Math and Technology

This lesson is the second in a series of lessons called “Issues of Poverty.” Students explore the causes of poverty in the United States and the structural factors that perpetuate it. Students will examine the ways poverty is closely related to economic and political policy, and will work to discover why it disproportionately affects members of non-dominant groups—that is, groups that have historically oppressed groups.

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.

This is the final lesson in the Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice series. Preceding lessons explored a variety of social justice issues through the lens of photographers and their pictures. This activity will offer students several different options for showcasing their understanding.

In this lesson, students learn about the principles of universal design, analyze examples of it, and develop their own product, communication or environment in accordance with its principles.

This lesson explores the concept of health disparities for socially disadvantaged groups (e.g., youth of color and LGBT youth). Students are encouraged to examine the causes and impact of these disparities and to create possible solutions for overcoming them. 

For this lesson, students will use maps and graphs to explore some instances of environmental injustice. 

I teach writing and drama for seventh- through 12th-grade students who are home-schooled, financially secure and white.

Derogatory language is common at the high school where I teach.

Cynthia Delilice’s Under The Same Sky focuses on issues of immigration and migrant workers.

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.

Web Exclusive activities for What is Rural America? (page 28-31) from Teaching Tolerance No. 38.

In April 2010, an environmental catastrophe occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. A deep-sea oil-drilling rig exploded, and millions of gallons of oil continued to gush into the Gulf for several months. The disaster has damaged the natural environment, including not just the Gulf itself, but everything that lives in it, on it, or near it, including people. 

In October 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The new law expands the definition of hate-crime victims, requires additional tracking of hate crimes by the FBI and removes previous restrictions on the prosecution of hate crimes. In these lessons, students will review the nature of hate, understand how laws are created in America, review and present statistical information related to hate crimes, compare the new law to previous hate-crimes legislation and deepen their knowledge of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr.

In this lesson, students will learn about some of the 2008 government's report on hunger findings and identify ways to address the problem of hunger today.

Students produce assertions on slips of paper and “stock” the classroom Assertion Jar. As a daily or occasional activity, students practice refutation skills by pulling an assertion from the jar and refuting it either orally or in writing. Appropriate as a writing prompt or journal activity.

In this lesson, students will examine the growth of unemployment from 2007 through the second quarter of 2009. Using basic and/or advanced math, students will compare and contrast unemployment rates across different states and across three racial and ethnic groups. An extension activity looks at unemployment among Asian Americans and can be adapted for other populations.

Who Has Hair? explores one of the things mammals share in common: hair! Our hair may be different—Polar Bear's doesn't look exactly like Orangutan's or like yours— but we all have hair and want it to be clean and pretty.

In this jigsaw activity, students will review information from brochures/websites about local hair care providers, interview a local hair care provider, synthesize the material and teach it to others. Students will identify similarities and differences between the providers and gain a deeper understanding of diverse ways people care for their hair.

Termites, small and overlooked, can knock down forests and turn buildings to powder; intolerance operates in much the same way.

Whenever I feel that students are starting to pick on each other and get disrespectful, I use this activity to get them to think about their behavior. For this activity, you need a tube of toothpaste, a four-by-six index card, a marker, a popsicle stick and a toothpick.

On the first day of each school year, my students and I form a circle and I ask them these questions:

Students will develop a framework for speaking with kindness and respect toward each other.

Create a lesson plan that puts math and science in context for your students.

Projects that examine various aspects of  migrant life in depth

This shortest month of the year is typically filled with history reports, pageants, guest speakers, cultural fairs and the like. Seldom a day goes by that we don't hear the names of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Madame C.J. Walker, George Washington Carver, and so on.

This activity will remind students that no one deserves to be bullied and that everyone has a responsibility to report unkind acts.

This activity will remind students that no one deserves to be bullied and that everyone has a responsibility to report unkind acts.

Activity Ideas