Amber Garrett

Education 280
Dr. Flowers
July 12, 2016

Lesson Plan Title: Anti-Discrimination Community Action Plan

Grade: 5-6

Concept / Topic To Teach:

Explore ways in which the community students live in can prevent discrimination and promote
inclusion of diversity. Students will learn that as individuals they have an ability to make an
impact in the community that they live in. Students will learn that they have a voice in
preventing discrimination and their actions everyday can promote inclusion.

General Goal(s):
Students should be able to identify ways in which discrimination negatively impacts a
community and its citizens. Students will understand the importance of tolerance of diversity.
Students will use problem solving skills and communication skills to work cooperatively in
finding solutions to the problems addressed in their news stories. Students will create a
Community Action Plan which lays out their ideas to prevent future incidents of discrimination,
racism, and intolerance.

Specific Objectives:
1. Student will read and reflect on 3 news stories (chosen by teacher) where a community
was affected by an event that involved discrimination, racism, or intolerance and the
negative impact it had. Students will be expected to form their own opinions of the stories
they read.
2. Student will be able to come to group consensus through discussion of how
discrimination, racism, or intolerance did or did not play a role in the event by identifying
examples to support their position.
3. Students will understand concepts to define discrimination, racism, and intolerance and
be able to properly identify instances in which one or all of these things play a role.
4. Students will be able to have constructive discussions and sensitive topics like race and
discrimination in a respectful manner.
Required Materials:
1.
2.
3.
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5.
6.

News articles chosen and distributed by teacher

Pens
Paper
(1) Posterboard per group
Markers/Crayons/Colored Pencils
Computer (for paper)

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In):

Teacher opens a discussion in class about the recent news stories of the Dallas shooting, the
Miami shooting, and the Charleston Church shooting. The teacher leads the class to identify in
what ways discrimination, racism, and or intolerance played a role in those community events.
Teacher will ask students to put themselves in the role of community leaders in the cities where

their news stories occur and think about ways they could prevent future events that could involve
discrimination, racism, and intolerance.

Step-By-Step Procedures:
Students will be broken down into groups assigned by teacher. Preferably medium sized 3-5
person groups.
1. Groups will review and analyze their news story. They will establish cause and effect
relationships that identify the role discrimination, racism, and or intolerance and how it
had a negative impact on the community in their news story. Students will be expected to
support their opinions using 3 examples.
2. Groups will discuss how these events have a negative impact on the community and its
citizens. Student groups will be expected to provide 3 examples.
3. Groups will brainstorm what actions they, as community leaders, could implement that
would promote inclusion and discourage intolerance in the community. Student groups
need to decide on 5 actions to focus on.
4. Groups will discuss how to implement a plan. Each community action must include a five
step plan that focuses on a strategy to promote inclusion and prevent discrimination.
5. Groups will use materials provided to create their community action plan that includes a
brief summary of news story, cause/effect relationship of discrimination and negative
impact on community, and the community action plan.
6. Groups will present their community action plan to classroom.

Plan For Independent Practice:

Students will write a two page paper that summarizes the news story of another group and share
their personal feelings about the story and the overarching issues of discrimination, intolerance,
and racism. Students will also share their own experience or the experience of a family member

or friend who has dealt with discrimination and reflect on how being involved in your
community can reduce intolerance.

Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):

After students have submitted their paper, teacher will close lesson with a final discussion with
an overview of the concepts covered in the lesson and request student participation to share what
they learned.

Assessment Based On Objectives:

1. (Summative Assessment through independent practice paper) Students show a
comprehensive understanding of what discrimination and racism is and can identify
instances of it.
2. (Formative assessment through teachers observation during group discussion) Students
will be able to draw common conclusions as to the negative impacts of discrimination in
a community.
3. (Summative assessment) Students will be able to explain why respect and tolerance of
diversity are important American values.
4. (Formative assessment using examples students provide during #2 of the step by step
procedures) Students will be able to establish cause and affect relationships in the events
of the news stories.
5. (Formative assessment through teachers observations while creating the community
action plan.) Students will be able to work cooperatively and communicate effectively to
create a Community Action Plan.

Possible Connections To Other Subjects:

Civics
Government
Activism
Writing

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/name.html
Exchanging Stories- Names
Grade 5-6
Students are asked to write a 1-2 page paper about their names. Students are asked to explore the
meanings of their names and given the freedom to provide their own interpretations. Encouraged
to write poetry, add humor, or anything they feel makes it personal to them.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/games-around-world
Games from Around the World
Grades P-K 1
Students are introduced to the origins of games we play here in America and around the world.
Games like tug-of-war which came from Europe in the middle ages, or Soccer which is known as
futbol in most parts of the world. Students will play games that they know well in which they

gain a new understanding of as well as popular childrens games in other parts of the world.
Children will be able to see that children everywhere share a common connection through
games.

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/circlesofself.html
Circles of My Multicultural Self
Grades 6
This activity focuses on students identifying what they consider to be the most important aspects
of their cultural identity. Students are asked to expressed moments they were most proud to be
part of a group as well as times when they found it was hurtful in order to lead class discussion.
Students are asked to write their names in the center circle, they then draw two additional circles
to represent what they feel are their most defining characteristics and additional things they feel
identify them in the room they have. Students will then work with a partner to share their most
proud and hurtful times and relate them to the cultural characteristics in their circles. This will
lead to a discussion about stereotypes where students will share their own statements.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/internet-resources-celebrating-mexico
Internet Field Trip: Mexico
Grades: 3-5 6-8
This activity asks students to imagine themselves on vacation in Mexico for Cinco de Mayo.
Students are expected to search the web and research the meaning behind the holiday and the
different ways in which people celebrate the holiday. Students will also choose a city in Mexico

to spend their virtual vacation and conduct research about their chosen area. Students will then
share their information with the class.

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/my-other-life
In My Other Life
Grades: 7-8
This activity asks students to imagine their life living in a different culture. Stereotypes are
challenged in this lesson as students are expected to expand their awareness of cultures
unfamiliar to them. Through internet and book research students collect and organize information
to present a picture of what life would be like living in a different culture and compare and
contrast their own culture to the one they research.

http://www.discoverhumanrights.org/uploads/challenge_the_media_toolkit.pdf
Challenge The Media
Grades 9-12
This lesson highlights the ways girls and women are sexualized in the media. Students are
challenged to identify gender stereotypes and analyze the portrayal of girls and women in the
media by examining different magazines and newspapers and clipping out images of women and
girls. They will then associate words with the images and write them down next to the pictures.
These will be posted for the class so they may discuss the role of stereotypes, the audience being
marketed, and other important questions for the students to think and share their comments.
Students will then read an article about women in the media and break into small discussion
groups to answer critical thinking questions about womens role in media.

http://www.tolerance.org/activity/history-other-hate-symbols
The History of Other Hate Symbols
Grades 6-8 9-12
This lesson explores historical and modern day images that contain hidden messages about the
beliefs of some people and what that say about the world we all live in. Students will first be
asked to find symbols via internet, books and other information provided by the teacher. Students
will be asked to answer a group of questions that expect them to name and explain what the
symbols represent, why they are positive or negative and whether these symbols should be
allowed in schools. Students will break into groups and each group is assigned a symbol by the
teacher that is a positive symbol. As groups, students will research the symbol and create a poster
board that includes the symbol and the positive things associated with it which will be displayed
in the classroom as a reinforcement of tolerance and respect of everyone.

http://discoverhumanrights.org/uploads/human_rights_in_u_s_grades_6-8_3.pdf
Human Rights, Responsibility and You
Grades: 6-8
The goal of this lesson is to provide students with a basic introduction into what human rights
are. The lesson starts out with students discussing what it means to be human by class discussion.
Students will search magazines and newspapers for words they associate with being human and
create a collage. Students then break down into groups and repeat the activity defining some of
the basic human rights chosen by the teacher. Students will then regroup and share and discuss
what the groups came up with. Finally the teacher will close the lesson by reinforcing the

concepts of human rights and the importance of respecting those people who are like us as well
as those who are not.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/tools/culture/goals.html
Exploring African Culture
Grades 9-12
In this lesson students explore the culture of Africa through storytelling and oral traditions.
Students will be expected to create a Culinary Report based on the information they gather from
articles about the daily lives of Africans. Students also analyze African folklore, traditional and
modern art, and compare and contrast indigenous religions based on the reading material
provided by the teacher. Students will then create an Africa book, sharing the information they
have learned.

http://www.discoverhumanrights.org/uploads/right_to_education_lesson_plan_new.pdf
Barriers to Education in a U.S. High School
Grades: 9-12
In this activity students will build understanding about the barriers to education that face some
students. As a class, students will brainstorm with the teacher what it means to have a right to an
education. Students will review the Declaration of Human Rights that covers the right to an
education. Teacher will then provide the materials of three different stories of different high
school students and break the classes into groups to read and compare and contrast the stories of
the students. Students will then be given different roles: students, teachers, administrators, etc.

and will recommend an action that can be taken to fix problem areas. Finally each group presents
their recommendations to the class.