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.
Framework
Understanding
the concept of fairness is important for young people. From an early age, we
begin to develop opinions about what is fair and what isn’t. How many times
have you heard a toddler yelling, “that’s not fair” when he doesn’t get his
way? As we get older, our perceptions of fairness change, but they continue to
be based on personal perception. This creates many teachable moments for
students. What is fair to one student may seem unfair to another. And what
seems unfair to many, may offer opportunities to create school-wide, local or
national change. It is important to teach children from a young age the importance
of fairness in applying rules and laws, fighting for changes in rules, laws,
behavior or current issues and treating others with respect and tolerance at
all times.
Additional Resources
Early Grades [3] (K-2)
Upper Elementary [4] (3-5)
Standards [5]
Activities and embedded assessments address the following standards (McREL 4th [5] [5]edition [5])
Arts
Standard 1: Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines
Language Arts
Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
U.S. History
Standard 29: Understands the struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties.
Civics
Standard 9: Understands the importance of Americans sharing and supporting certain values, beliefs, and principles of American constitutional democracy
Standard 11: Understands the role of diversity in American life and the importance of shared values, political beliefs, and civic beliefs in an increasingly diverse American society
Standard 14: Understands issues concerning the disparity between ideals and reality in American political and social life
Standard 25: Understands issues regarding personal, political and economic rights
Links:
[1] http://www.tolerance.org/activity/f-fair
[2] http://www.tolerance.org/activity/thats-not-fair
[3] http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/whats-fair-early-grades
[4] http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/whats-fair-upper-elementary
[5] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp