Some students – and others – may ask, “Why do we need Mix It Up at Lunch Day?” A good way to lead them to their own answers about that is to carry out group or classroom activities designed to explore issues of social boundaries.
We offer a rich mix of classroom resources on the topic, designed for all grade levels and multiple subject areas. You can browse on your own, or consider a few we’ve highlighted below:
Boundary Crossing (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
Using the historical context of the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, students will explore the question, “Have we really learned how to break down barriers?” Students will draw their own conclusions about boundary crossing from history and literature. Then they will identify boundaries in their classroom of school, cross those boundaries, report back and reflect on what they have learned. (A key part of this lesson is the story Papalotzin and the Monarchs: A Bilingual Border Tale.)
Mapping Activity
- Elementary (Grades 3-5)
- Upper Grades (Grades 6-8, 9-12)
The lower grades lesson helps students map out key relationships in their classroom, reflecting on how their own choices set the mood for inclusion or exclusion. Students will make efforts to reach out to classmates with whom they normally do not interact.
The upper grades lesson asks students to examine school teams, groups and organizations. These school-sanctioned groups help students find identity, increase academic commitment to school and give students friendships throughout their school experience. Still, these groups and teams often stay to themselves instead of reaching out to others. This activity asks students to consider ways they might “crosspollinate” in order to make their school experience more fruitful.
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