TITLE: CULTURAL ACCEPTANCE AUTHOR: Monica J. Lehman GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: K-12 4th grade emphasis OVERVIEW: The setting of the room is a normal everyday classroom. Don't change the room. This may bring out many emotions, be prepared to deal with a variety of reactions. PURPOSE: To be able to experience how it feels to be a minority. OBJECTIVE(s): Student will be able to experience first hand racial indifference. RESOURCES/MATERIALS: none ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES: Pick out 4-5 students in the room that have on similar clothing. For example, stripes on the shirt, pink clothing, different colored shoe laces, tennis shoes or non tennis shoes. When you have the ones that are distinctly different in one certain area, have them go to the other side of the room. In my case, I had them go to the game center and play the games that they wanted to do. I gave them stickers and told them they could do anything they wanted to do for the rest of the day. I then told the other students in the class that they had two extra tests to take and they had no time to prepare. I went on from there. I kept up with this activity for approximately 15 minutes. At the time I discovered that most of my students were crying, mad, or utterly confused. I went right into a follow-up activity that related to Rosa parks. TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: When the initial activity is finished, you will have a strong focal point into discussing how minorities feel in everyday life. This brings in mind a multitude of activities that one can make thought-provoking for any age group.
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org