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Sabrina Nethery

EDU 280-1002

Professor Christensen

3 July 2020

Stereotypes Are Assumptions

Subject: Social Studies (Psychology, Regions/Cultures, Sociology)

Grade Level(s) in Elementary Education: 3-8

Active Teaching Strategies: One sentence summary, student summary of another student’s

answer, and group discussion (Michigan State University).

1. Lesson Objectives:

a. Subject Observable Objective: Students will learn what defines a stereotype,

work in groups to create stereotype statements, reconvene to discuss if the

statements are fair, and write a synopsis of what they gathered from the activity.

b. Multicultural Goal: Combat racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and

discrimination (“New Manning Study Guide.” Christensen. 2020, Pg. 1)

2. All Lesson Materials:

a. youtube.com/watch?v=nrZ21nD9I-0

b. Definitions

c. What Comes to Mind

3. Instruction- Learning Process:

a. Do First: Create an introduction, warm-up, interest hook to capture the students’

interest and attention. (5 minutes.)

i. Introduction: “What does the word stereotype mean?” Ask for volunteers

to answer that question, write each on the board and then write a collective

definition. (4 minutes)

ii. Warm-up/Hook: Play European Institute for Gender Equality’s Youtube

video Gender stereotypes and education

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZ21nD9I-0) (1 minute)

b. Mini Lesson: Teach the concepts, information, skills, the students MUST KNOW

to complete the activity. The teaching must include both the subject and

multicultural lesson skills and information. Choose active teaching strategies to

increase learning achievement. (15 minutes)

i. Pass out “Definitions” handout and go over each definition. Provide

clarification for any questions that arise. (15 minutes)

c. Guided Practice: Students begin the main assignment of the activity. Teacher

checks to see that students understand the skills and information taught in the

mini-lesson and can apply those skills and information to the assignment. Re-

teaching, explanations, demonstrations are given by the teacher as needed. (10

minutes)

i. Write the words girl and boy side-by-side with a vertical line between

them on the whiteboard. Have students set up a piece of writing paper in

the same way and ask students to write words or phrases they think

describe the qualities or characteristics of each term in the respective

column. (5 minutes)
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ii. Ask for three volunteers to read one thing they wrote and fill it in on the

whiteboard. Re-teach or explain concepts, definitions, and instructions as

needed. (5 minutes)

d. Independent Practice: Now, students are ready to independently complete the

learning activity and apply the teaching from the mini-lesson and guided practice.

The activity needs to demonstrate both subject and multicultural skills and

knowledge. (20 min.)

i. Pass out the “What Comes to Mind” handout and have the students fill in

their thoughts. (5 minutes)

ii. [For a 25-person class] Group five students in one group, making five

groups. Have the students discuss a few terms they used to describe each

category. (5 minutes)

iii. Reconvene the class and ask the students to share a few of the terms they

wrote as descriptors. (5 minutes)

iv. Pick a few examples and ask students if they think the terms are fair or

universal to the category it was to describe. (5 minutes)

e. Exit Slip: A quick check (5 minutes) to see that students have accomplished the

lesson objective and multicultural goal

i. Have the students write a paragraph detailing their take-away from the

assignment. Write the following on the board for reflection: Do I identify

with any of the categories? Do I feel that I was described by the terms that

others used to describe the category I identify with, or with terms in a

category that I do not? Do I know anyone that identifies with a category

listed, but does not fit the terms used to describe it? Food for thought:

Everyone is their own person!

Reflection: I believe this lesson will teach students that various identifiers (cultural, physical,

biological, etc.) should not be stereotyped since they are so diverse in and of themselves. I hope

to teach skills of tolerance and understanding, while promoting a “think before you speak” model

for students to actively practice. Students should learn their personal biases from this lesson. My

goal is for students to realize their hidden biases while learning that those biases are not fact, but

opinion. It is important to convey that individuals are multicultural. One category that someone

identifies with does not confine them to a “box,” or to the descriptors others label it with.

I believe this is a strong lesson plan. The detailed information and group work are helpful

for students to learn to communicate openly with their peers. Open communication promoted by

the lesson will encourage effective communication of disagreements they may have with one

another. The idea of a group activity is that many different students come together with their

individual, unique perspectives.

I believe that weaknesses of this lesson plan could be caused by a lack of diversity in the

classroom. Each lesson plan should be tailored to fit the needs of the students. For example, if I

do not have any Asian American students in my class, I should speak to Asian American

students in another class to gain insight on their perspective of stereotypes they encounter. The

part in this lesson plan that details asking the class if they think certain descriptors are fair would

be more effective if I include examples of identities of students in the class as well as identities

of students that are not.

Say I have a student named Tammy in my class and she is short but has expressed that

she is good at basketball. I can use Tammy as an example of a stereotype not fitting every
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individual. If I do not have an Asian American in my classroom, I feel it is my responsibility to

gather information from an Asian American student to better speak to my students’ potential

stereotypes from the Asian American student’s perspective. One cannot speak on behalf of an

identity that they are not, but those identities should still have a voice in the classroom.

Strengths:

• Presentation: Comprehensive

• Visual Aid(s): Video and handouts

• Engaging with peers

• Relative information

• Active involvement in different capacities (incl. written explanations, independent

thought, speaking aloud to the entire class, conversing within small groups)

Weaknesses:

• Single day dedicated to the lesson; may be more effective if structured over multiple days

• Definitions – too many, too little; I do not know the level of understanding of the

hypothetical class, so the definitions listed may be too little or too much

• Potential lack of diversity in the classroom, making student discussions limited in

perspectives
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Resources

Active Learning Strategies. Michigan State University. omerad.msu.edu/teaching/teaching-

strategies/active-learning-strategies

Hopkins, Gary. Education World. 2016. educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp294-01.shtml

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. merriam-

webster.com/?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=dictionary&utm_medium=cpc&gclid

=EAIaIQobChMI2N3qz8G56gIVfT6tBh1A1gitEAAYASAAEgJOyPD_BwE