Judy & David
Parents & Teachers Guide
Lesson Plan:
Celebrating our Differences
This is an art, math, and social studies activity based on the song All Together Now. It teaches racial understanding and appreciation. There are so many ways in which people differ from one another -- physical appearance, language, talents, culture, religion, etc. However, there are also many things that we all have in common -- the world we live in, the food and water we all need, love, friendship, and, not least of all MUSIC!
Divide the piece of construction paper in half. Title one half of the page, "Differences" and the other half "Things We Share". Look through magazine pictures, and cut out photos of many different people. Students should make an effort to find as wide a variety of photos as possible, i.e. red hair, curly hair, long hair, short hair, big eyes, small eyes, Asian eyes, dark skin, light skin, visible disabilities (in a wheelchair, missing limbs, etc.)
Label the other half of the page "Things We Share". With either magazine photos, or drawings, gather as many representations of the things that all people have in common. More abstract concepts may be represented pictorially...i.e. drawing a heart to represent the concept of love.
Summarize the information on the "Differences" side with graphs of "Hair", "Eyes", "Skin Colour" etc. The teacher determines which characteristic will be graphed, then each child, using her own collage, records the information on a table. Example: Characteristic to be graphed - Hair...brown - 13 people, blond - 4 people, red - 1 person, long - 6 people, etc.