LESSON PLAN: 1.1.

TOPIC: Define stereotypes and related concepts of prejudice and discrimination.

THEME OR CORE QUESTION: What are stereotypes?

TIME REQUIRED: 1-2 class periods.

SUGGESTED GRADE LEVEL: 5-9

NEW JERSEY CORE CURRICULUM STANDARD: 1.5; 3.3-3.5; 6.5; 6.8.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:

1. Demonstrate that people tend to assume they know a lot about other cultures (individuals, groups, etc.) from a very limited set of clues.
2. Introduce the concept of stereotypes through an activity.
3. Introduce related concepts of prejudice and discrimination.

STRATEGIES OR METHODS:

1. Prepare a collection of head shots of people representing different ethnic groups. Such pictures can be obtained, for example, from the National Geographic website. Distribute markers, pencils, crayons and hand out the head shots together with a page of white paper. Ask the students to draw and color a body and clothing that they feel is the best match for their individual head shot. When finished, have them put their name on the back of the paper and pass them to the teacher.
   
2. As a class, observe the composition of the various figures created by the students on the basis of the available set of head shots. Ask them to reflect upon and explain the logic behind their choices. Why do they think that certain pieces of clothing, certain styles, "go "naturally" together, while others produce "awkward" combinations? Then share with them the entire photograph from which the head shot was taken, and its history (available from the same National Geographic website).
3. Question as many students as possible concerning their ethnic heritage. Find a corresponding picture from the completed headshots. Ask: Do they dress like this? Does everyone in their family look like this person? The instructional objective is to demonstrate that we tend to "know" how to compose cultural images. We "know" what goes together with what, even though our asumptions are frequently misleading or incorrect. The same mechanism lies behind stereotype formation: while observing only a single -- and usually superficial, such as skin's color -- feature of a person or a group we assume that we "know" a lot about that person.
   
4. Begin discussing the concept of stereotype and introduce concepts of prejudice and discrimination.

VOCABULARY: stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, culture, cultural whole

ACTIVITIES: Link to the National Geographic website. Students are asked to compose a complete picture of a person using a head shot and their own imagination. A discussion focused on their finished compositions will follow.

MATERIALS: Head shots of people from various regions of the world, white paper, pencils, colored markers/ and or colored pencils, crayons, definitions of stereotype, discrimination and prejudice (Glossary/definitions in Resources)

INTERNET: Source: the National Geographic website.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (also for lower grades): Gotta Be Me web site from Thirteen Ed Online. As the site explains: "Using online content from PBS's AMERICAN VISIONS episode entitled "The Promised Land," students will examine the importance of individual and group identity in framing the way people see the world." You may also consult An Integrated Unit on Cultural Stereotyping. For a brief description, see Internet Resources.

ASSESSMENT: grade student reports on the activity.