Tamara's and Leigh's Teaching Toolkit
Wolfe, T. P., What can we learn from a box of crayons?. Teaching Tolerence: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
http://www.tolerance.org/exchange/what-can-we-learn-box-crayons.
This article is written by a teacher who wanted to demonstrate the importance of having a diverse community. The teacher uses a crayon box to explain how people are like crayons; they come from many different backgrounds, or colors. And each color, or difference makes that person unique and prospectively adds to the collective whole. It is also teaching a lesson that crayons of all different colors live happily in their environment and so should the students.
What Can We Learn From a Box of Crayons?!
Activities that Promote Racial and Cultural Awareness
Biles, B. Activities that promote racial and cultural awareness. Precious Children,
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/diversity/read_activities.html
This article provides activities that teachers can use in the classroom when teaching about race and cultural differences. There are activities that are for students as young as preschoolers and goes up to school aged students. These activities are good because they emphasize that people are all different and come from various cultures, ethnicities, and races and allow students to develop positive attitudes about racial diversity and identities.
Diversity Lesson Plans for Elementary School
Diversity Lesson Plans for Elementary School. Diversity Council
http://www.diversitycouncil.org/elActivities.shtml
This resource is a lesson plan for teachers to use when teaching their students about diversity. This lesson plan is also building up the students identities as well as learning how to respect other people’s racial and cultural backgrounds. There would not be any changes to the activity even though the activity will be lengthy. It can least a couple of days because the students are creating a book. The book will tell about themselves and what makes them and their families unique. In conclusion of the activity, the students will develop positive self-esteem and learn how to accept and respect the differences of the people in the world.
Race/Ethnicity
When life hands you a lemon, peel it
When life hands you a lemon, peel it. Understanding Prejudice: Teacher's Corner.
http://www.understandingprejudice.org/teach/elemact.htm
This resource is an activity that experiments with lemons. The instructor gives the lemons to the students and tell them to get to know their lemons. Then the students are to put the lemons into a basket and then find their individual lemons. The students are able to distinguish their lemons because the all have differences that set them apart from the other lemons. Then the instructor peels the lemons and then asks the students to identify which is their lemon and they can not do it as easily.The moral behind this actviity is that even though people come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors it is important to realize that there are similiaries on the inside. This activity is a way to teach the students about respect the differences amongst people, such as racial differences.
