Name: Robyn Olsen CDMO5.

Spring 2017

Child Initiated

Purpose (ABE goal 2): Each child will express comfort and joy with human diversity; accurate
language for human differences; and deep, caring human connections.
Name of activity: Community Reading

Materials needed: A variety of books and stories that include diverse families of all ethnicities,
beliefs ad family structures that directly relate to the children on their developmental level.

How to teach & Ages appropriate for: Since this is a child initiated activity, in preschool the
children will be given the opportunity to visit the reading center in the classroom when it is
time to pick a job. This is appropriate for children of all ages, as children K-12 can choose the
books they want to read throughout the year as well.
Resource: Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie
Olsen Edwards

Teacher Initiated

Purpose (ABE goal 3): Each child will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to de-
scribe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts.
Name of activity: Insight Communication
Materials needed: Familiar books, pictures and videos of common stereotypes; paper &
crayons
How to teach & Ages appropriate for: During the morning meeting, the teacher talks to the
children about some common stereotypes they are familiar with (i.e. Native American image -
Pocahontas for example). They engage the children in conversation about wha they think
based on what theyve been shown in the past and what theyre being shown now (the truth).
Finally, they are sat down at the art center to draw/color something related to the discussion.
An example could be their new conception of a stereotype that was proven incorrect. This is
appropriate for preschool age children 3-5.
Resource: Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie
Olsen Edwards
 Teacher Guided

Purpose (ABE goal 4): Each child will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act, with
others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.
Name of activity: Food Exploration

Materials needed: Foods from different cultures

How to teach and Ages appropriate for: Many children come to school with snacks and lunch-
es that are unique to their families culture and religious beliefs. If teachers listen closely, they
can look for opportunities when the children are comparing their food and talking about what
they bring to school. Since teacher guided activities include scaffolding, it is important to listen
for opportunities to engage the children in conversations and activities based on their own in-
terests. When they are discussing their lunches, for example, the teacher can step in and ask
some open-ended questions about what they brought. This will encourage other children to
ask questions to find out about their friends culture and promote anti-discriminatory thoughts
and actions through interest and acceptance of each unique meal preference. A 4-year-old
should be able to learn that her friends are bringing food that represent their families, just like
she also brings food that represents her family. This is appropriate for preschool age children
3-5 and grade school children age 6-8.
Resource: Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie
Olsen Edwards