Anti-Bias Unit Plan

1.

Unit overview
a.

Title: Respecting Differences

b.

Age Range: 2nd Grade

c.

Big Questions and Related Concepts

Big Question #1:
How are you similar to others and how are you different from others?
Key Concepts: gender, geography, physical appearance, skin color, race, ethnicity, culture,
diversity, similarities, differences, preferences (likes/dislikes), immigration, social identity
Big Question #2:
How can we encourage ourselves and others to respect others differences?
Key Concepts: racism, acceptance, discrimination, respect, education, bullying, gender,
diversity, similarities, differences, culture, ethnicity, bystander, ally, perpetrator, target,
immigration

d.

Social Action
The students will plan and organize an assembly for the entire school. They will educate the
rest of the school on the importance of treating others with respect and kindness. The
assembly will feature the Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth, and the students will have
written and communicated with these individuals prior to the event. The students will also
emphasize the importance of respecting differences among others and how differences help
to make each of us unique. The students will pass out bookmarks that they created at the
end of the assembly. On the front of these bookmarks, the students will describe the four
roles (bystander, ally, perpetrator, and target) in their own words and which roles are choices
and which roles are not. On the bottom of the front of the bookmark, students will list a few
tips on how to be a good ally. On the back of the bookmark, students will write about how to
be respectful of others that are different and why this is important. This relates to both of our
big questions and key concepts. The assembly will talk about how there is diversity among us
and will deal with the topics of bullying and respecting others. By bringing in speakers and
putting on a presentation about bullying and respecting others, as well as celebrating
diversity, we hope that students will be less likely to discriminate against others or bully
others; instead, students will accept those different than themselves and treat others kindly.
We also help to empower students to stand up against bullies, even if others are not bullying
them. At the close of the assembly, the class will introduce the school-wide contract on a big
piece of butcher paper. The paper will say I choose to be an ally and each student will sign
their name, pledging to be the ally, as they leave the assembly.
Note: The teacher will have already contacted the principal and gained permission for the
assembly before organizing the assembly with the class. In addition, the teacher will have
also previously contacted the Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth to make sure they can

attend the assembly, before having students write to the organization, to ensure the overall
success of this program.
Key Concepts: Diversity, culture, race, gender, ethnicity, acceptance, community, education,
bullying, respect, kindness, similarities, differences, bystander, ally, target, perpetrator
Related TEKS
Health
(10) Personal/interpersonal skills. The student understands healthy and appropriate ways to
communicate consideration and respect for self, family, friends, and others. The student is expected to:
(D) describe how to effectively respond to bullying of oneself or others; and
(E) explain the benefits of treating friends, teachers, family members, and peers with respect.
Social Studies
(14) Citizenship. The student identifies customs, symbols, and celebrations that represent American
beliefs and principles that contribute to our national identity. The student is expected to:
(D) identify how selected customs, symbols, and celebrations reflect an American love of
individualism, inventiveness, and freedom.
ELA
(3) Reading/Beginning Reading/Strategies. Students comprehend a variety of texts drawing on useful
strategies as needed. Students are expected to:
(A) use ideas (e.g., illustrations, titles, topic sentences, key words, and foreshadowing) to make
and confirm predictions;
(B) ask relevant questions, seek clarification, and locate facts and details about stories and other
texts and support answers with evidence from text; and
(C) establish purpose for reading selected texts and monitor comprehension, making corrections
and adjustments when that understanding breaks down (e.g., identifying clues, using background
knowledge, generating questions, re-reading a portion aloud).
(17) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising,
editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:
(A) plan a first draft by generating ideas for writing (e.g., drawing, sharing ideas, listing key ideas);
(B) develop drafts by sequencing ideas through writing sentences;
(C) revise drafts by adding or deleting words, phrases, or sentences;
E) publish and share writing with others.
(28) Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in
formal and informal settings. Students continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity.
Students are expected to:
(A) listen attentively to speakers and ask relevant questions to clarify information;
(29) Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of
language. Students continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to
share information and ideas that focus on the topic under discussion, speaking clearly at an appropriate
pace, using the conventions of language.
Reading and Comprehension Skills
(F) make connections to own experiences, to ideas in other texts, and to the larger community and
discuss textual evidence.
Technology
(6) Technology operations and concepts. The student demonstrates knowledge and appropriate use of
technology systems, concepts, and operations. The student is expected to:
(C) perform basic software application functions, including opening an application and creating,
modifying, printing, and saving files;

(F) demonstrate keyboarding techniques for operating the alphabetic, numeric, punctuation, and
symbol keys appropriate for Kindergarten-Grade 2 learning;
Math
(11) Probability and statistics. The student organizes data to make it useful for interpreting information.
The student is expected to:
(A) construct picture graphs and bar-type graphs;
(B) draw conclusions and answer questions based on picture graphs and bar-type graphs;
Theatre
(1) Perception. The student develops concepts about self, human relationships, and the environment,
using elements of drama and conventions of theatre. The student is expected to:
(D) role-play, imitate, and recreate dialogue.
(2) Creative expression/performance. The student interprets characters, using the voice and body
expressively, and creates dramatizations. The student is expected to:
(B) role-play in real life and imaginative situations through narrative pantomime, dramatic play,
and story dramatization;
(5) Response/evaluation. The student responds to and evaluates theatre and theatrical performances.
The student is expected to:
(B) react to and begin to evaluate dramatic activities;

2.

Block Plan
Day,

Activities

Materials & Resources

Big Questions, &

Key Concepts
Week 1, Day 1
Big Question #1:
How are you
similar to others
and how are you
different from
others?
Key Concepts:
Diversity, gender,
physical
appearance, skin
color, race,
similarities,
differences,
preferences,
ethnicity, social
identity

We will start with this lesson to help

students develop self-awareness.
The teacher will begin by telling the
students that everyone has many social
identities. Our social identity relates to
how we see ourselves in relation to
others according to what we have in
common, which are similarities. Our
social identity reflects various aspects of
human diversity. Diversity refers to there
being a variety, or a group of people who
are not all the same. Nobody has all of
the same social identities; however,
some of your social identities may be
similar to another persons social
identity.
The teacher will use herself as an
example by telling the students about a
few of her social identities. The teacher
could say that she is a female and a
young-adult. The teacher will then have
the students brainstorm as a class some

Materials:
Construction paper of assorted colors
(pre-cut into flower petals)
Yellow circles cut out and attached to
bulletin board with names
Writing utensils
Bulletin board space
Stapler
Chart paper

Resources:
Open Minds to Equality

other social identities on chart paper. If

the students are struggling with this, the
teacher could ask questions such as
these to help the students brainstorm:

What is something you consider

important about yourself?
What are your interests?
Do you have any siblings? Are
you an older brother/sister?
Younger brother/sister?
What language do you speak?
Do you practice a religion?
What is your race (the color of
your skin)?
What is your physical
appearance?
Where were you born? Different
state? Different city? Different
country?
Did any of your family members
ever live in a different country?
Do you know what your heritage
is?

The students will go back to their tables

and brainstorm individually, as well as
with their table, on what their own social
identities are. Each student will have a
piece of paper to record their social
identities. The teacher will walk around
and help direct students as needed. After
five to ten minutes, the teacher will
introduce the next activity. The teacher
will tell the students that they will each
take at least four pre-cut flower petals
and write one of their social identities on
each petal. The teacher will point to the
bulletin board where there are many
yellow circles, each with a students
name, stapled to the wall. Once students
have picked which social identities they
want to use, they will, with the assistance
of the teacher, staple their petals around
their yellow circles to make a flower.
After students have finished creating
their flowers, the teacher will guide a
discussion with the class. The teacher
will ask students questions, such as:

Which of these identities was

easiest for you to name? Why?
Which of these identities was

http://people.howstuffworks.com/what-issocial-identity.htm

hardest for you to name? Why?

When does one of your identities
stand out for you particularly?
Are some of your identities more
important than others? Do you
think some identities are not
really important in defining who
you are?
Why do you think we have more
than one social identity?
Did you share a lot of social
identities with one person? Was
there someone with whom you
did not share a lot of social
identities?

The teacher will inform students that she

will leave some extra flower petals on the
table by the bulletin board. During the
next few weeks, students will have the
opportunity to add to or change their
flowers, as the lessons address specific
social identities.
Assessment: The teacher will use the
flower petals and group discussions as
informal assessments.
*Lesson adapted from Open Minds to
Equality, p. 85-86

At the end of the day, the teacher will

give students a handout and a letter to
the parents to take home and return by
Wednesday. The handout will ask for
students to talk to an adult in their family
and explore their heritage. Students will
list the places they have lived and for
how long, find out what country their
family originated from, identify any
additional languages their family
members speak, and explain why their
family immigrated to the United States, if
applicable. The letter will explain the
purpose of the activity to the parents.

Handout
Letter to parents

Week 1, Day 2

Activity #1:

Materials:

Big Question #1:

How are you
similar to others

The teacher will remind students that

they talked about some of their many
social identities the day before. The

The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

White bottle cap

and how are you

different from
others?

Key Concepts:
Race, skin color,
physical
appearance,
similarities,
differences, social
identity, diversity

teacher will ask students to give some of

the social identities that they used for the
activity. After a sufficient number of
responses, the teacher will inform the
students that today they will be focusing
on the social identity of race. The
teacher will ask students if they know
what race is. The teacher will help guide
students to the understanding that race
can refer to the color of their skin.

Colorations Color Like Me Washable

Multicultural Paint
Paintbrushes
Yarn for hair
Markers
White construction paper

The teacher will say that she either saw

some students list a social identity as
being white or black, or that she has
heard students refer to their skin colors
as white or black. The teacher will ask
students to raise their hands if they
consider themselves to be white. The
teacher will then pass around a white
bottle cap and ask these students if their
skin color is the same as this white cap.
The teacher will ask students to consider
what their skin color is as she reads the
book, The Colors of Us.
After reading the book, the teacher will
ask the students questions such as:

Glue
Scissors
Mirrors (at least one per table)
Exit slip
Writing utensils

Resources:
Open Minds to Equality

Have you ever thought of your

skin color like Lenas mom did?
What were some of the colors
that Lena described her friends
as?
Do you prefer using these skin
color descriptors to the words
white and black?

The teacher will then grab the paints and

have students circle up on the floor. The
teacher will have each student come up
to the front of the room and she will help
each student find out which paints,
mixed together, create his or her skin
color. Students will have the opportunity
to walk around the circle and show their
classmates their paint mixture. Now,
instead of just staying students are
white or black, students will then be
able to refer to themselves as
cinnamon or a mixture of almond and
caramel.
The teacher will then introduce the next

Starting Small: Teaching Tolerance in

Preschool and the Early Grades (DVD)

activity, which involves students making

self-portraits. Students will go back to
their desks and each student will get a
white piece of construction paper. There
will be at least one mirror at each table,
different colors of yarn for students to
use as hair, and paint brushes. Students
should already have glue, scissors, and
markers. The students will be able to use
their newly discovered skin color paint
mixture to paint in their faces. Students
can use the mirrors to analyze their facial
features to complete their self-portraits
with markers. When students are
finished, they will set their self-portraits
on the back table to dry. The teacher will
hang these self-portraits up later.
The teacher will then have a group
discussion with the students, asking
questions such as:

What do you think about your

new skin color descriptor? Do
you like it? Does it describe you
better?
How many of you had to use
multiple colors? Why do you
think some people needed more
than one color?

The teacher will then tell students that if

they want to change a flower petal
relating to race, or even add their new
skin color descriptor, they can do so for
the next few minutes.
Assessment: Before leaving the room for
specials, the students will fill out an exit
slip answering the following question: Do
you think using these new skin color
descriptors is better than saying
someone is simply white or black?
Why or why not?
*Painting activity adapted from Starting
Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool
and the Early Grades (DVD)
Materials:

Activity #2:

Promethean board

After returning from specials, the class

will move on to math. The teacher will
say that she is curious as to how many
students used each color for their skin
color mixture. She will ask the students
what would be a good way to visualize
and represent the different numbers. The
teacher will help guide the students to
recognize that a bar graph would be a
good way to visualize the different
numbers for each of the colors.

Flipchart with interactive bar graph

feature

The teacher will pull up a flipchart with

an interactive bar graph feature. The
different colors will already be on the xaxis of the graph. The teacher will go
through each of the colors and ask
students to raise their hands if their skin
color mixture contained the color she
calls out. After counting the number of
students for each color, the teacher will
adjust the bar to reflect the correct
number of students. After the class has
gone through each color, the teacher will
ask questions such as these:

Which color was the most

common?
Which color was the least
common?
What is the difference between
the most common and least
common color?

The teacher will then have the students

go back to their desks and work with
their tables to create their own bar
graphs. Each student will have their own
worksheet and each table will work
together to graph the colors used at each
table. The teacher will walk around and
monitor the students, guiding them as
needed. After sufficient time, the teacher
will have each group come to the front
and present their graph on the projector.
The students will have to report which
colors were the most frequent among
their groups and which color at their
group was the least common. The
students will also share which students
at their tables had the most colors in
common with them and the least number
of colors in common with them.

Worksheet for bar graphs

Writing utensils

Assessment: The students will turn in

their worksheets to be graded. At the
bottom of the worksheet will be a few
questions that the students will answer
after presenting their graphs to the class.
The questions are:

Week 1, Day 3
Big Question #1:
How are you
similar to others
and how are you
different from
others?
Key Concepts:
Race, skin color,
ethnicity, culture,
heritage,
geography,
diversity,
similarities,
differences,
immigration

How many colors were

represented at your table?
Which color was the second
most common at your table?

The teacher will begin the lesson by

asking students what they talked about
yesterday regarding skin color. The
teacher will ask questions such as:

Materials:
Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
World map

Why is it better to use words

such as cinnamon and
almond instead of simply
black and white?
Did you like having a more
descriptive skin color yesterday?
Why or why not?

Push pins
Sticky tabs
Bulletin board

The teacher will read Whoever You Are

to the class. During the reading, the
teacher will occasionally point to a
character in the book and ask the
students how they would describe that
characters skin color using words from
the day before.

Filled out heritage worksheet

After reading the book, the teacher will

tell students that just as they learned
more about skin color and race the day
before, today they will be learning more
about heritage, or where their family
comes from. The teacher will have
students pull out their worksheets they
completed and bring them to the front of
the room. The teacher will have a world
map set up on a bulletin board in the
room. The teacher will say that while all
of the class lives in America at the
moment, most peoples families came to
America from a different country. People
move to America, or immigrate, for many
reasons. The teacher will ask the
students to share some of the reasons
their families moved to America. The
teacher will be sure to stress the
concepts of freedom in America and how
America hosts many different ethnicities.

Resources:

Writing journal
Writing utensils

Anti-Bias Study Guide

Open Minds to Equality

The teacher will ask students if they

know what ethnicity is. If not, the teacher
will explain, or guide, students to the
understanding that ethnicity refers to the
geographic, historical, and cultural roots
of their families. The teacher can give an
example, stating that her moms family
came from Germany while her dads
family came from Ireland. She has two
different ethnic identities, as she is a
mixture of both German and Irish. The
teacher will explain that culture can refer
to the way of life of a group of people,
which can include language, religion,
holidays, communication, beliefs, and
food.
The teacher will then explain that the
class will be representing the students
different heritages up on the board. Each
student will have a chance to come up to
the bulletin board one by one and use
push pins to identify their family heritage
on the world map, with the help of the
teacher. A sticky tab will be wrapped
around each pin with the students name
on the tab. After each student has had a
chance to locate their family heritage on
the map, the teacher will ask a few
questions which may include:

How many peoples families

originated in America?
Does anything surprise you
about the map?
Is there a country on the map in
which many students had a
similar heritage?
Who has the most unique
heritage and in what country?
Who are some people with
whom you shared the same
heritage?
Who are some people with
whom you did not share a similar
heritage?
What does this map tell you
about most of the people living in
America right now?

Assessment: Students will write a

reflection of the activity in their writing
journal and be assessed based on their
understanding of the lesson. Students

Week 1, Day 4
Big Question #1:
How are you
similar to others
and how are you
different from
others?

will discuss something they learned from

the map and discussion and something
that surprised them.
The teacher will begin the lesson by
reviewing what students learned
yesterday. The teacher will ask the
students questions such as:

Key Concepts:
Race, skin color,
ethnicity, culture,
heritage,
preferences,
diversity,
similarities,
differences

What are some reasons that

people have moved to America
from other countries?
Do you consider America to be
diverse? Why or why not?

The teacher will then say that diversity

can take many forms. The teacher will
tell students that she wants students to
pay special attention to the similarities
and differences of the people in the book
she is about to read. The teacher will
read The Colors of the Rainbow. After
reading the book, the teacher will lead
the class in a group discussion, asking
questions such as:

What were some similarities

between the people in the book?
What were some differences
between the people in the book?
Do you think some of the people
in the book came from different
cultures? How could you tell?
Did everyone look the same or
like the same things? Do you
think this is okay?
What would the world be like if
everyone was exactly the same?

The teacher will explain that in this next

activity, students will see how they are
similar and different from one another.
The teacher will read off from a list of
words, and ask students to stand up if
they like what she reads off or if the
statement describes them. Some
examples of statements may include
boy, girl, student, seven years old, eight
years old, athlete, sister, brother,
daughter, and son. In addition, the
teacher may ask students if they like
pizza, enjoy Mexican food, have traveled
to a foreign country, can speak another
language, or if they practice a religion.
Especially at the beginning, the teacher

Materials:
The Colors of the Rainbow by Jennifer
Moore-Mallinos
Exit slip
Writing utensils
List of statements, likes, dislikes, etc.

Resources:
Anti-Bias Study Guide

will stress that if students are standing

up, they are similar to the other students
standing up and that if students are
sitting down, they are similar to the other
students sitting down. In addition, the
teacher will emphasize that the students
standing up are different from the
students sitting down regarding either a
statement about them or a like or dislike.
After a sufficient amount of time with this
activity, the teacher will engage the
students in a discussion, asking
questions such as:

Did anyone stand up or sit down

at the same time as another
peer every single time?
Were there some people you
were more similar to?
Were there some people you
were very different from?
Can you be friends with people
that you were different from?
Why or why not?

The teacher will ask students to think

about what they have learned the entire
week and to fill out the exit slip before
going to lunch.

Week 1, Day 5
Big Question #2:
How can we
encourage
ourselves and
others to respect
others
differences?
Key Concepts:
Physical
appearance,
acceptance,
discrimination,
similarities,
differences

Assessment: The students should write a

paragraph on the exit slip addressing the
following question: How are you similar
to and different from a student in the
class? List many ways, if possible.
The teacher will begin the lesson by
asking students the following questions:

What were some of the ways

that you said in your exit slips
yesterday that you were similar
to and different from another
person?
Since you are not exactly the
same as those people and may
like different things, does that
make you better or worse than
them?

The teacher will ask the students to

reflect on the last question as she reads
the book, The Sneetches. After reading
the book, the teacher will engage the
students in a group discussion, asking

Materials:
The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr.
Seuss
Green construction paper circles
Tape
Chart paper and pen to write privileges

Resources:
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/antiracism-activity-sneetches

questions such as:

How did the Star-Belly

Sneetches look? How did the
Starless Sneetches look?
Why did the Star-Belly
Sneetches think they were better
than the Plain-Belly Sneetches?
Do you think the way the StarBelly Sneetches treated the
Plain-Belly Sneetches was fair?
Why or why not?

The class will make a list of special

privileges, such as extra recess, extra
homework time, extra points for tasks,
lining up first, wearing no shoes, etc.
The teacher will then number the
students off, and the students with even
numbers will stand on one side of the
room while the odd numbered students
will stand on the other side of the room.
The teacher will give each of the even
students a green circle and tape it on
their front side.
For the morning up until lunch time, the
even students with the circles will get
the special privileges. Right before lunch,
the even students will switch with the
odd students, and the odd students will
receive the special privileges and wear
the green circles until the end of the day
while the even students will no longer
have special privileges.
At the end of the day, the odd students
will remove the green circles. The
students will engage in a discussion with
the teacher. The teacher will ask
questions such as:

When you were without a green

circle, how did you feel about the
students with the green circles?
When you had a green circle, did
you feel that you were better
than the students without
circles? Why or why not?
Do you think that looking a
certain way should allow you to
have special privileges? Why or
why not?

How would you feel if some

students in the class got to wear
a green circle every day and
receive special privileges while
you would not receive any
special privileges?
What feelings did you have
during the class activity?
What lessons did you learn?
List three actions you will take to
help everyone feel like they
belong.

Assessment: The teacher will informally

assess students during the group
discussions, checking for understanding
of the moral of the story and the idea that
one person is not better than another
because of his or her differences.
*Lesson adapted from
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/antiracism-activity-sneetches

Week 2, Day 1

Activity #1:

Materials:

Big Question #2:

How can we
encourage
ourselves and
others to respect
others
differences?

The teacher will begin the lesson by

asking students:

Chart paper

Key Concepts:
Target,
perpetrator,
bystander, ally,
similarities,
differences,
bullying, respect,
discrimination,
acceptance

The New Girl (Anti-Bias Study Guide)

What happened in the story The

Sneetches?
Do you think the Star-Belly
Sneetches treated the PlainBelly Sneetches with respect?
Did anybody stand up for the
Plain-Belly Sneetches when the
Star-Belly Sneetches
discriminated against them?
Did this story remind you of
anything that you have
experienced before?

Worksheet with four roles chart

Writing utensils
Crayons
Writing journal

Resources:
The teacher will ask the students to think
about a time when they were in a new
situation with people they did not know.
The teacher will ask the students:

Did you feel welcomed by the

people you did not know?
Was it an uncomfortable
situation for you? Did the people
treat you poorly?

Anti-Bias Study Guide

The teacher will tell students that she is

going to read a story about someone in a
new situation, a girl named Juanita. The
teacher will ask students to see how
others treated Juanita and to think about
how they would feel if they were in
Juanitas shoes. The teacher will read
The New Girl (Anti-Bias Study Guide p.
231). After reading the story, the teacher
will ask students several questions,
including:

How did you feel listening to this

story?
Do you think events like the one
in this story really happen?
Explain your thinking or give an
example.
What do you think Juanita meant
when she said she felt
invisible? Have you ever felt
that way? Explain.
Were the other characters in this
story treating Juanita with
respect? Why or why not?
How would you have treated
Juanita? Would you have
welcomed her or would you have
ignored her because she was
different?

The teacher will then pull out a piece of

chart paper and draw a square chart,
dividing the square into four boxes. The
teacher will label the boxes target,
perpetrator, bystander, and ally. The
teacher will write the definition of each
term under the word, and go over each
definition with the class.
Target: someone who is the focus of
mistreatment
Perpetrator: someone who says or does
something against another person
Bystander: someone who sees
something happening and does not say
or do anything
Ally: someone who speaks out on behalf
of someone else
After reviewing the terms, the teacher

will ask questions such as:

What does the word target

mean?
Was there a target in the story?
If so, who was it?
What does the word
perpetrator mean?
Was/were there a perpetrator(s)
in this story? If so, who?
What does it mean to be a
bystander?
Was there a bystander(s) in this
story? If so, who?
Have you heard the word ally
before? If so, how was it used?
What does it mean to be an ally?
Was there an ally in this story? If
so, who? What did this person
do?
Which of the four roles do
people get to choose?
Which of the four roles do
people have no choice about?
Have you ever been in any of
these four roles? All of these
roles?

The teacher will write no choice under

target and choice under ally, bystander,
and perpetrator. The teacher will leave
this chart on the wall for the remainder of
the week. The teacher will have students
go back to their desks and fill out a
worksheet on the four roles. There will
be four pre-labeled boxes, and the
teacher will ask the students to draw a
picture about each of the roles. Students
should try their best to think of a situation
they have been in and use that for their
drawing; however, if students cannot
think of a past experience, students
should brainstorm a potential situation
and depict that.
The teacher will then have students
come to the front of the classroom to
engage in one last class discussion.
Some questions may include:

What were some of your past

experiences in the bystander
role? Do you wish you had acted
differently?

When have you been an ally to

someone?
Have you ever been a
perpetrator? Do you wish you
had treated that person in a
different way?
Have you ever been the target?
How did that make you feel?
What are some different reasons
people may be targeted? Do you
think it is fair for others to target
people for those reasons?
Why do you think perpetrators
target other people?

The teacher will ask students to continue

to think about all of these questions. The
teacher will then have students write in
their writing journals for the assessment.
Assessment: How can you be an ally for
others? Give a few situations and
examples.
*Lesson adapted from Anti-Bias Study
Guide, p. 230-232
Activity #2:
The teacher will ask the students to
share some of the ways they can be
allies. The teacher will introduce the idea
that students can be an ally to others by
helping to inform others about bullying
and discrimination. The teacher will ask
the students what they would tell others
about this topic and how they could help
to prevent bullying and the mistreatment
of others by educating the school. After
some discussion, the teacher will
propose the idea that the students
should host an assembly for the entire
school. The teacher will ask students
how they could let the classes know
about this assembly and will guide
students to answer that they should write
to the classes. The teacher will also say
that she knows about a great
organization in Fort Worth, the
Multicultural Alliance, that could come
and talk at the assembly, but that the
class would need to invite and ask this
organization to come. The students will
come up with the idea of writing to the

Materials:
Promethean board
Flipchart
Paper
Writing utensils

Resources:
http://www.mcatexas.com/Home.aspx

organization. The teacher will tell the

students that as a class they can all write
to the organization, while each student
can write a letter to a different class at
the school.
The teacher will use a flipchart to help
students brainstorm on what they need
to say in their letter to the organization.
The students will identify the key ideas
they want to include in the letter. The
class will decide what order would make
the most sense for the format. The class
will begin to write a rough draft of the
letter together, making sure to get their
point across in a polite manner.
Components of the letter should include
a salutation, an introduction, the
purpose/request, and a closing.
After working as a class on the rough
draft for the letter to the organization, the
teacher will have students go back to
their seats and write rough drafts for
each of the classes. Before students
begin writing, the teacher will have the
students brainstorm together what they
should say in their letters. For example,
the purpose of the assembly, why it
would be beneficial, and the date of the
assembly (the following Friday).
Students will be given time to work on
their letters and go through the
brainstorming process and then work on
their rough drafts.
The teacher will inform students that the
next day they will revise their letters.
Assessment: Todays assessment will be
based upon participation.

Week 2, Day 2

Homework: The teacher will give

students a worksheet to take home and
complete with their parents. The top of
the worksheet will have a note to the
parents explaining the purpose of this
activity. The activity will ask parents to
tell their children why they chose their
name, whether there is a story behind it
or whether they just liked that name. The
students should return this worksheet the
next day.
Activity #1:

Materials:
worksheet

Materials:

Big Question #2:

How can we
encourage
ourselves and
others to respect
others
differences?
Key Concepts:
Bullying,
bystander,
perpetrator, ally,
target,
similarities,
differences,
respect,
acceptance,
diversity, culture

The teacher will ask students to recall

what the four roles they learned about
yesterday are. The teacher will ask
students to briefly expand on and explain
each of the roles.
The teacher will tell the class that they
will be reading two stories. She will ask
the students to think about each of the
four roles as she reads the books and to
also think about if someone is being
targeted and why.
The teacher will read The Name Jar.
During the reading, the teacher will
check for comprehension by asking
questions, asking students to summarize
pages, and requesting students to make
predictions. Questions could include:

What just happened?

Why do you think Unhei is
embarrassed?
Do you think Unhei will pick a
new name?

After reading the story, the teacher will

lead the class in a further discussion,
asking questions such as:

Why did Unhei want to change

her name at first?
What role did Joey play in
helping Unhei keep her name?
Have you ever been
embarrassed about your name?
Why did Unhei keep her Korean
name?
Do you think her name is more
common in the Korean culture?
Would you want to keep your
name if you moved to a different
country? Why or why not?
Did your parents give you your
name for a special reason?
Do you know what your name
means?

The teacher will then tell the class that

they will all be learning what their names
mean. The teacher will pass out the
class set of iPads and direct students to
http://www.meaning-of-names.com/ and
instruct students to type in their first

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
iPads
White paper
Writing utensils
Markers
Filled out homework worksheet about
name

Resources:
http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/lessons/
how-to-write-an-acrostic-poem/
http://www.meaning-of-names.com/

names. Once everyone has had a

chance to look up their name meaning,
the class will return to the floor. The
teacher will ask everyone to share their
name meaning. The teacher will then say
that she will read another book called
Chrysanthemum.
After reading the book, the teacher will
ask the students to identify which
characters matched the four roles of
perpetrator, ally, target, and bystander.
The teacher will then ask for four
volunteers to act out a scene from the
book. The teacher will assign the four
roles or perpetrator, ally, target, and
bystander. The perpetrator will be
instructed to call the target
Chrysanthemum and to say a
statement about her name similar to one
in the book. The bystander and ally will
be instructed to think about what their
role means and act it out. The class will
watch as the volunteers act out a scene
from the book and demonstrate how an
ally could have intervened and stood up
for Chrysanthemum. After the acting out
of the scene, the teacher will ask for
some other ways that the students could
be allies if they overhear someone being
teased because of their name or any
other reasons.
The teacher will then introduce the next
activity in which students will be writing
an acrostic poem. Each student will be
given a blank piece of paper and will
write his or her name down vertically on
the paper. Students will then brainstorm
words or phrases that describe them as
a person and that start with each letter of
their name. At the bottom of their paper,
students will get to write the story behind
their name/why their parents named
them that and/or the meaning of their
name. The teacher will hang these up in
the hallway afterwards.
To wrap up the lesson, the teacher will
lead the class in a group discussion.
Some questions may include:

How were the feelings Unhei

and Chrysanthemum

experienced similar? How were

they different?
What would it be like if we all
had the same name?
Is your name more special to
you now that you know either the
story behind your naming or the
meaning of your name?
How would you feel if someone
made fun of your name?
How can we respect people with
names different than our own?

Assessment: The acrostic poem will be

used as the assessment. Students will
receive full credit by including all
components: name with descriptive
words and the meaning of their name
and/or the story behind their naming.
Activity #2:
The teacher will remind students that the
day before they began writing letters to
the Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth
and to the different classes. The teacher
will tell students that today they will be
revising these letters to make sure they
are ready to be sent. The teacher will
provide a checklist for the students to
look at and utilize when revising their
letters. The checklist includes: salutation,
introduction, purpose, date of assembly,
closing, and signature. The teacher will
model how to use the checklist when
they revise the class letter. The teacher
will go through the rough draft with the
students and together consider if some
words can be removed or if other words
should be added. The class will make
sure all components of the checklist are
included in the class letter. The teacher
will then type up the letter in front of the
class and email the letter to the
Multicultural Alliance.
The students will then go back to their
seats and revise their papers while
utilizing the checklist. Once students
have finished revising their letters and
completing the checklists, they will raise
their hand and the teacher will come to
look at their letter. Once everyones letter
has been approved, the class will go
down to the computer lab and type their

Materials:
Promethean board
Flipchart
Checklist
Rough draft letters
Computer lab (Microsoft Word, printer,
etc.)
Email

letters. The teacher will go through the

steps on how to save the letters to the
computer, and the class will then type
their letters. Once students think they are
finished, they will raise their hand and
get approval from the teacher to print.
After everyone has printed their letters,
the class will go to the office and put the
letters in each of the teachers boxes.
The students will turn in their written
letters and checklists to the teacher.

Week 2, Day 3
Big Question #2:
How can we
encourage
ourselves and
others to respect
others
differences?

Assessment: The teacher will use the

written copy of each students letter and
his or her checklist to assess the
students understanding of the writing
process and components.
The teacher will begin by asking
students questions such as:

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

Key Concepts:
Bullying,
bystander,
perpetrator, ally,
target,
similarities,
differences,
respect,
acceptance,
diversity, race,
gender

Materials:

Do you remember what

Chrysanthemum was teased
about?
What are the four roles we have
been talking about this week?
Have you ever been teased or
told you cannot do something
because you are a boy or a girl?

The teacher will hold up the cover of

Amazing Grace and have students make
predictions on what they think the story
will be about. The teacher will read
Amazing Grace. During the reading, the
teacher will model her thinking in a few
places. For example, when the text says
Grace kept her hand up, the teacher
could say Wow. It seems like Grace
doesnt let other people change her
mind. She seems to be very determined
and self-confident.
After finishing the story, the teacher will
ask students to give their reactions. The
teacher will also ask some questions,
like:

Were your predictions on what

the book was about correct?
What role did Natalie play? Did
she play multiple roles?
Were any other roles present in
the book?
What did you think of Grace?

Worksheet
Writing utensils

Resources:
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroomresources/lesson-plans/talk-aboutstories-shared-57.html?tab=4#session1

What surprised you the most

about this book?

The teacher will call on five volunteers

(different from the day before) to partake
in acting out a scene from the book (two
perpetrators, one bystander, one target,
and one ally). For example, a scene that
could be acted out is when Grace is told
she cannot be Peter Pan because she is
a girl and African American. The five
volunteers will act out the scene and the
ally will address the perpetrators and
target. The teacher will ask the students
how they would encourage the
perpetrators to respect Grace. The
teacher will tell the students that Grace is
told she cannot be Peter Pan because
she is different from the original
character, as she is African American
and a girl. The teacher will tell students
that just because someone is different
does not mean they are any less
capable. The teacher will ask the
students if they have ever been told they
could not do something because they
were different. Students will be
encouraged to elaborate on the situation
and talk about how it made them feel.
The teacher will ask students if there are
some things that people think boys are
more fit to do than girls, and that girls are
more fit to do than boys. Examples may
include sports, cooking, teaching, liking
certain colors, and being President. The
teacher will ask the students if they think
being a certain gender makes them
better. The teacher will also ask if they
think the opposite gender is better,
worse, or equal at doing some things.
The teacher will tell students that in the
past, and still today, people have been
judged because of the color of their skin.
African Americans used to have to drink
from separate water fountains, eat at
separate restaurants, and ride in
different parts of buses. The teacher will
say that although a lot of this has
changed, some people still think they are
better than others because of the color of
their skin. The teacher will give an
example that in a few places, separate
dances are held and you cannot attend if

you have a different skin color. The

teacher will ask some questions such as:

Do you think it is fair to exclude

someone because they have a
different skin color?
How would you feel if you could
not do something because of the
color of your skin?
If you were on the playground
and someone said that only
people with cinnamon skin
color can play on the swings,
what would you do? If you had
cinnamon skin, would you say
anything to that person? What
would you say if you didnt have
cinnamon skin?

Assessment: The students will be given

a worksheet, complete with true/false
statements for the students to answer.
Some statements could include:

Only boys can be President.

Having a certain skin color does
not make you better than
someone else.
The perpetrator is always
respectful.

At the bottom of the worksheet, the

students will write a few sentences on
the benefits of being respectful towards
others and being an ally.

Week 2, Day 4
Big Question #2:
How can we
encourage
ourselves and
others to respect
others
differences?

*Portions of the lesson adapted from

www.readwritethink.org/classroomresources/lesson-plans/talk-aboutstories-shared-57.html?tab=4#session1
The teacher will ask students:

Why was Grace told she could

not try out to be Peter Pan?
How do you feel about people
telling you what you can and
cannot do based on your
physical appearance, your
gender, your skin color, or where
you are from?
What are some of the benefits
you identified for being

Materials:
Who Belongs Here: An American Story
by Margy Burns Knight
Writing utensils
Paper
World map with pins from previous week

Key Concepts:
Bullying,
bystander,
perpetrator, ally,
target,
similarities,
differences,
respect,
acceptance,
diversity, race,
gender, ethnicity,
heritage,
geography,
immigration,
education

respectful towards others and

being an ally?
Resources:
The teacher will tell the students that
today they will be revisiting the idea of
heritage and ethnicity. The teacher will
ask the students to refresh her memory
on what the words heritage and
ethnicity refer to. The teacher will then
begin to read Who Belongs Here: An
American Story. Since questions are
provided on most pages, the teacher will
ask these questions to students and
engage in a little discussion as the book
is read. Once the teacher gets to page
that asks what would happen if everyone
who had ancestors from another country
had to leave America, she will stop after
reading that page. The teacher will really
consider this question with the students
and will ask how many students would
be left in the classroom if they looked at
everyones heritage. The teacher will
redirect students to the map on the
bulletin board. The class will analyze the
map and see how many people, if any,
have pins on the United States. The
teacher will guide students to realize that
anyone whose pin is not on the United
States would have to leave under this
hypothetical situation. The teacher will
say out of the 316 million people living in
the United States, the majority
immigrated, or moved, to the United
States at some point from another
country. The teacher will tell the class
that Native Americans are the only
people who live in the United States who
have never immigrated to the United
States. The teacher will say that out of
the entire United States population, only
about 1.2% are Native American only,
which is only 3.8 million out of over 316
million people in the United States. The
teacher will tell the students that those
who may have some Native American
heritage as well as European heritage
would have to leave under this situation
since part of their heritage is not rooted
in the United States.
The teacher will then finish reading the
book. Afterwards, she will engage the
class in a discussion:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00
000.html

How would you feel if you moved

to another country and people
told you to go back home?
Why did Nary have to move to
America?
What are some ways we can
show respect to Narys ethnicity
and heritage?
Do you think the kids who were
being mean to Nary all have
Native American heritage? Why
would it be wrong of these
students to be telling Nary to go
home?
Do you think it is right to treat
someone differently just because
they come from a different
country? Why or why not?
How should our class treat
students who may be new to the
school, whether moving from a
different state or country?

The teacher will then gather some

volunteers to act out a scene from the
story, with the perpetrators telling Nary to
go back home. There should be at least
one perpetrator, bystander, ally, and a
target.
The teacher will ask students what they
would do if they heard someone making
fun of a recent immigrant or telling them
that they should go back home. The
class will brainstorm statements they
could use and how to educate the
perpetrators on this issue.
Assessment: The student will take on the
role of an ally for Nary. The student will
pretend someone named Bob is making
fun of Nary and telling him to go back
where he came from. The students
should write down what they would say
to Bob when they are being an ally to
Nary.

Week 2, Day 5
Big Question #2:
How can we
encourage
ourselves and
others to respect

The teacher will begin by reviewing

concepts from the previous day, asking
questions such as:

Do you think you are better than

someone who comes from a

Materials:
One of Us by Peggy Moss
Writing journal

others
differences?

Key Concepts:
Bullying,
bystander,
perpetrator, ally,
target,
similarities,
differences,
respect,
acceptance,
diversity,
ethnicity,
heritage,
immigration,
preferences,
race, gender

different place than you? Why or

why not?
How can you help to stand up for
someone who is being bullied
because of their ethnicity or
because they recently moved
here?

The teacher will shift more to the focus of

the day by asking the question: Have
you ever felt like you belonged to only
one certain group of people? The
teacher will then read the book One of
Us. While reading the book, the teacher
will periodically pause and ask students
to say something about what happened
either on that page or up to that point in
the book. Some questions the teacher
could also ask include:

How do you think Roberta felt

when Carmen told her that she
was one of them?
How do you think Roberta felt in
the cafeteria when she couldnt
figure out what group to sit with?
Why was she having such a
hard time deciding?

After reading the book, the teacher will

engage in a discussion with the students,
asking questions like:

Is it okay to hang out with others

who do not share similar likes or
similar appearances with us?
Can you hang out with more
than one group of people?
What are some ways to include
people who are different than
you?
What makes a good friend? Did
it make sense for some of the
girls in the book to only want to
hang out with girls with
ponytails? Do ponytails have
anything to do with being a good
friend or person?

The teacher will ask for a few new

volunteers to come up to the front to act
out a scene similar to one in the book
using the four roles. The plot will be that
Roberta is hanging out with the ponytail

Writing utensils
Scenario slips

girls and a girl named Carlene comes up,

without a ponytail, and wants to play with
the group; however, the ponytail girls do
not want Carlene to play with them. In
this situation, Roberta will be the ally.
After the students have finished acting
this out, the teacher will ask a few
questions such as:

Do you think Roberta was a

good ally? Why or why not?
Can you think of any other ways
Roberta could have been a good
ally? What else could Roberta
have said?

The teacher will inform students that they

will be working with their tables to act out
a scenario using the four roles. The
teacher will hand each group a slip of
paper introducing the scenario. Each
group will have a different scenario and
these will cover the topics from this week
(gender, race, preferences, ethnicity, and
differences). The number of
tables/groups in the class will determine
the number of scenarios used. The
groups will be given a sufficient amount
of time to assign the roles and practice
their scenarios. Afterwards, the class will
take turns presenting their scenarios to
the class and fulfilling the four roles.
After each scenario is presented, the
students will have a chance to say what
they liked about the groups choice of
words and other ways the situation could
be addressed.
Assessment: There will be two
assessments. There will be a
participation grade given for acting out
the scenarios for the class. In addition,
students will use their writing journals to
answer the following questions. Students
will be given a little longer than normal to
answer these questions thoroughly:
How can we encourage ourselves and
others to respect others differences?

Week 3Preparing for the

assembly on that

Does it matter if people are different than

you? Explain why or why not.
Students will spend the week preparing
for the assembly, which includes doing

Materials:

Friday

the following:

Key Concepts:
Diversity, culture,
race, gender,
ethnicity,
acceptance,
community,
education,
bullying, respect,
kindness,
similarities,
differences,
bystander, ally,
target, perpetrator

Creating and designing

bookmarks, which includes
further researching the concepts
that will be present on the
bookmarks
Further researching the
Multicultural Alliance in order to
introduce the group
Keeping in contact with the
Multicultural Alliance as well as
the classes in the school to
make sure everyone is attending
Creating the school-wide
contract for everyone to sign at
the assembly

Big piece of butcher paper

Lots of markers
Computers and printer (to make
bookmarks, research, etc.)
Scissors (cutting out butcher paper and
bookmarks)
Email

Resources:
http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/bullyin
g/
http://www.mcatexas.com/Home.aspx
http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/whatyou-can-do/#involved
Anti-Bias Study Guide

Annotated Resources
*Note: Books not used during the lessons will be placed in a special basket in the classroom library for
students to look at and read during free time throughout the unit. If the teacher has extra time during the
day, she can pick out a book from the basket to read aloud to the class.
Text Set #1:
Behrens, J. (2010). We are alike, we are different. Danbury, CT: Childrens Press.
This is a great book that emphasizes how people can be alike and different from each other. The book
mentions many similarities and differences between people such as clothes, skin, hair, food,
transportation, and language. (Grades K-2)
Fox, M. (1997). Whoever you are. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.
Despite many differences, humans from around the world share many similarities such as the ability to
feel pain, cry, and feel joy. (Grades PreK-2)
Katz, K. (1999). The colors of us. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Lenas mom helps her to see that peoples skin colors can be thought of in different shades, making each
person unique. (Grades K-2)
Moore-Mallinos, J. (2005). The colors of the rainbow. Hauppauge, NY: Barrons Educational Series, Inc.
This book celebrates each individual's unique physical characteristics that helps people identify them.
People have characteristics that make them similar and different from each other. This book explores
those similarities and differences in regards to clothes, skin, food, and emotions. (Grades PreK-2)

Spier, P. (1988). People. New York, NY: Doubleday Books for Young Readers.
This book captures the similarities and differences between people. Spier's illustrations show how people
come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. This book embraces not only diversity but also how to live in
a world of respect. (Grades PreK-2)
Text Set #2:
Choi, Y. (2001). The name jar. New York, NY: Dell Dragonfly Books.
Unhei immigrates from Korea to the United States and quickly becomes embarrassed of her name. Unhei
desperately wants to change her name and begins taking suggestions from her classmates. Another boy
in the class starts to learn about her culture and helps Unhei to keep her name. This book deals with
exploring unfamiliar cultures. (Grades K-3)
Dr. Seuss. (1961). The sneetches and other stories. New York, NY: Random House.
Some Sneetches have stars on their bellies and some do not. The Sneetches with the stars treat the
Sneetches without stars differently and think less of them. When someone comes along and allows the
Sneetches without stars to a star, the Sneetches with stars then remove their stars to be special again.
This process continues until the Sneetches no longer have enough money to buy or remove stars, and
the Sneetches realize that having a star or not having a star does not make them any better than one
another. This book touches on the idea that just because someone looks different does not make them
inferior. (Grades K-4)
Green, J. (1998). Dealing with racism. Brookfield, CT: Cooper Beech Books.
This book explains what racism is, the history of racism, and how racism affects people today. The book
also offers good advice for stopping racism. (Grades 1-3)
Hall, P. (2013). A bully-free playground. Minneapolis, MN: Magic Wagon.
The book identifies different types of bullying and how to deal with it. The book would pair nicely with a
lesson on bullying and a role playing activity. The book encourages those who read it to stand up against
bullying. (Grades K-3)
Hall, P. (2013) A bully-free school. Minneapolis, MN: Magic Wagon.
This book addresses many different forms of bullying at school and what to do when you encounter each
form. This book presents different scenarios involving rumors, peer pressure, name-calling, and hitting
and shoving. (Grades K-2)
Henkes, K. (1991). Chrysanthemum. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.
Chrysanthemum thinks her name is absolutely perfect until she goes to school. At school,
Chrysanthemums classmates tease her about her name being too long and her parents naming her after
a flower. Chrysanthemums parents try to soothe her but Chrysanthemum is still distraught; however,
when the class finds out that the new music teacher loves Chrysanthemums name and wants to name
her baby after a flower, and that the music teacher is named after a flower, the students all want to have
flower names as well. This book addresses the idea of being different and how others may tease those
who are different from themselves. The theme of embracing differences is evident in this book. (Grades
K-2)
Hoffman, M. (1991). Amazing Grace. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Grace is an adventurous young girl who loves using her imagination. Grace is excited to have the
opportunity to try out for the role of Peter Pan for the school play. Her classmates tease Grace about
trying out for the role because she is a girl and she is black. This book addresses issues regarding racism
and sexism, teaching children that these factors should not keep them from reaching their dreams.
(Grades 1-3)
Knight, M.B. (1996). Who belongs here: An American story. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House.
Nary just moved to the United States from Cambodia. He is not accepted by many of his classmates, who
call him names and think he should return to where he came from. This book explores the fact that the
United States is a nation comprised of immigrants and the concept of embracing diversity. (Grades 1-6)
Lester, J. (2005). Lets talk about race. New York, NY: Amistad.
This book talks about each human having a story. The book talks about how race is only a small
component of who you are. The book suggests that we should get to know other people and their stories
instead of forming biases and prejudices against them. (Grades 1-3)
Moss, P. (2010). One of us. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House.
This book explains how students can be friends with each other even if they do not do the exact same
things, or have different like and dislikes. Roberta James is going to her first day of school at Baker
School. Roberta learns that she belongs to several groups including straight-up hair girls, monkey bar
kids, flowered lunch-box students, and students who eat pita roll ups. However, Roberta felt as if she
didnt completely belong to each group of students because she didnt do the exact same things as the
other students. Roberta was beginning to feel like she didnt fit in anywhere. Then she meets a group of
students who are different from each other and they like it that way. (Grades K-3)
Thomas, P. (2003). The skin I'm in...A first look at racism. Hauppauge, NY: Barrons Educational Series,
Inc.
This is a great book for addressing bullying and racism. It explains different ways people are racist and
bully others. This book shows the reader how racism is still prevalent in today's society. (Grades K-3)
Tutu, A. D. (2012). Desmond and the very mean word. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Some boys keep calling Desmond a very mean word, and Desmond gets very upset. He talks to Father
Trevor about his problem, and initially, Desmond does not want to forgive the boys and desires to get
back at them. Father Trevor tells Desmond this is a bad idea that will turn into both sides constantly
getting back at one another; however, it is not until Desmond is mean to the boys and feels guilty that he
realizes retaliation is not the answer. When Desmond finally apologizes to one of the bullies for what he
said, the other boy also is regretful and Desmond forgives him. Desmonds forgiveness then sparked
kindness in the other boy. This book deals with racism and bullying, and teaches children to treat other
people kindly even when others do not treat them with kindness. (Grades 1-5)
Whelan, G. (2013). In Andals house. Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press.
Kumar is a young boy who lives in India but faces prejudice when he goes to visit a classmate from a
higher caste system. This book addresses bias against socioeconomic status and questions the Caste
System in India. It is a great book for introducing different types of prejudices. (Grades 2-4)
Teacher Resources:
Batiste, D. A. (2000). Anti-bias study guide. E. H. Bettmann (Ed.). New York, NY: Anti-Defamation
League.

ADL provides lessons and activities that help students to recognize their own value and also deals with
bias issues such as discrimination. Teachers can adapt materials from this guide for lessons to address
various biases.
Schniedewind, N. & Davidson, E. (2006). Open minds to equality: A sourcebook of learning activities to
affirm diversity and promote equality. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
This book is a great resource to teachers regarding teaching lessons confronting biases students
encounter in and out of the classroom. Teachers can adapt materials from this book for lessons to
address various biases.
Teaching Tolerance Project (Producer). (2008). Starting small: Teaching tolerance in preschool and the
early grades [Motion Picture]. (Available from Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington
Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104)
This video documented a teachers activity involving paints. She talked about skin color with the class and
helped students to see that they all have unique skin colors. For example, one student was not white,
but rather peach. This is a great example of a lesson for teachers to address race.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/what-is-social-identity.htm
This is a great site which describes what social identity is in detail. Teachers can use this resource in
order to gain a better understanding on the topic before discussing social identity with the students.
http://www.canr.uconn.edu/ces/acc/PDF/ACCvol1_05.pdf
This PDF file comes from the University of Connecticut. It provides several examples of activities and
ways teachers can encourage their students to celebrate diversity. This is a resource for teachers to use
for lesson activities and general interactions involving cultural biases.
http://glsen.org/nonamecallingweek/elementary
This website belongs to GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. This particular link
includes many lesson plans dealing with bullying and biases. Teachers can use this website to pull lesson
plans dealing with bullying or certain biases.
http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit192/lesson3.html
This website includes a lesson plan option about skin color. The purpose of the lesson is to show that
although we all have different skin colors we are similar in other ways. This is a resource for teachers to
use for the classroom in order to address race.
http://www.mcatexas.com/Home.aspx
This website belongs to the Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth. The goal of this organization is to
eliminate bias and promote inclusion and diversity. This website gives information on how to request a
speaker to come and talk to a group about different types of biases and how to have respect for
differences. The teacher could use this resource to secure the speakers for the assembly.
http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/lessons/how-to-write-an-acrostic-poem/
This website details how to write an acrostic poem and describes what an acrostic poem is. There are
also examples of acrostic poems included. This resource is helpful for teachers to get some ideas on
acrostic poems and ensure that they fully understand what an acrostic poem is. The teacher will utilize
this resource when she tells students how to make an acrostic poem about their names so that students
can learn to appreciate everyones unique names and qualities.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

This page is from the United States Census Bureau. Facts about the United States are included on this
page, such as the entire national population and different ethnic populations. The teacher can use this
resource during the second week on the lesson about ethnicity and heritage. By giving an approximate
total population and then how much of that population is Native American, the teacher can help students
to understand how most people in the United States have a heritage rooted in another country.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/talk-about-stories-shared57.html?tab=4#session1
This website has a lesson plan on Amazing Grace. The teacher can adapt this lesson to use in the
classroom for a lesson on sexism and racism.
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/teaching-diversity-place-begin-0
This website provides a guide for teachers who want to begin talking about diversity in their classroom.
This can help address any bias topic of discrimination.
http://www.tolerance.org/
This is a great website from the Southern Law Poverty Center. Teaching Tolerance provides free
materials, aimed at reducing prejudice, to teachers. This website provides many great resources,
including lesson plans dealing with many biases. This is a resource for teachers, and teachers can get
many lesson ideas and lesson plans from this website dealing with different biases.
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/anti-racism-activity-sneetches
This is from the Southern Law Poverty Center, an organization dedicated to reducing prejudice. This
lesson plan involving The Sneetches that deals with discrimination. This is a resource for teachers that
can be used as a lesson in the classroom.
http://www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/dozensuggestions.php
This website provides twelve tips about teaching diversity. This would be a good resource for teachers to
use in the classroom to deal with different biases.
Student Resources:
http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00117/
This website is a great interactive website that encourages students to choose to tolerate and respect
others. There are videos, games, and cartoons to help students learn great ways to respect people who
are different from them. This website teaches students how to combat different biases including gender,
race, ethnicity, and looking different from others.
http://www.mcatexas.com/Home.aspx
This website belongs to the Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth. The goal of this organization is to
eliminate bias and promote inclusion and diversity. This website gives information on how to request a
speaker to come and talk to a group about different types of biases and how to have respect for
differences. This resource would be great for students to use to request a speaker for their assembly and
to learn more about the organization.
http://www.meaning-of-names.com/
This website will be utilized to help children discover the meaning of their name. Although this website
does not address a bias, the teacher can use this website to teach children that their names are unique
and special.

http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/#/home
This website is a great interactive website that teaches children about bullying and the effects bullying
has on people. The website has animated videos about bullying and an interactive quiz that follows to
help children learn what to do if someone is bullying them or someone else. In addition, this website
guides students to standing up for those who are different and excluded. This website provides useful
information on how to combat biases and bullying.
http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/bullying/
This website has a lot of links to different topics regarding bullying for parents, teachers, and students.
Students can use this information in order to help with the bookmark and their program.
http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/what-you-can-do/#involved
This page is addressed to kids and gives tips on ways to show respect, deal with bullying, and stand up
for others. Students could use this resource to help make their bookmarks for the rest of the school and to
help provide content for the assembly.

Community and Other Outside Resources

The students will be researching the Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth, as well as contacting this
group to present a program at the assembly. This group already presents programs on several
topics and aims to establish environments that respect others differences.
http://www.mcatexas.com/Home.aspx
o This website belongs to the Multicultural Alliance of Fort Worth. The goal of this
organization is to eliminate bias and promote inclusion and diversity. This website gives
information on how to request a speaker to come and talk to a group about different types
of biases and how to have respect for differences. This resource would be great for
students to use to request the speakers for their assembly, research the organization,
and for teachers to use to initially request the speakers.
Other social action resources:
o Batiste, D. A. (2000). Anti-bias study guide. E. H. Bettmann (Ed.). New York, NY: AntiDefamation League.
ADL provides lessons and activities that help students to recognize their own
value and also deals with bias issues such as discrimination. The teacher will
have used this resource to inform students about the four roles (bystander,
target, ally, and perpetrator).
o http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/bullying/
This website has a lot of links to different topics regarding bullying for parents,
teachers, and students. Students can use this information in order to help with
the bookmark and their program.
o http://www.stopbullying.gov/kids/what-you-can-do/#involved
This page is addressed to kids and gives tips on ways to show respect, deal with
bullying, and stand up for others. Students could use this resource to help make
their bookmarks for the rest of the school and to help provide content for the
assembly.

Parental/Family Participation

Prior to the start of this unit, the teacher will send home a letter to the parents explaining the
purpose of this unit. Included in this letter will be the big questions, key concepts, and topics

addressed throughout the unit. The teacher will encourage the parents to talk to their children
about these issues.
There will be two nights of homework in which students must work with their parents to discover
more about their heritage as well as the story behind their name.
The teacher will also send out an email to parents asking for volunteers to help cut out
bookmarks for the assembly.