9

DIFFERENTIATING
BIASES AND
PREJUDICES IN A STORY
Learner’s Module in English 9
Quarter 3 – Module 2

ROXANNE D. GANO
Developer
 Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Cordillera Administrative Region
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BAGUIO
Baguio City

Published by
Learning Resource Management and Development System

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
2021

Section 9 of Presidential Decree No. 49 provides:

“No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines.
However, prior approval of the government agency of office wherein the work is
created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit.”

This material has been developed for the implementation of K-12 Curriculum
through the DepEd Schools Division of Baguio City - Curriculum Implementation
Division (CID). It can be reproduced for educational purposes and the source must be
acknowledged. Derivatives of the work including creating an edited version, an
enhancement or a supplementary work are permitted provided all original work is
acknowledged and the copyright is attributed. No work may be derived from this
material for commercial purposes and profit.

ii
 What I Know

A. Identify the following each statement either Bias or Prejudice. Write B for
bias, while P for prejudice.
_____1. The company hires only men because they feel they make better employees.
_____2. The owner of the building refused to rent their home toward the maid’s family
because she thinks she cannot afford it.
_____3. The boys think that female teachers are friendlier to girls.
_____4. The group of girls were bullying and discriminating Grace because of her
disability.
_____5. The new school club only accepts members belonging to the upper class of the
society.
_____6. Dan is posting negative comments in social media about the economic status of
his classmate.
_____ 7. The new restaurant did not serve the old man because of his ragged clothes.
_____ 8 The last lady contestant won the singing contest because one of the judges is
her father.
_____ 9. The girls assume that the new boy is gay because of his actions.
_____ 10. The children do not play with the new girl because she is the maid’s daughter.

B. Choose the letter of the best answer. Place the letter of your choice in
the space preceding the number.
______1. Whose party does the main character attend?
A. Senora Ines C. Luciana
B. Herminia D. Rosaura

______2. Which is the best way to describe Rosaura (the main character)?
A. Lame C. Socially awkward
B. Bratty D. Naive, or overly trusting

______3. What are Rosaura’s emotions at the beginning of the story?

A. She was very upset. C. She was very confused.
B. She was very happy. D. She was very worried.

______4. Which sentence best shows that Rosaura’s upset at the end of the story?
A. “Her arms stiffen, stick close to her body.”
B. “Her mother’s hand on her shoulder.”
C. “Rosaura’s eyes had a cold, clear look that fixed itself on her mother's face.”
D. “Thank you for all your help my pet.”

______5. Which passage from the text best supports the theme of the story?
A. “That one’s not your friend. You know what you are to them? The maid’s
daughter, that’s what.”
B. “They had their tea in the kitchen and they told each other secrets. Rosaura
loved everything in the big house, and she also loved the people who lived
there.”
C. “Rosaura remembered a story in which there was a queen who had the
power of life or death over her subjects.”
D. “Rosaura didn’t feel like explaining that she’d be horribly ashamed to be the
odd one out. Instead she said: ‘I was the best-behaved at the party.”

4
 What’s In

Have you come across this famous English idiom?

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Try to reflect what it means by answering the following questions:

1. What does “Don’t judge a book by its cover” mean?

2. Can you think of a time that someone made a judgment about you or
someone else based on limited knowledge?
3. What conditions can lead people to make biased judgments about others?
5. How can we prevent making biased judgments about others?

At this point, you might agree that judging others without knowing them fully results
to displaying prejudice, bias, discrimination, and stereotyping. Wrong or preconceived
judgement leads us to misunderstanding and conflict that harms our social relationship
towards others. It is therefore important to avoid judging others without complete prior
knowledge.

What’s New

Read the short story of Argentine writer Liliana Heker. Be prepared to pause and
answer the questions posted in between the text.

The Stolen Party

By Lilian Heker
As soon as she arrived, she went straight to the kitchen to see if the monkey was there.
It was, what a relief! She wouldn't have liked to admit that her Mother had been right.
Monkeys at a birthday? Her mother had sneered.
“Get away with you, believing any nonsense you're told!” She was cross, but not
because of the monkey, the girl thought; it's just because of the party.
"I don't like you going," she told her. "It's a rich people's party."
"Rich people go to Heaven too," said the girl, who studied religion at school.
"Get away with Heaven," said the mother.

The girl did not approve of the way her mother spoke. She was barely nine, and one
of the best in her class.

"I’m going because I’ve been invited," she said. "And I’ve been invited because
Luciana is my friend.”

5
 "Ah yes, your friend," her mother grumbled. She paused. "Listen, Rosaura," she said
at last. "That one’s not your friend. You know what you are to them? The maid’s daughter,
that’s what."
Rosaura blinked hard: she wasn't going to cry. Then she yelled, "You know nothing
about being friends!"
Every afternoon she used to go to Luciana's house and they would both finish their
homework while Rosaura's mother did the cleaning. They had their tea in the kitchen, and
they told each other secrets. Rosaura loved everything in the big house, and she also
loved the people who lived there.
"I'm going because it will be the loveliest party in the whole world, Luciana told me it
would. There will be a magician and he will bring a monkey and everything."
The mother swung around to take a good look at her child, and pompously put her
hands on her hips.
"Monkeys at a birthday?" she said. "Get away with you, believing any nonsense you're
told!"
Rosaura was deeply offended. She thought it unfair of her mother to accuse other
people of being liars simply because they were rich. Rosaura too wanted to be rich, of
course. If one day she managed to live in a beautiful palace, would her mother stop loving
her? She felt very sad. She wanted to go to that party more than anything else in the world.
"I'll die if I don't go," she whispered, almost without moving her lips.
And she wasn't sure whether she had been heard, but on the morning of the party
she discovered that her mother had starched her Christmas dress. And in the afternoon,
after washing her hair, her mother rinsed it in apple vinegar so that it would be all nice and
shiny. Before going out, Rosaura admired herself in the mirror, with her white dress and
glossy hair, and thought she looked terribly pretty.
Pause and answer the following questions:
1. Where does Rosaura want to go?
2. What type of conflict do we see in the beginning of the story?
3. “I don’t like you going… It’s a rich people’s party.” Why does Rosaura’s mother
make this comment to her daughter? How does her daughter react to this
statement?

Senora Ines also seemed to notice. As soon as she saw her, she said, "How lovely you
look today, Rosaura."
Rosaura gave her starched skirt a slight toss with her hands and walked into the party
with a firm step. She said hello to Luciana and asked about the monkey.
Luciana put on a secretive look and whispered into Rosaura's ear, "He's in the kitchen.
But don't tell anyone, because it's a surprise."
Rosaura wanted to make sure. Carefully she entered the kitchen and there she saw it:
deep in thought, inside its cage. It looked so funny that the girl stood there for a while,
watching it, and later, every so often, she would slip out of the party unseen and go and
admire it.
Rosaura was the only one allowed into the kitchen.
Senora Ines had said: "You yes, but not the others, they're much too boisterous, they
might break something."

6
 Rosaura had never broken anything. She even managed the jug of orange juice,
carrying it from the kitchen into the dining-room. She held it carefully and didn't spill a
single drop.
And Senora Ines had said: "Are you sure you can manage a jug as big as that?"
Of course, she could manage. She wasn't a butterfingers, like the others. Like that
blonde girl with the bow in her hair.
As soon as she saw Rosaura, the girl with the bow had said: "And you? Who are you?"
"I'm a friend of Luciana," said Rosaura.
"No," said the girl with the bow, "you are not a friend of Luciana because I'm her cousin
and I know all her friends. And I don't know you."
"So, what?" said Rosaura. "I come here every afternoon with my mother, and we do
our homework together."
"You and your mother do your homework together?" asked the girl laughing.
"I and Luciana do our homework together," said Rosaura, very seriously.
The girl with the bow shrugged her shoulders.
"That's not being friends," she said. "Do you go to school together?'
"No."
"So where do you know her from?" said the girl, getting impatient.
Rosaura remembered her mother's words perfectly. She took a deep breath. "I'm the
daughter of the employee," she said.
Her mother had said very clearly: "If someone asks, you say you're the daughter of the
employee; that's all." She also told her to add: "And proud of it." But Rosaura thought that
never in her life would she dare say something of the sort.
"What employee?" said the girl with the bow. "Employee in a shop?”
"No," said Rosaura angrily. "My mother doesn't sell anything in any shop, so there."
"So how come she's an employee?" said the girl with the bow.
Just then, Senora Ines arrived saying shh, shh, and asked Rosaura if she wouldn't
mind helping serve out the hot-dogs, as she knew the house so much better than the
others.
"See?" said Rosaura to the girl with the bow, and when no one was looking she kicked
her in the shin.
Apart from the girl with the bow, all the others were delightful. The one she liked best
was Luciana, with her golden birthday crown; and then the boys.
Rosaura won the sack race, and nobody managed to catch her when they played tag.
When they split into two teams to play charades, all the boys wanted her for their side.
Rosaura felt she had never been so happy in all her life. But the best was still to come.
The best came after Luciana blew out the candles. First the cake.
Senora Ines had asked her to help pass the cake around, and Rosaura had enjoyed
the task immensely, because everyone called out to her, shouting "Me, me.!"
Rosaura remembered a story in which there was a queen who had the power of life or
death over her subjects. She had always loved that, having the power of life or death. To

7
Luciana and the boys, she gave the largest pieces, and to the girl with the bow she gave
a slice so thin one could see through it.
After the cake came the magician, tall and bony, with a fine red cape. A true magician:
he could untie handkerchiefs by blowing on them and make a chain with links that had no
openings. He could guess what cards were pulled out from a pack, and the monkey was
his assistant. He called the monkey "partner."
"Let's see here, partner," he would say, "Turn over a card." And, "Don't run away,
partner: time to work now."
The final trick was wonderful. One of the children had to hold the monkey in his arms
and the magician said he would make him disappear.
"What, the boy?" they all shouted.
"No, the monkey!" shouted back the magician.
Rosaura thought that this was truly the most amusing party in the whole world.
The magician asked a small fat boy to come and help, but the small fat boy got
frightened almost at once and dropped the monkey on the floor. The magician picked him
up carefully, whispered something in his ear, and the monkey nodded almost as if he
understood.
"You mustn't be so unmanly, my friend," the magician said to the fat boy.
"What's unmanly?" said the fat boy.
The magician turned around as if to look for spies.
"A sissy," said the magician. "Go sit down."
Then he stared at all the faces one by one. Rosaura felt her heart tremble.
"You, with the Spanish eyes," said the magician. And everyone saw that he was
pointing at her.
She wasn't afraid. Neither holding the monkey, nor when the magician made him
vanish; not even when, at the end, the magician flung his red cape over Rosaura's head
and uttered a few magic words . . . and the monkey reappeared, chattering happily, in her
arms. The children clapped furiously. And before
Rosaura returned to her seat, the magician said, "Thank you very much, my little
countess."
She was so pleased with the compliment that a while later, when her mother came to
fetch her, that was the first thing she told her.
"I helped the magician and he said to me, 'Thank you very much, my little countess.'”
Pause and answer the following questions:
4. Who is “the girl with the bow”? Describe her personality.
5. What does Rosaura do at the party to help the guests?
6. Why does Rosaura think the party is the best day of her life?
7. How does Rosaura help the magician?

It was strange because up to then, Rosaura had thought that she was angry with her
mother. All along Rosaura had imagined that she would say to her, "See that the monkey
wasn't a lie?" But instead she was so thrilled that she told her mother all about the
wonderful magician.

8
 Her mother tapped her on the head and said, "So now we're a countess!"
But one could see that she was beaming.
And now they both stood in the entrance, because a moment ago Senora Ines,
smiling, had said,
"Please wait here a second." Her mother suddenly seemed worried.
"What is it?" she asked Rosaura.
"What is what?" said Rosaura. "It's nothing; she just wants to get the presents for
those who are leaving, see?"
She pointed at the fat boy and at a girl with pigtails who were also waiting there, next
to their mothers. And she explained about the presents. She knew, because she had been
watching those who left before her. When one of the girls was about to leave, Senora Ines
would give her a bracelet. When a boy left, Senora Ines gave him a yo-yo. Rosaura
preferred the yo-yo because it sparkled, but she didn't mention that to her mother.
Her mother might have said: "So why don't you ask for one, you blockhead?"
That is what her mother was like. Rosaura didn't feel like explaining that she'd be
horribly ashamed to be the odd one out. Instead she said, "I was the best-behaved at the
party."
And she said no more because Señora Ines came out into the hall with two bags, one
pink and one blue.
First she went up to the fat boy, gave him a yo-yo out of the blue bag, and the fat boy
left with his mother. Then she went up to the girl and gave her a bracelet out of the pink
bag, and the girl with the pigtails left as well.
Señora Ines gives a yo-yo and a bracelet to the boy and girl standing in front of
Rosaura. Finally she came up to Rosaura and her mother. She had a big smile on her
face and Rosaura liked that. Senora Ines looked down at her, then looked up at her
mother, and then said something that made Rosaura proud, "What a marvelous daughter
you have, Herminia."
For an instant, Rosaura thought that she'd give her two presents: the bracelet and the
yo-yo. Senora Ines bent down as if about to look for something. Rosaura also leaned
forward, stretching out her arm, but she never completed the movement.
Señora Ines didn't look in the pink bag. Nor did she look in the blue bag. Instead, she
rummaged in her purse. In her hand appeared two bills.
"You really and truly earned this," she said handing them over. "Thank you for all your
help, my pet."
Rosaura felt her arms stiffen, stick close to her body, and then she noticed her
mother's hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, she pressed herself against her mother's
body. That was all. Except her eyes.
Rosaura's eyes had a cold, clear look that fixed itself on Senora Ines's face.
Senora Ines, motionless, stood there with her hand outstretched. As if she didn't dare
draw it back. As if the slightest change might shatter an infinitely delicate balance.
Pause and answer the following questions:
8. What do all the boys and girls get as gifts?
9. What does Rosaura get instead?

9
 What is It

Did you enjoy reading the story?

After reading the story, we get to see that there are multiple occurrences of
imagery which describe the lives of the character’s social class. We can therefore
conclude that the theme of the story is :

People will discriminate against others based on their "status" in the

THEME: society.

Social class is division of a society based on social and economic status. People
are people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common
being the upper, middle, and lower classes. These divisions cause people to commit
bias and prejudice due to their stereotypical notions of the different social classes.

To better understand, here is a diagram to differentiate bias from prejudice.

10
 Considering that biases and prejudices are evident around us, we should be more
careful in speaking and writing to avoid being unfair or discriminating. Here are some
tips for keeping objectivity and eliminating biases and prejudices.
 11

What’s More
Activity 1: Drop the Issue

After knowing the difference of bias and prejudice, have you witnessed or
observed (watched, read, or heard) of biases and prejudices around you.
Identify possible bias issues present in the following pictures. The first is
item is done for you.

Example:
1. Age difference in workplace
Business companies these days prefer younger workers than older
employees because they may need more time to adjust to recent
technology changes.

2. Gender difference in school

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

3. Skin color in advertisements

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
 Identify possible prejudice issues present in the following pictures. 12

4. Differences in Religion
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

Differences in Social Class

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

Activity 2: See the Difference

Reread the following excerpts from the story and determine the social class the
characters belong and establish the bias and prejudice they have experienced.
As soon as she arrived, she went straight to the kitchen to see if the monkey was
there. It was, what a relief! She wouldn't have liked to admit that her Mother had been
right. Monkeys at a birthday? Her mother had sneered.
“Get away with you, believing any nonsense you're told!” She was cross, but not
because of the monkey, the girl thought; it's just because of the party.
"I don't like you going," she told her. "It's a rich people's party."
"Rich people go to Heaven too," said the girl, who studied religion at school.
"Get away with Heaven," said the mother.
"I’m going because I’ve been invited," she said. "And I’ve been invited because
Luciana is my friend.
"Ah yes, your friend," her mother grumbled. She paused. "Listen, Rosaura," she said
at last. "That one’s not your friend. You know what you are to them? The maid’s
daughter, that’s what."

The mother swung around to take a good look at her child, and pompously put her
hands on her hips.
"Monkeys at a birthday?" she said. "Get away with you, believing any nonsense
you're told!"
Rosaura was deeply offended. She thought it unfair of her mother to accuse other
people of being liars simply because they were rich. Rosaura too wanted to be rich, of
course. If one day she managed to live in a beautiful palace, would her mother stop
loving her? She felt very sad. She wanted to go to that party more than anything else in
the world.

As soon as she saw Rosaura, the girl with the bow had said: "And you? Who are
you?"
"I'm a friend of Luciana," said Rosaura.

13
 "No," said the girl with the bow, "you are not a friend of Luciana because I'm her
cousin and I know all her friends. And I don't know you."
"So, what?" said Rosaura. "I come here every afternoon with my mother, and we do
our homework together."
"You and your mother do your homework together?" asked the girl laughing.
"I and Luciana do our homework together," said Rosaura, very seriously.
The girl with the bow shrugged her shoulders.
"That's not being friends," she said. "Do you go to school together?'
"No."
"So where do you know her from?" said the girl, getting impatient.
Rosaura remembered her mother's words perfectly. She took a deep breath. "I'm
the daughter of the employee," she said.
Her mother had said very clearly: "If someone asks, you say you're the daughter of
the employee; that's all." She also told her to add: "And proud of it." But Rosaura thought
that never in her life would she dare say something of the sort.
"What employee?" said the girl with the bow. "Employee in a shop?”
"No," said Rosaura angrily. "My mother doesn't sell anything in any shop, so there."
"So how come she's an employee?" said the girl with the bow.
Just then, Senora Ines arrived saying shh, shh, and asked Rosaura if she wouldn't
mind helping serve out the hot-dogs, as she knew the house so much better than the
others.
"See?" said Rosaura to the girl with the bow, and when no one was looking she
kicked her in the shin.

Señora Ines didn't look in the pink bag. Nor did she look in the blue bag. Instead,
she rummaged in her purse. In her hand appeared two bills.
"You really and truly earned this," she said handing them over. "Thank you for all
your help, my pet."

Rosaura Luciana
Herminiana Señora Ines

1. Social Class: ___________________ 2. Social Class: __________________

What form of prejudice and bias did the
characters experience?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
What form of prejudice and bias did the
characters experience?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

14
 What I Have Learned
Activity 3: Sum it up
Using the infographic below, sum up what you have learned about this module’s lesson:

_____________________________
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_________________________________
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_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
______________________________
_________________________________
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_________________________________
______________________________
_________________________________
______________________________
_________________________________
______________________________
_________________________________
______________________________
_________________________________
_
_________________________________

1. _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

15
 What I Can Do

ACTIVITY 4: Change for the better

In the final paragraphs of the story, when Señora Ines tries to hand Rosaura
money instead of a gift like all the other children received. This is a very powerful
moment as we get to see the reality how people are treated due to someone’s social
class standing.
In the story, how do you imagine this final scene in the story? On the box below,
draw what you have imagined in the final scene according to the author.
On the second column, how would you like to end it? Draw your own alternative
bias and prejudice free resolution. Use dialogue to make your own resolution clearer.
Author’s Resolution My Alternative Resolution

16
 Assessment
A. Choose the letter of the best answer. Place the letter of your choice in
the space preceding the number.

_____1. What are Rosaura’s emotions at the beginning of the story?

A. She was very upset C. She was very confused
B. She was very happy D. She was very worried
_____2. How does the setting contribute to Rosaura’s conflict in the story?
A. It is her enemies' house. C. It is her house.
B. It is is her mom’s job's house. D. It is her best friend's house.
_____3. Why are the two dollars important to the story?
A. Rosaura was saving up for her own monkey.
B. Senora Ines owed Rosaura money.
C. To let Rosaura know that she was only there to help clean.
D. Rosaura needed it for a snack.
_____4. Which statement identifies the idea of the story “The Stolen Party”?
A. Class differences are insignificant in creating bias or prejudice towards
someone.
B. Children are clueless to how cruel other people can be.
C. Class differences can negatively impact the way people are treated.
D. Adults are sometimes inexplicably cruel to children.
_____5. Why doesn’t Rosaura take the money from Senora Ines at the end of the story?
A. She wants a yo-yo instead. C. She wants a bracelet.
B. She realized Senora Ines just saw D. She didn't want to take the money.
her as a helper.

B. Bias and Prejudice. Identify the following statements either Bias or

Prejudice. Write B for bias while P for prejudice in the space before the
number.
_____ 1. The company hire only men because they feel they make better employees.
_____ 2. The owner of the building refused to rent their home toward the maid’s family
because she thinks she cannot afford it.
_____ 3. The boys thinks that the female teachers are friendlier to girls.
_____ 4. The group of girls were bullying and discriminating Grace because of15her
disability.
_____ 5. The new school club only accepts members belonging to the rich family.
_____ 6. Dan is posting negative comments in social media about the economic status
of his classmate.
_____ 7. The new restaurant did not serve the old man because of his ragged clothes.
_____ 8 The last contestant won the singing contest because one of the judges is her
father.
_____ 9. The girls assume that the new boy is gay because of his actions.
_____ 10. The children do not play with the new girl because she is the maid’s
daughter.

17
 Additional Activities

Activity 5: Give them voice

Through the comic strip template below, make a dialogue about the differences of
boys and girls but make sure to avoid statements that are bias and prejudice.

18
 Answer Key

varied ways.
Answers maybe stated in
Activity 5
Additional Activities/

10. P
9. B 5. A
8. B 4. A
7. P in varied ways. 3. B
6. B Answers may be stated 2. D
5. P Activity 4 1. C
4. B What I can do/ B
3. B 10. P
2. B in varied ways. 9. B
1. B Answers may be stated 8. B
Activity 3 7. P
B
What I Have learned/
6. B
B 5. in varied ways. 5. P
C 4. Answers may be stated 4. B
C 3. What’s More/ Activity 2 3. B
B 2. 2. B
B 1. in varied ways. 1. B
A Answers may be stated A
Post Assessment What is it/ Activity 1 What I Know:

References:
Book
Chin, Beverly Ann, Copeland, Jeffrey, Dudzinski, Mary Ann, Ray, William, et al (2001).
Glencoe Literature: The Reader’s Choice. McGraw Hill: Colombus
Online Resources
The Stolen Party. Taken from http://www.sturgeonenglish.com/short_story
the_stolen_party.pdf last January 4, 2021
Tutor.com. (2020) Plot Diagram, Definition, Elements and Examples. Taken from
https://tutors.com/lesson/plot-diagram-definition-elements-examples last January 12,
2021
Walden University. Basics of Avoiding Bias. Taken from
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/avoidingbias last
March 3, 2021
 All illustrations used were taken from canva.com
19
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