Cultural Diversity Lesson Plan

It's Okay to Be Different: Teaching Diversity

It is important to teach students about diversity to help them develop empathy for others. This lesson, for first and second graders, uses Todd Parr's picture book It's Okay to Be Different to help students understand what diversity means and how it applies to them. After a shared reading of the text, students work in small groups to discuss and write down what makes them diverse. They then visit Todd Parr's website and create pages for their own books about diversity. Students share their completed books with another class.

An important goal of teaching students the literature of diversity is showing them how to become empathetic human beings.

Balance is a part of teaching empathy. Students should not become overwhelmed by negative feelings, but they should recognize—and take seriously—stories about oppression.

Picture books are beneficial in helping students to become knowledgeable about cultural and diversity issues and in allowing them to make the personal connections that lead to empathetic behavior.

Students will

Activate prior knowledge about diversity by exploring the words different and similar

Gain knowledge by learning what the term diversity means

Apply and further that knowledge in whole-class and small-group discussions about diversity

Demonstrate comprehension and practice writing skills by writing about diversity

Practice collaboration by working in small groups to generate ideas and create books

Use oral and listening skills during shared readings of the books they create

Introduce the topic of diversity by drawing students' attentions to their differences and similarities. You can present four or five criteria statements for the class to consider and ask students to stand up in groups. Some examples of criteria statements are:

All the 6-year-olds stand up

Everyone wearing tennis shoes stand up

If you like baseball stand up

Stand up if you have any freckles on your skin

Ask students if they can think of other differences that the criteria statements did not address. Why is it important to share these differences? What can they help us understand about each other?

Student Reflections

Assessment for this lesson will be mostly informal. You should observe your students' reactions during class and small-group discussions. By paying attention to their conversations and individual responses, you can assess their comprehension of diversity and their ability to apply this comprehension by exploring their own differences.

Informally observe students as they work in their groups. Are they respectful? Do they listen to each other? Do they collaborate on ideas and on a title for the group book?

Read and reflect on students' journal entries. Respond to each student's entry, correcting misconceptions and applauding accepting comments.

Assess students' book pages. You should look at the following aspects of each page:

The text. Is it thoughtful and does it demonstrate that the student understands the importance of accepting differences?

The illustration. Is it creative? Does it reflect the main idea of the text?

Group work. Did the student work with other members of his or her group to edit the page? Did the group assign an appropriate title for the book?

Sharing. Did the student read his or her page clearly? Was he or she able to discuss the page and answer questions about it?