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196 Results

Respect is a Summer Camp Essential

Tools and Strategies
Summer Camp Diverse Kids Sitting on Grass
A Guide for Counselors and Camp Administrators For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Summer camp is a wonderful time in children’s lives when they get to spend time outdoors, meet new people, have novel experiences and gain insight into themselves. There are about 12,000 day and resident camps in the U.S. and each year more than 11 million children and adults attend camp. According to an American Camp Association (ACA) report, parents cite the following reasons as the…
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Bias in the Presidential Election

Tools and Strategies
Election Campaign Process Illustration
For Parents, Families, and Caregivers  | 10 and up Topic SummaryElec­tion years often rich oppor­tu­ni­ties for parents and edu­ca­tors to talk with young people about civics, the elec­toral process, how government works and politics. During the 2016 presidential campaign, many people felt hesitant about how to raise the topic and specif­i­cally, how to approach the negative and biased dis­course that characterized much of the rhetoric that took…
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6 Ways to Be an Ally (en Español)

Tools and Strategies
Female and Male Students Holding Cellphones Debating
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers | For Students Here are some simple things you can do to be an ally to targets of name-calling and bullying. And remember—always think about your safety first when deciding the best way to respond. 1. Support targets, whether you know them or not.Show compassion and encouragement to those who are the targets of bullying behavior by asking if they’re okay, going with them to get help and letting them know you are there for them…
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Finding the Balance: Countering Extremism and Combating Stereotypes

Tools and Strategies
High School Students Group Discussion
Young people are exposed to discussions of extremism every day through social media, news and overheard conversations between adults. As an educators, the topic can be challenging to teach because the situation is always changing and evolving and worse, classroom conversations can themselves lead to stereotyping, bias and bigotry when discussing perpetrators and victims.  The following resources will help you teach about extremism while ensuring that the threat is…
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9 Ways To Teach about the Election: A Social Justice Approach

Tools and Strategies
Election Process Illustration
Campaigns and elections are ripe with opportunity to discuss government, the electoral process, civics and history as well as the myriad of specific issues that are important to the public during any particular year, whether it’s a local or presidential election. The following ideas for teaching about the election focus on social justice issues. They provide suggested strategies and activities teachers can undertake with students in order to help them analyze issues of bias,…
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Recursos educativos en español

Tools and Strategies
Word web concept of learning Spanish
Para fomentar escuelas y aulas respetuosas, inclusivas y equitativas, es importante reconocer la lengua que hablan los alumnos y sus familias. Esas lenguas reflejan y afirman su origen étnico, su cultura y su herencia. Según datos recientes del Censo, 63,7 millones de personas (o el 19,1% del total de la población) que viven en Estados Unidos se identifican como hispanos/latinoamericanos. Además, la mayoría de los hispanos (75%) afirman ser capaces de…
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Voting Rights Then and Now

Lesson Plan
American Voters Stand in Line
GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening Racial Discrimination and Safeguarding the Right to Vote In August 2015, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The Voting Rights Act is landmark federal legislation that was enacted during the Civil Rights Movement and was intended to prevent racial discrimination in voting. Prior to that, even though Black…
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Why Is It Important to Teach Young Children to Appreciate Diversity?

Tools and Strategies
Early Childhood Question Corner For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Although children are not born with prejudice, by early childhood they have already acquired stereotypes or negative attitudes toward those that they perceive as “others.” An article in The Buffalo News reports that about 85 percent of the brain develops between ages 3 and 5, and that impressions and ideas formed between ages 2 and 4 are lasting (Lessons in Respect, 2003). Researchers tracking the…
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How Can “Looking at Lights” Promote Respect Among Children for Various Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions?

Tools and Strategies
Candles in the Dark
Early Childhood Question Corner   Common themes appear in holidays and celebrations across many cultures. By connecting themes, as suggested in the Question Corner installment "How can I plan inclusive holiday celebrations?" you can show children that holidays and celebrations are an expression of cultural and religious pride, and help them understand the commonality of certain human feelings, celebrations and their meaning. For example, by trying the following activity, Looking…
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Beyond the Dream, Teaching King in Context

Article
Martin Luther King Hand Raised
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Monday, January 16, and many educators will take the opportunity to teach about King and his enormous contributions to our society. As educators, how we approach the teaching of this holiday makes an impact on how students understand the larger context of the Civil Rights Movement and whether they make a connection between the past struggles to the current day and their own lives. Here are some thoughts about teaching the topic in a meaningful way…
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No Name-Calling Week

Tools and Strategies
No Name-Calling Week started in 2004. It was created by K-12 teachers and students and sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (G.L.S.E.N.). to call attention to and end name-calling and bullying in schools. No Name-Calling Week takes place yearly during the third week of January. Below are educational resources to help you create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students, teach students to understand and counter bias and bullying and inspire…
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Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights: Relevancy for Today

Lesson Plan
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr March on DC
GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, History/Social Studies In commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, this curriculum for grades 3–12 provides grade-specific lessons, resources and extension activities to provide your students opportunities to examine civil rights in the United States past and present. The lessons provide an opportunity for students to delve deeper into Martin Luther King Jr…
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Teaching about Racism, Violence, Inequity and the Criminal Justice System

Tools and Strategies
We Will Not Go Back March Protestors 2014
In recent years, there have been incidents of police officers involved in the deaths of Black and Latin American people. In many of these cases, police officers were not indicted and not convicted when brought to trial. These cases have brought about a wide range of emotions, conversations, policy proposals, protests and actions. Because this is an important conversation that teachers, parents and family members want to have with young people, below are relevant lesson plans,…
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Winter Holidays: December Dilemma or Teaching Opportunity?

Tools and Strategies
Candles in the Dark
For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Winter is a festive time of year because so many holidays are celebrated by people from different religions, cultures and races. We spend time with family and friends, connect with our faith or culture, give and receive gifts and enjoy special foods and treats. However, this time of year—especially in schools and whether it's in-person, online or hybrid—can be a time where some children can feel uncomfortable, excluded, insulted…
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Dos and Don’ts with Special Diversity Events

Tools and Strategies
As a way to recognize diversity in their school or community, many schools host special events for their students, families and educators, whether these events are in honor of Black History Month, Women’s History Month or other significant holidays and local and national events. While it is important to highlight different groups and issues that have otherwise been excluded, minimized, or marginalized, when poorly planned and implemented, such events can leave students with…
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Identity-Based Bullying

Lesson Plan
Girl Student in Class Being Bullied
Bullying is a major problem in our schools. When it targets aspects of a person’s identity, it is called identity-based bullying, and may include bias about appearance, race, culture, gender and gender expression, language, religion, socioeconomic status, disability and sexual orientation. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center (Patchin & Hinduja, 2020), 49.8% of tweens (9 to 12 years old) said they experienced bullying at school and 14.5% of tweens shared they experienced…
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National Bullying Prevention Month

Tools and Strategies
Pupils Friends Teasing a Pupil Standing Alone
October is National Bullying Prevention Month National Bullying Prevention Month is an opportunity to reflect on the classroom and school culture and assess the extent to which bullying is part of that culture. It is a time to examine best practices when it comes to creating respectful school environments that foster inclusion and respect. The large body of research on effective responses to name-calling and bullying concurs that schools and other educational institutions can best…
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