A Lesson Plan from Life Planning Education: A Youth Development Program

Purpose:  To understand the implications of stereotyped thinking

Materials: Newsprint and markers or board and chalk; one index card for each participant; container (such as a paper sack, shoebox, or hat); pens/pencils

Time: 30-40 minutes

Planning Notes:

• Consider the fact that most, if not al,l people have participated in prejudice and/or discrimination. Most of us have disliked some group because of qualities or characteristics we believed it possessed. Some of us have treated people unfairly because of prejudices we hold. At the very least, we have told, laughed at or listened to a joke that made fun of one group or another.
• Because racism is a volatile topic, group leaders may focus on one of the other “isms,” such as sexism, ageism or heterosexism. If issues regarding racism do not surface, do not feel like you must bring them up. Be open to teens' experiences and perceptions and allow the discussion to go in the direction it needs. If teens want to discuss experiences of racism, be prepared to help them articulate their feelings in a constructive way.
• On two pieces of newsprint or the board, prepare a very large illustration, like the one below. You will need room inside the boxes to write responses:
  

  Names I've been called	Names I've called others
  Time when I was treated unfairly	Time when I was unfair to others

  
  
• For Step 10, create a poster of the A B C's of diversity as outlined below:
  A -  attitude (prejudice)
  B -  behavior (discrimination)
  C -  consequences (physical, emotional or economic injury)

Procedure:

1. Remind teens that stereotyped thinking forces group members into a mold and ignores the fact that everyone is first an individual and second a member of a group. Explain that this activity will demonstrate the harm of stereotypes.
2. Distribute index cards and display the illustration you have drawn. Have teens draw horizontal and vertical lines on their index cards so they look like your illustration.
3. Review the four boxes on the illustration and explain that you will collect the cards and read responses anonymously, so no one will see what anyone wrote. Emphasize that honesty is important. After each instruction, allow time for teens to write responses:
• In the upper left hand box, write names you have been called because of your age, racial or ethnic background, physical characteristics, religion, presumed sexual orientation or any other characteristic
• In the upper right hand box, write names you have called other people for similar reasons.
• In the lower left hand box, describe a time when you were treated unfairly because of a particular characteristic such as race, religion, age and so on.
• In the lower right hand box, describe a time when you treated someone unfairly for a similar reason.
4. Allow time for everyone to finish, then collect the cards and put them in your container.
5. Draw cards at random and read aloud the responses. Write responses on the large illustration. If you run out of room, read quickly through the remaining cards so everyone can hear the names people in the group have been called. Do not comment on the names at this point.
6. Repeat the process for boxes 2, 3 and 4, without comment. Abbreviate the “unfair treatments” in boxes 3 and 4 by just writing the behaviors (for example, spit on, laugh at, tease, beat up) on the board.
7. Ask the group to look at the large list of names and examples of unfair treatment. Ask for volunteers who have been called names or treated unfairly to talk about their experiences. Help them to focus on the feelings they had when being discriminated against. Then encourage others to talk about name calling or unfair treatment they have been responsible for.
8. Write the term “prejudice” on newsprint or the board and ask for a definition. Work toward a definition consistent with the following:
   Prejudice: a certain attitude, usually negative, toward a particular group or member of that group. Prejudice is usually toward strangers, who may have a certain appearance. The word comes from Latin words meaning Prejudge.
   Prejudice happens whenever we prejudge others because of race, religion, age, gender, physical size or appearance, occupation, social class, sexual orientation and so on. We decide how we feel about them before we know them.
9. Write the term “discrimination” on newsprint or the board and ask for a definition like the following:
   Discrimination: different, usually unfair, treatment of a group or member of that group, because of prejudiced feelings about them. The word comes from the Latin word for “divide.”
   Discrimination happens whenever we divide or separate people into groups (physically or in our minds) and treat one group unfairly or unequally because of our prejudices about their race, religion, age, gender, physical size or appearance, occupation, social class, sexual orientation and so on.
10.  Display the A-B-Cs of diversity poster. Clarify what each letter represents. Ask the group for examples of prejudiced attitudes, unfair behaviors and negative consequences they have observed or experienced. Emphasize that there are always consequences when a person is treated with prejudice or discrimination. The consequences can be emotional, such as hurt feelings or anger, or they can be physical, such as giving up on a job or punching someone.
11. Conclude the activity using the Discussion Points.

Discussion Points

1. How does it feel to talk about prejudice? Discrimination?
2. Look back at the names people said they have been called. How might they have felt when called those names?
3. What about people who name call or treat others unfairly? Do the people who feel prejudice and discriminate against others experience any consequences? If so, what? (Answer: Today there are laws against discrimination and anyone accused of discriminating against others in the workplace ca be prosecuted. There are, however, no laws against feeling prejudice.)
4. What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination? (Answer: Prejudice is having an attitude about someone; discrimination is behaving a certain way toward someone.)
5. You can look at what we have written and tell if people in this group have suffered from prejudice and discrimination. What could you do to make up for some of that? (Answers may include: Apologize to each other; don't let it happen again; get to know one another better; don't tolerate prejudice or discrimination when it happens.)

Adapted with permission from Teen Outreach: Development through Service  and Learning, Association of Junior Leagues International, New York, N.Y.