Lexi Holguin and Iqra Gul, Salemi, Child Development 1-2, October 6, 2021

Anti-Bias Curriculum Project: Racial/Ethnic Groups

Bibliography

Article 1:

Cole, K., & Verwayne, D. (2018, May). Becoming upended: Teaching and learning about race and racism with young children and

their families. NAEYC. Retrieved October 6, 2021, from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/may2018/teaching-

learning-race-and-racism.

Summary:

In Kirsten Cole and Diandra Verwayne’s article Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning About Race and Racism with

Young Children and Their Families, the main purpose was to address how to intentionally implement unbiased topics of race and

racism into preschoolers education. It is important to positively encourage a child’s racial identity and provide opportunities for young

children to learn about injustice and inequality in our society and how they operate. A teacher must be opened to educating themselves

of current practices and be able to anticipate possible concerns or questions. Ms. Verwayne, a kindergarten teacher, allowed her

students to be aware of and proud of their identities. She believed it was important for teachers to think about prospective questions

and concerns to be prepared for teaching moments that arise unexpectedly. Because society is inequitable and racial bias exists, the
colorblind approach denies children's views of the world value. Allowing children to comprehend this injustice is perplexing, and it

deprives them of the chance to perceive themselves as “agents of change” in the fight against injustice. By not discussing race with

children, they are not protected. It is emphasized that children's observations should be the starting point for teaching and learning

about race. Children notice differences and want a safe and supportive environment in which to ask questions about what they

observe. The article provides diverse children’s literature and strategies for responding to teachable moments. A crucial component of

this topic provides how teachers can assist young children in understanding their role in encouraging equality and inclusion through

racial justice.

Article 2:

Spiegler, J. (2016, June 16). Teaching young children about bias, diversity, and social justice. Edutopia. Retrieved October 6, 2021,

from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-young-children-social-justice-jinnie-spiegler.

Summary:

In Teaching Young Children About Bias, Social Justice and Diversity, the article demonstrates how it is important to use age-

appropriate lessons, anti-bias teachings, familiar instances, and problem-solving. Young children's knowledge will increase and will

help to teach social equity, harnessing young children's need for justice, and using it to explore bias and discrimination. It is not a

difficult change to make, but it must be done openly and with guidance. In the article Teaching young children about bias, they state
that, “children are also not hesitant to make observations on noticed differences”. This shows how important it is to make sure you are

teaching children about unbiased diversity and equality and that you’re including everyone. The article, Teaching young children

about bias also states that, “decades of studies show that even when parents and adults do not discuss race or other distinctions,

children detect disparities and bias”. So if we choose not to educate or discuss it, children's perceptions of race and differences will

certainly grow more ingrained in their brains.

Planning Template for ECE Programs

This template can be used for the planning of daily or weekly learning experiences and/or routines, and for the planning of
introducing a new interest area and/or materials.
 (This planning process is similar to the process of planning for a typical “lesson.”)
Name/Focus of Experience
or Classroom Routine
Essential Question
Date
Prepared By
Name(s) of Children
Is this planning for a whole
group experience, a small
group, or an individual?
Anticipated Learning Goals
Will this learning experience
focus on Prekindergarten
ELEs/Kindergarten curricular
outcomes or a particular ECD
domain?
Weekly Multicultural Experiences
How do cultures differ and stand out from one another?
October 7, 2021
Iqra Gul and Lexi Holguin
Stage 1: Desired Results
- A whole classroom experience
- To expand the preschoolers’ knowledge of the differences within one another and to embrace them
Essential Learning Experiences/Curricular Outcomes Developmental Significance
Connect to the CA Preschool Learning Foundations - This will help contribute to the healthy
development of each child's racial identity.
- This learning experience will focus on
Prekindergarten ELEs/Kindergarten curricular - This will also help contribute to a child’s
outcomes. social-emotional development.
- This learning experience will also help with the
development of a child’s social-emotional
development.
 - Learning of various cultures and inclusivity
provides for young children to learn how to
understand one another’s uniqueness.

Originating idea
The idea might come from
your observations of the
children or your
conversations with parents,
or both.
Stage 2: Assessment
Observations and Interpretation of Children’s
Strengths, Interests, Talents
- Notice how a child identifies themself and
others.
- Try to understand a child’s thought process
and how they will interpret others’
differences.
Conversations with Parents
- Talking to parents about these assignments is
important because it can help them guide
their child at home.
- Noticing and understanding parents’
perspectives can help you understand their
child/children’s perspective or how to help
them unlearn racism.

Documentation Assessment for Learning Assessment of Learning

Plan Children’s Representations Recording and Sharing the Learning

Artwork, Artifacts, Recorded Thoughts, etc. Anecdotal Records, Photographs, Videotaping,

SeeSaw, Learning Story, etc.
- Inclusive artwork
- Completed artwork by the student
- A speaker (ex. a parent, a teacher)
- Speaking/sharing what they learned with a
- Photographs, and videos
friend
- Multicultural books
- Photographs, and videos of activity
- Multicultural foods and spices

- Multicultural artifacts

Stage 3: Procedures
Setting/Area and Time - One day, every week
 - In the classroom, on the floor (at a class mat)

- 45-60 minutes before school ends

Materials For this activity the materials that will need:

- Cooking supplies/ingredients

- Arts and crafts supplies (scissors, glue, markers, paints, paper... )

- The Kids' Around the World Cookbook

- What do You See Around the World, a Look and Find Book - PI Kids
Description of Introduce the country the children will be learning that day of the week and provide facts as they learn through
Provocation/Transition cooking, playing, or crafting. The countries will be from the students' backgrounds/cultures.

Possibilities for Intentional Refer to the CA Preschool Curriculum Framework

Learning/Teaching Strategies
- It is best to understand each child’s social-emotional development.
Include supports and
- Understanding a child’s social-emotional development helps a teacher understand how they acquire
adaptations that might be
their social skills, self-awareness, and personal attributes that are linked to their classroom’s learning.
required when considering
the learning needs and - It is best to use demonstrations that include every race.
diversities of all children and
families. - Provide multicultural books, artifacts, music, and posters around the classroom for the children to
explore and discover.

Possibilities for - Why does the food smell weird?

Open-Ended Questions - How come my culture isn’t like theirs?

- Why doesn’t my family celebrate that?

- Can I celebrate that too?

 - How come we all look different?

There can be a possibility of parents having open-ended questions, some examples of these questions can be:

- How will this benefit the children?

- Is this important for the children to learn?

- Will this create an omission?

To answer these questions you can explain the curriculum in detail and how beneficial it is for children to learn
about this topic.

Description of At the end of the activity, we will ask the children to find a friend and to share their thoughts and what they
End/Transition learned from that day’s “cultural experience.” After this discussion, we will ask the children if they have any
questions or comments and try to clear any misconceptions.

Stage 4: Analysis and Reflection

Personal Reflection For this assignment, we drew on our personal experiences from when we were in school and saw some
students struggle to accommodate diversity in their classrooms. It wasn't their fault; some people are raised in
environments that aren't as diverse as others, so we want our students to grow up learning about different
cultures and religious races so that everyone understands that no two people are alike, but should be treated
as our equals. This activity can involve both the classroom and at the students home, parents can come into
the classroom and talk about their cultures, religions, or races they can also prepare a small snack or dish that
represents their culture to share with the class this will involve families with the class and will give a better
understanding on how each person and family is different.
Next Steps - Prepare ahead for the next week’s “cultural experience.”

- To prepare this activity, create multiple “Lesson Planning ECE Templates” for different countries and
include if a parent or student will be contributing to the activity.

- Send emails asking for participation from families of designated cultures.

 Written Explanation

A variety of sources that prompted us to select our specialty areas were our own school experiences, the Working with Young Children

textbook, and articles such as, Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning About Race and Racism with Young Children and Their

Families and Teaching Young Children About Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice. This lesson plan contributes to teachers working

with children and their family because it helps with the child’s social-emoitonal development and the development of their racial

identity and how they identify other’s differences and how to acknowledge each other with fairness. The ways we interpreted and

applied prior research to this curriculum project was by taking notes on the articles and the textbook, and highlighting the

important/key concepts. This helped us grasp a better understanding of our specialty area. When needed, we’d refer to our notes or the

CA Preschool Learning Foundations and CA Preschool Curriculum Framework. This helped us prepare our activity and understand

the importance of our activity.