Exhibition: Don't Judge Me. Scheduled for March 19th at 5:30. Check out this page for student work and performances.
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Project Description
When I taught in Ethiopia, I often saw Ethiopian and other black African girls walking with backpacks that were decorated with white Disney princesses. These were not poor children receiving donations; these were wealthy African girls attending the international school where I taught. Recently, I asked my 5-year-old son “what it meant to act like a girl.” After assuring him that I wasn’t “accusing” him of acting like a girl, he told me that girls play “nice things”, and boys play “bad things, like rough games”. My hope is to encourage my students to question these cultural stereotypes and help them determine their own identities without the pressures of our social norms.
In this project, students will explore social norms and stereotypes and create an advertising campaign that promotes equity and social justice. This project will launch with an exploration of classic Disney fairy tales, while asking the question: What does it mean to act like a princess or prince? Students will write their own fairy tales with characters that break the usual social norms. Meanwhile, students will observe and interview their peers from kindergarten through high school to study the social norms and common stereotypes that exist within our school community. Data will be presented in pie charts with fractions and percentages.
After we break down the data and publish our progressive fairy tales, our work will split into two complementary projects: a study of local American Indian tribes and an introspective inquiry of ourselves and our community. Students will explore the history and current affairs of the local tribes through stories and fieldwork, and then create an artistic presentation that demonstrates their understanding of the American Indian culture that will be displayed in the newly constructed school garden. Simultaneously, students will explore their own identity and the stereotypes that define (or don’t define) them, and create masks that show who they are: their passions and dreams, likes and dislikes, personal attributes and goals. Throughout the project, students will reflect in the form of poetry and blogging. As a culmination, students will produce an advertising campaign that promotes equity and social justice, which may include a clothing line, short film, other digital media presentation, persuasive essay, or a connection to our computer programming work depending on student choice.
In this project, students will explore social norms and stereotypes and create an advertising campaign that promotes equity and social justice. This project will launch with an exploration of classic Disney fairy tales, while asking the question: What does it mean to act like a princess or prince? Students will write their own fairy tales with characters that break the usual social norms. Meanwhile, students will observe and interview their peers from kindergarten through high school to study the social norms and common stereotypes that exist within our school community. Data will be presented in pie charts with fractions and percentages.
After we break down the data and publish our progressive fairy tales, our work will split into two complementary projects: a study of local American Indian tribes and an introspective inquiry of ourselves and our community. Students will explore the history and current affairs of the local tribes through stories and fieldwork, and then create an artistic presentation that demonstrates their understanding of the American Indian culture that will be displayed in the newly constructed school garden. Simultaneously, students will explore their own identity and the stereotypes that define (or don’t define) them, and create masks that show who they are: their passions and dreams, likes and dislikes, personal attributes and goals. Throughout the project, students will reflect in the form of poetry and blogging. As a culmination, students will produce an advertising campaign that promotes equity and social justice, which may include a clothing line, short film, other digital media presentation, persuasive essay, or a connection to our computer programming work depending on student choice.
Readings and Videos
Links to Sport Illustrated articles on Mo'ne Davis:
"Good Morning Boys and Girls." This article explores the language
teachers use around gender in the classroom. Two parts were
particularly provocative for our classroom discussion:
teachers use around gender in the classroom. Two parts were
particularly provocative for our classroom discussion:
Too often, teachers use gendered terms in the classroom — boys, girls, men, women — without thinking about the impact of such words. New research suggests, however, that such language draws children's attention to gender — rather than other more important characteristics of individuals within classroom settings, such as their personalities or skills.
Imagine if a teacher used race labels in similar fashion: "Good morning, whites and blacks." Or used ethnicity as a way to organize classroom activities: "Latinos, get your backpacks now."
Here is a blog post titled "You Guys"? by Dr. Neal Lester on
Teaching Tolerance. He writes about the power of language around
gender neutral words.
Teaching Tolerance. He writes about the power of language around
gender neutral words.
Student Objectives and Learning Standards
What will we learn?
CCS Reading Literature Standards
3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
3.2 Recount folktales from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
3.7 Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).
CCS Writing Standards
3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
3.3 Write narrative to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCS Mathematics Standards
CA State History-Social Studies Standards
3.2 Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past.
CCS Reading Literature Standards
3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
3.2 Recount folktales from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
3.7 Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).
CCS Writing Standards
3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
3.3 Write narrative to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCS Mathematics Standards
- Survey, gather and present data.
- Develop understanding of fractions as numbers.
CA State History-Social Studies Standards
3.2 Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past.
- Describe national identities, religious beliefs, customs, and various folklore traditions.
- Discuss the ways in which physical geography, including climate, influenced how the local Indian nations adapted to their natural environment (e.g., how they obtained food, clothing, tools).
- Describe the economy and systems of government, particularly those with tribal constitutions, and their relationship to federal and state governments.
- Discuss the interaction of new settlers with the already established Indians of the region.