boy took a soldier’s rifle from out of the mud and wiped it and stacked it against a tree, and the old man smiled.
Alpha Company decided to spend the day in the old man’s village. We lounged inside his hut, and when re-supply choppers brought down cold beer and food, we ate and wasted away the day. The kids administered professional back rubs, chopping and stretching and pushing our blood. They eyed our C rations, and the old blind man helped when he could.
When the wind stopped and the flies became bothersome, we went to the well again. We showered, and the old fellow helped, dipping into the well and yanking up buckets of water and sloshing it over our heads and backs and bellies. The kids watched him wash us. The day was as hot and peaceful as a day can be.
The blind old farmer was showering one of our men. A blustery and stupid soldier, blond hair and big belly, picked up a carton of milk and from fifteen feet away hurled it, for no reason, aiming at the old man and striking him flush in the face. The carton burst. Milk sprayed into the old man’s cataracts. He hunched forward, rocking precariously and searching for balance. He dropped his bucket. His hands went to his eyes then dropped loosely to his thighs. His blind gaze fixed straight ahead, at the stupid soldier’s feet. His tongue moved a little, trying to get at the cut and tasting the blood and milk. No one moved to help. The kids were quit. The old man’s eyes did a funny trick, almost rolling out of his head, out of sight. He was motionless, and finally he smiled. He picked up the bucket and with the ruins of goodness spread over him, perfect gore, he dunked into the well and came up with water, and he began showering the next soldier.
Discussion:
1. Were some of your predictions correct?
2. Why do you think the soldier hurled the carton of milk at the blind man?
3. How do you think the blind man felt?
3. What do you know about the Vietnam War?
4. Are wars necessary?
Follow up:
Work in groups of four to make a two-column graffiti wall. On one column you jot down words that describe the soldiers, on the other you jot down words that describe the soldiers.
LESSON FIVE.
Video: Muslims in America
Material:
The abc video on “muslims in America”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3jZjm8xMwg&NR=1
Warm up:
Brainstorm examples of discrimination
- Teasing, name calling, or using derogatory terms for race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender
- Excluding someone from activities, or ignoring or denying requests based on the requester's race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity
- Sexually, physically or verbally attacking someone (especially with the 'authorities' ignoring, condoning, or even encouraging this behavior)
- Treating someone unfairly in the workplace, public spaces, or educational institutions (for example, denying someone a job or a raise on the basis of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or age)
1. What kind of discrimination is it?
Watch again and discuss:
1. Ask students to think of a time when they or someone they care about was treated unfairly or unequally because they were members of some specific group. Ask for volunteers to share these experiences.
2. Ask what strategies and techniques the students might use to confront and combat similar discrimination, if they saw it happening now. Help them identify effective techniques. List their ideas on the board or newsprint. Some ideas include: assertively asking the harasser to stop; standing up for the person who is being discriminated against; distracting everyone with humor; calling someone in authority, etc.
Follow up:
1. Ask students to work in group to make a graffiti wall on the issue of discrimination.
LESSON SIX
Writing: Civil Rights Leaders Worldwide.
Introduction:
Racism, dictatorship, colonization, imperialism, oppression, slavery, poverty, etc all had figures who stood up against them. Most of them lost their lives on the battle-field fighting their cause, others were imprisoned and tortured, and very few lived to witness their dream come true. Who are some of these people? What causes did they fight for? Did they succeed? Why not?
Task:
Work in pairs and search books and/or the internet for real-life civil rights leaders who fought for equality ; well-known or less known but who have made equal contributions to the civil rights movement in one way or another. Then, prepare a PowerPoint presentation (8 – 12 slides) or a research paper, or other (approved by the teacher).
Prompts:
Choose one figure to present your findings to the rest of the class.
Give a brief biography of the person, the time and place s/he in which s/he lived
Find meaningful pictures of the leader to include in your presentation.
What was his/her philosophy?
Give some quotations by that leader that reflect how s/he dealt with the issue s/he were confronted with.
Evaluation by peers:
Does the presentation include the following?
LESSON SEVEN
Read Aloud: The Foot Book by Dr Seuss.
Material: “The Foot Book” by Dr Seuss, enough standard size paper for everyone in class, markers and scissors.
Warm up:
Students draw their feet shape on a piece of paper. Then, they decorate it using different footprints of other creatures.
Reading:
Teacher shows the cover of the book “The foot Book” before starting to read it out loud. The teacher may ask a couple of questions linked to the book.
After reading the book which ends exclaiming:
Left foot.
Right foot.
Feet, Feet, Feet.
Oh, how many
Feet you meet!
Discussion:
1. How many feet do you usually meet everyday?
2. Whose feet? (Human feet, animal feet …)
3. What color, shape, size are these feet?
4. The book uses a lot of opposites, do you remember them?
5. Look around you and find more opposites.
Follow up:
Work in pairs to write a book about the different people that you meet every day.
Read Aloud: The Foot Book by Dr Seuss.
Material: “The Foot Book” by Dr Seuss, enough standard size paper for everyone in class, markers and scissors.
Warm up:
Students draw their feet shape on a piece of paper. Then, they decorate it using different footprints of other creatures.
Reading:
Teacher shows the cover of the book “The foot Book” before starting to read it out loud. The teacher may ask a couple of questions linked to the book.
After reading the book which ends exclaiming:
Left foot.
Right foot.
Feet, Feet, Feet.
Oh, how many
Feet you meet!
Discussion:
1. How many feet do you usually meet everyday?
2. Whose feet? (Human feet, animal feet …)
3. What color, shape, size are these feet?
4. The book uses a lot of opposites, do you remember them?
5. Look around you and find more opposites.
Follow up:
Work in pairs to write a book about the different people that you meet every day.
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