Everyone Has a Gift
Celebrating Diversity
Teacher Lesson Guide
(swipe to advance)
Objectives
Denotation
Awareness
Reflection
Lesson Design
45-60 Minutes
5 Min: Review Learning Objectives
20 Min: Literary Discussion: The Ugly Fairy
5 Min: Supporting Activity: A Difference That I Like
10 Min: Reinforcing Activity: Build a Picture
3 Min: Closing Activity
Objectives
Identify the effects of being difference or similar:
to one another in the classroom, in our neighborhoods, in our country.
to our environments and the earth.Exploring examples of diversity all around us.
Reflect on how it feels to be different and to see differences
Explore how differences and similarities make our classroom and the world a richer and more interesting place.
Lingo List
Language of Comparison
fast/slow
strong/ weak
interesting/ dull
like/dislike
distinction
similar/different
equal/unequal
Identifying Uniqueness
distinction
variety
distinguish
characterize
spiteful
harsh
Embracing Diversity Words
acceptance
celebration
admiration
acknowledgement
recognition
respect
tolerate
Words that Challenge Inclusion
exclude
isolate
ignore
shun
ridicule
snub
reject
Trait Words
characteristic
trait
feature
gift
talent
skill
specialty
ability
virtue
attribute
style
value
One of the gifts of being human is our natural ability to categorize; analyze, group, compare and contrast things around us. However, since various cultures have different ways of doing that builds and shapes their understanding of the world, sometimes conflict can arise because how we are in family, may sometimes be in conflict with how we are socially in school, or with other people in other places.
This lesson is culturally honest in that it identifies that being different can be difficult and painful. However, if we are able to become more intimate with our differences, we often find common ground and realize that these traits that make us unique are also the marks of our genius and important assets for a strong community. Picasso said that an artist’s flaws were ultimately her signature. By practicing identifying and honoring our differences, we can achieve a sort of liberation through integration in ourselves and our relationships with peers and community members.
Guiding Questions for Class:
Who deserves to be celebrated? What are some positive ways we can respond to differences? What are some ways that we can practice standing up for others who we see are not being treated fairly or kindly?
Reading:
The Ugly Fairy
There was once a fairy who was learning how to be a fairy godmother. Most magic and wonderful, she was the kindest and cleverest of all fairies. However, she was also a very ugly fairy. And no matter how much she showed her wonderful qualities, it seemed that everyone was determined to believe that the most important thing about a fairy was her beauty. In the fairy school they ignored her, and every time she flew off on a mission to help a child or anyone else in trouble, before she could say a word they were already screeching and yelling at her: "Ugly! Get out of here, weirdo!"
Despite her being little, her magic was very powerful, and more than once she had considered using it to make herself beautiful. But then she remembered what her mother had always told her: "My dear, you are what you are, warts and all; and never doubt that you are this way for a very special reason..."
But then, one day, the witches of the neighboring land invaded and destroyed the country, putting all the fairies and wizards in prison. Our fairy, just before being attacked, put a spell on her own clothes and, helped by her ugly face, she managed to pass for a witch. That way she was able to follow the witches back to their den.
Once there she used her magic to prepare a big party for everyone, decorating the cave with bats, toads and spiders. The music was provided by a pack of howling wolves. While the party was in full swing, the fairy hurried off and set free all the fairies and wizards who had been imprisoned. When all of them were free, they worked together on one big spell which succeeded in trapping the witches inside the mountain for the next hundred years. And for the next hundred years, and more, everyone remembered the great bravery and intelligence of the ugly fairy.
And from that day on no one in that land ever saw ugliness as a disgrace. Whenever someone ugly was born, people were filled with joy, knowing that for that new person great things lay ahead.
Open-Ended Questions:
After the reading, debrief the story using the open-ended questions below.
Denotation
What are some differences that we see around us?
Why are we sometimes afraid of differences?
What would your class be like if everyone was the same?
Empathy
When you experience something strange, a new place, a new person, a new activity, how do you feel?
How does it feel when someone rejects your differences?
When you see another person criticized for something about them that is different, how does it make you feel?
Problem Solving
How can someone stay a strong and positive role model or influence among others?
If someone is serving others what makes you want to join in?
Identifying Diversity Activity: A Difference That I Like
Goal: Demonstrate the importance of empowering each other to celebrate each other.
Arrange the students into a circle.
Inform students that each student will get “the spotlight” in order to be given a chance to be celebrated.
Get a volunteer, or just select a student to be in “the spotlight” first.
Go around the circle and have each of the other students say: “Something different/unique that I like about __(student in the spotlight)_____ is . . . (student completes the sentence). Model the response if the group struggles to engage.
Make sure that everyone has a turn even if they are quick responses. Make sure that the facilitator is also included.
Debriefing Questions:
How can we tell if someone does not know that their differences are gifts?
How could we help others feel good about their differences?
How did it feel to be in the “spotlight”?
Reinforcing Activity: Build a Picture
Introductions:
If you have a large group, divide the students up into small groups
Read aloud to group
Today we are going to be artists and build different pictures. Let’s first choose a place/location. Some ideas might be, a camp site in the mountains, a beach, a park in the city...Once you have the place. Have students picture the place in their minds; “Ok, let’s go to that place that we chose in our minds.” Ask the students, “What do you see there?” Ask them to raise their hands when they have an idea for what should be in the picture. Make a list of items that will be included in the image.
In person; Now, section off the board for the small groups, or give papers to each group. Have each group work at the same time on their own pictures. Virtual; Each student will draw on their own paper and at the end flash to the camera at the end or if using zoom, host can share whiteboard/hosting privileges (share a document) and crate together on one surface.
In person: Assign all items from your list (step 3) to different students (group/members) to draw on the board (or paper), or section of the drawing surface. If a student cannot draw items on the list, they may add/enhance/change another group member object as agreed upon by that person. Most important is that each participant add to the piece with a unique element. Virtual: Each student will attempt to draw each item decided upon from (step 3) independently.
Once completed, there should be similar but different pictures produced by individual students/groups.
Share the pictures with each other and discuss the debrief questions
Debrief Questions
What are some similarities you see between the pictures?
What are some differences?
What are some elements that you like in each of the pictures?
What elements could you add to these pictures?
Closing Activity
Today, we explored how our differences and similarities make our classroom and world a richer and more interesting place.
FULL CIRCLE- Open-Ended Questions
Write the phrase, ‘how diversity helps’ on the (white)board and ask students to respond to this idea. Acknowledge their responses and work towards the following idea: Diversity brings strength to the community.
Ask students to share their thoughts and ideas about how differences make us stronger with the following questions:
How do differences in our group make us a stronger class? How do they make us a stronger school?
What if we all had the same strengths and the same weaknesses, what would working together look like? What might sports and games look like?
In what ways could your class be more diverse?
What gifts were you happy to discover in a friend?
How could today’s lesson help you practice the Four Awesome Questions?
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