Grades 1 to 2

This activity is to accompany the Teaching Tolerance article "Class Outing."

This lesson is the fourth and final in a series called “Family Tapestry.” One goal of these lessons is to help students recognize and accept differences among themselves and within the larger community. Another is to recognize how each student’s unique family contributes to a richer society. As students begin to understand themselves better, learning opportunities to explore biases and prejudices will likely emerge. In this lesson, students will synthesize everything they’ve learned throughout the series to create a quilt that tells the story of their families and how those families contribute to their overall classroom community.

This lesson is the third in a series called “Family Tapestry.” One goal of these lessons is to help students recognize and accept differences among themselves and within the larger community. Another is to recognize how each student’s unique family contributes to a richer society. As students begin to understand themselves better, learning opportunities to explore biases and prejudices will likely emerge. In this lesson, students learn the concepts of “same” and “different,” read and answer questions about two types of families, and create a “same and different” graphic organizer that reflects similarities and differences between their family and a classmate’s family.

This lesson is the second in the series “Family Tapestry.” One goal of these lessons is to help students recognize and accept differences among themselves and within the larger community. Another is to recognize how each student’s unique family contributes to a richer society. As students begin to understand themselves better, learning opportunities will likely emerge to explore biases and prejudices. In this lesson, students explore how their family’s ethnic and cultural journey contributes to their lives and to their community.

This lesson is the first in the series “Family Tapestry.” One goal of these lessons is to help students recognize and accept differences among themselves and within the larger community. Another is to recognize how each student’s unique family contributes to a richer society. As students begin to understand themselves better, learning opportunities will likely emerge to explore biases and prejudices. In this introductory lesson, students explore the definition of family, learn about different kinds of family structures and explore what makes their own family unique.

This lesson, the second in a series, encourages students to think and talk openly about the concept of beauty, particularly as it overlaps with issues of race and racial identity.

This lesson is the first in a series called “The Different Colors of Beauty.” The overall goal of these lessons is to help students develop their racial or ethnic identities in a safe and open classroom environment, while being conscious of our multicultural, diverse world.

Each year in my elementary art classroom, students learn about a diverse group of black men and women in honor of Black History Month (this activity, though, is relevant throughout the year).

Individuals of all ages can find it difficult to identify and express their feelings in a positive way.

In this lesson, students will gain a better understanding of what it means to be empathetic and be able to identify behaviors that show empathy toward others.

In this lesson, students will explore the ways people with a critical health condition or disease might feel, as well as various ways they can support and show compassion toward those who are living with an illness.

These lessons provide a framework that will help students talk about their own and others’ families in safe, caring ways.

To teach about the importance of kindness, I first choose a story in which children are putting down others— for example, The Only Boy in the Ballet Class, by Denise Gruska, or Oliver Button is a Sissy, by Tomie dePaola.

This lesson explores the concept of fairness through questions such as: What is fair? Should all people be treated the same? What would you do if you saw someone treated unfairly? Students are encouraged to reflect upon fairness in their own lives and communities.

The lessons that follow will start a conversation about material consumption. 

In this lesson, students will first learn about disabilities. Then they will learn tips for communicating respectfully with people with disabilities.

This lesson helps children identify their own strengths and struggles. Students will work on ways to bring all their strengths together to build a classroom community.

Based on Crossing Borders/Border Crossings and What's In a Name?"

Loosely based on "What Are You?"

Based on Musical Chairs

Based on Mixing It Up with Purpose

Based on Mixing It Up with Purpose