Preschool and Kindergarten
Teachers must tailor diversity activities to the age group of the students to be most effective. Very young children in preschool and kindergarten are not too young to begin learning about these concepts; in fact, the younger they start, the more diversity will be an aspect of life that they value. Activities should start by getting children to think about and discuss the concept of fairness, as this is a familiar issue for young children. Teachers can present different situations and ask children if they think the situations are fair or unfair. Divide the children up by arbitrary factors, such as eye color or birth month, and give them different amounts of candy based on these factors. Even young children will be able to articulate strong feelings about discrimination in this activity.
Elementary School
Elementary school is an ideal time for classroom diversity activities because children at this age are open to new ideas. Elementary school children can actively engage in their understanding of stereotypes by doing an activity in which they compile the various things they have heard about different types of people. Then teachers can lead students in a discussion about where these stereotypes originated, whether they are true or not and how they might be hurtful to members of that group. For an art-related diversity activity, children can create a quilt as a class, or even as a grade. Each student designs a block of the quilt to celebrate something unique or special about himself, and as a group students can join the blocks together into a quilt as an act of unity.
Teasing and tormenting start to heat up in the middle school years, so it is imperative that diversity activities be integrated into the middle school classroom. One idea is to create a chain of diversity. Students get strips of paper and write on each strip a way in which they are similar to and different from others in the class. Afterward, students share these aloud and create a chain out of the strips of paper, which helps remind them that their similarities and differences are interlocked just like chain links. Another idea is to teach a lesson on the different aspects of culture, and then have students work in groups to create cultures of their own, addressing facets of culture such as family, cuisine, religion and symbols of cultural pride.
High School
High school is a time when diversity activities can be broadened, as students’ abstract thinking skills and life experiences have increased to the point where they can tackle complex issues pertaining to diversity. This virtual scientific study tests students on the unconscious thought processes that lead them to make assumptions about different types of people. Taking this test will open up a student’s awareness of their own stereotypes and prejudices. In addition, it will foster discussion for further diversity activities, such as sharing stories about personal experiences with discrimination through small groups or class blogs.
By: Mrs. Rosalyn R. Sta. Rita | Teacher III | Culis Elementary School | Culis, Hermosa, Bataan
