What’s Fair?

Overview:

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

F is for Fair [1] guides students through their human right to education and helps them evaluate how well the world is doing when it comes to providing a free, equal, quality education to our youth.

In That’s Not Fair! [2] students experience the effects of unequal resources on student achievement, share their thoughts about educational disparities and take action to bring about change.

This is Our House, by Michael Rosen. George does not allow girls, twins, short people or children with glasses in his cardboard abode. But one day everybody jumps into the house when George is away. They decide to exclude people with red hair. This turn-about/fair-play action traumatizes red-haired George. He is relieved—and enlightened—when the children eventually let him enter.

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