Racial Bullying
How Does Race Relate to Bullying?
Grade Level: 2/3
Subject Area: Social Studies
Essential Questions of the Unit:
1. How does bullying affect people?
2. How can we make everyone feel safe and cared for?
Guiding Questions:
1. What is racial bullying?
2. Why are differences important?
Lesson Context:
· This is my curriculum based lesson plan. It is inspired by sections of the Racist Bullying Lesson Plan found here: http://www.abcornwall.org.uk/professionals/race-lesson-plans.
· This will be the second lesson within the unit, following the first lesson, which focuses on other types of bullying.
Lesson Goals:
1. The students will learn what racial bullying is.
2. The students will learn that people of all races can be bullied because of their race.
3. The students will understand what racism and racist incidents are and how they relate to bullying.
4. Students will learn about why differences amongst people are important.
MMSD Standards:
· Recognize and respect that individual differences are important to self and others.
NCSS Standards:
· Individual Development & Identity.
· Individuals, Groups, & Institutions.
Materials:
· Overhead transparency.
· Paper.
· Journals.
· Copies of racist incidents for two groups of students.
· Copies of racial bullying scenarios for two groups of students.
Activities/Assignments/Procedure:
1. Brainstorm with the students reasons why people might be bullied because of things that relate to their identity. To help students with this first have them write down a list of things that make them who they are. Tell them that on my list I might put: American, woman, teacher, daughter, white, straight.
a. Possible responses for types of identity based bullying:
i. Race.
ii. Gender.
iii. Sexuality.
iv. Religion.
2. Tell the students that today’s lesson is going to focus on race based bullying and how it relates to their previous knowledge about racism.
3. In an earlier unit, students learned about racism and historical examples of racism. This beginning part of the lesson will be a review of some basic aspects of racism.
a. Write the word Racism on the chalkboard.
b. Have the students discuss any ideas they have about the word with a partner. Have the students come up with a sentence to define the word. Have each group write their sentences on the board.
c. Have the students read over their peers’ definitions of the word and discuss any of the similarities/differences they find within them.
d. Add the following definition of racism: the belief that races have distinct cultural characteristics that are determined by their race and that those beliefs result in some races thinking they are better than others. Then explain this in 2/3 grade terms by saying that there are different things about each culture and some of those things are thought to be related to the common race that makes up that culture. Some people believe that those differences make some races better than others.
e. Write down some common phrases from all of the definitions and tell the students that when racism is talked about in this class, they should be thinking back to these common phrases that exist amongst their definitions.
4. Ask the students to recall from the previous lesson what the definition of bullying is. Have the students turn and talk with a neighbor about the definition and then ask for a volunteer to share it with the whole class.
a. Response: Bullying is repeated negative and unwanted behavior that causes distress or emotional harm to the person on the receiving end. Some categories of bullying are physical, verbal, and emotional.
5. Read the following scenario to the class:
a. One student, Kyle, is often excluded during choice time. Another student was overheard saying that he did not want to play with Kyle because Kyle is black.
b. Ask the students if they think this is an example of bullying.
i. Have the students who think it is bullying put their hands on their heads.
ii. Have the students who do not think it is bullying keep their hands on their desks.
iii. Tell the students that this scenario is an example of bullying.
c. Ask the students what they think the reason for the bullying was. Have them pick out parts of the scenario that support their answer. The students should talk about how the white students’ skin color or race was the reason for the bullying.
d. Tell the students that this is an example of racial bullying. Tell the students that racial bullying is using words or actions several times on purpose that hurt someone because of their color, ethnic origin, national origin, ethnic group, or nationality. Students might be unfamiliar with some of the terms in that definition (nationality, ethnic origin, etc) so discuss them with the students so that they understand them. Tell the students that people of all races can be bullied because of their race.
6. Split the class into four groups. Give two groups scenarios that represent racist incidents. Give two groups scenarios that represent racial bullying. The students will not be told which category of scenarios they are getting.
a. Racist incidents:
i. A student at lunchtime makes a racist joke about black people, but no black kids are around.
ii. Another student describes her new neighbors to you saying, “They are Asian, but very nice”.
iii. You are in the hallway at school and overhear a teacher making a comment about another student; “I don’t mean this in a racist way but Mary is proof that a person born in Mexico can be successful in America”.
b. Racial bullying:
i. A girl from Turkey has recently joined the class. She is repeatedly referred to as ‘Turkish Delight’ by a group of other girls and doesn’t appear to mind.
ii. Three Asian students go up to their African-American classmate and say, “Your skin is so dark, it makes you look weird”. This has happened for the last three days.
iii. A group of students are drawing their families. There is no marker that matches a white students skin tone. She is working next to a black student who is using a brown marker that matches his skin tone. The black student starts laughing and making fun of the white student because that student’s drawing doesn’t match her skin tone.
c. Tell the students that they need to decide if their scenarios are examples of racial incidents or racial bullying. Tell the students that racial incidents are any incident, which is thought of to be racist by the victim or by any other person who might observe the incident. Tell the students that racial incidents are still offensive and not okay to say, even if they do not fit with our definition of bullying.
d. Once the students have determined whether their scenarios represent racist incidents or racial bullying, have the two racist incident groups and the two racial bullying groups combine and see if they had the same reasons for deciding what type of scenarios they had.
e. Pair a racial bullying student up with a racist incident student. Have them share their scenarios with each other and explain to each other how they decided whether their scenario was an example of racial bullying or a racist incident.
7. Talk about each of the scenarios as a whole class, explaining important aspects of each incident to the students.
a. Scenario: A student at lunchtime makes a racist joke about black people, but no black kids are around.
i. Teacher’s explanation: Even though there were not any black students present when the racist joke was made someone could still think it was racist and be offended by it.
b. Scenario: Another student describes her new neighbors to you saying, “They are Asian, but very nice”.
i. Teacher’s explanation: Focus the discussion on what the word but implies. The word but is implying that there is something associated with being Asian that could overshadow the fact that they are nice.
c. Scenario: You are in the hallway at school and overhear a teacher making a comment about another student; “I don’t mean this in a racist way but Mary is proof that a person born in Mexico can be successful in America”.
i. Teacher’s explanation: The teacher’s comment focuses on how there is something about how Mary being Mexican might prevent her from achieving in America.
d. Scenario: A girl from Turkey has recently joined the class. She is repeatedly referred to as ‘Turkish Delight’ by a group of other girls and doesn’t appear to mind.
i. Teacher’s explanation: The statement says that she does not “appear” to mind but do we know this? How easy is it to stand up in front of your peers if you don’t like how they are behaving?
e. Scenario: Three Asian students go up to their African-American classmate and say, “Your skin is so dark, it makes you look weird”. This has happened for the last three days.
i. Teacher’s explanation: The students were repetitively making fun of another student because of his skin color.
f. Scenario: A group of students are drawing their families. There is no marker that matches a white students skin tone. She is working next to a black student who is using a brown marker that matches his skin tone. The black student starts laughing and making fun of the white student because that student’s drawing doesn’t match her skin tone.
i. Teacher’s explanation: Again, the bullying is happening because of the student’s skin color.
8. Remind the students that even though racist incidents are different from racial bullying, they are still not appropriate comments to make because they are based on parts of a person’s identity and are used to make one person or a group of people seem better than another person or group of people and that they can often lead to racial bullying.
9. Begin a discussion with the students about how differences amongst people should be embraced and thought of as positives rather than negatives – something to be used to bully another person. Have the students pretend that every one of them is white (this is assuming that the students represent diverse backgrounds. If the class is all white have them journal about what backgrounds and points of view are missing in their class). Have them journal about how their classroom community would change under that circumstance. What points of view would be missing? What cultural aspects that students bring to the classroom would be missing? The students have already had lessons focusing on culture and how it relates to one’s race. Through this journaling exercise, they will further explore the concept of how someone’s culture impacts how they live their life. Once the students have finished journaling, have them get with a partner and share their response. Ask the whole class what they learned about differences through this activity.
10. Summarize the lesson by reminding the students that racism still exists in our society. Remind them that racial bullying can happen to anyone, no matter what their race is, and that racist incidents are just as bad as racial bullying. Tell the kids that differences make our world exciting and that they should be embraced.
11. Have the students complete an exit ticket (described in the formal assessment section below).
Assessment:
· Informal Assessment:
o The teacher will listen to the students descriptions of their scenarios and their explanations of how they decided which category they fit into to see if the students understand the concepts of racist incidents and racial bullying.
· Formal Assessment:
o At the end of the lesson have the students complete an exit ticket about racial bullying. Have them include a definition, and at least two examples of racial bullying.
o Collect the students’ journals about how their classroom community would change if they were all the same race. Read the journal to see if the students understood the importance of differences.
Grade Level: 2/3
Subject Area: Social Studies
Essential Questions of the Unit:
1. How does bullying affect people?
2. How can we make everyone feel safe and cared for?
Guiding Questions:
1. What is racial bullying?
2. Why are differences important?
Lesson Context:
· This is my curriculum based lesson plan. It is inspired by sections of the Racist Bullying Lesson Plan found here: http://www.abcornwall.org.uk/professionals/race-lesson-plans.
· This will be the second lesson within the unit, following the first lesson, which focuses on other types of bullying.
Lesson Goals:
1. The students will learn what racial bullying is.
2. The students will learn that people of all races can be bullied because of their race.
3. The students will understand what racism and racist incidents are and how they relate to bullying.
4. Students will learn about why differences amongst people are important.
MMSD Standards:
· Recognize and respect that individual differences are important to self and others.
NCSS Standards:
· Individual Development & Identity.
· Individuals, Groups, & Institutions.
Materials:
· Overhead transparency.
· Paper.
· Journals.
· Copies of racist incidents for two groups of students.
· Copies of racial bullying scenarios for two groups of students.
Activities/Assignments/Procedure:
1. Brainstorm with the students reasons why people might be bullied because of things that relate to their identity. To help students with this first have them write down a list of things that make them who they are. Tell them that on my list I might put: American, woman, teacher, daughter, white, straight.
a. Possible responses for types of identity based bullying:
i. Race.
ii. Gender.
iii. Sexuality.
iv. Religion.
2. Tell the students that today’s lesson is going to focus on race based bullying and how it relates to their previous knowledge about racism.
3. In an earlier unit, students learned about racism and historical examples of racism. This beginning part of the lesson will be a review of some basic aspects of racism.
a. Write the word Racism on the chalkboard.
b. Have the students discuss any ideas they have about the word with a partner. Have the students come up with a sentence to define the word. Have each group write their sentences on the board.
c. Have the students read over their peers’ definitions of the word and discuss any of the similarities/differences they find within them.
d. Add the following definition of racism: the belief that races have distinct cultural characteristics that are determined by their race and that those beliefs result in some races thinking they are better than others. Then explain this in 2/3 grade terms by saying that there are different things about each culture and some of those things are thought to be related to the common race that makes up that culture. Some people believe that those differences make some races better than others.
e. Write down some common phrases from all of the definitions and tell the students that when racism is talked about in this class, they should be thinking back to these common phrases that exist amongst their definitions.
4. Ask the students to recall from the previous lesson what the definition of bullying is. Have the students turn and talk with a neighbor about the definition and then ask for a volunteer to share it with the whole class.
a. Response: Bullying is repeated negative and unwanted behavior that causes distress or emotional harm to the person on the receiving end. Some categories of bullying are physical, verbal, and emotional.
5. Read the following scenario to the class:
a. One student, Kyle, is often excluded during choice time. Another student was overheard saying that he did not want to play with Kyle because Kyle is black.
b. Ask the students if they think this is an example of bullying.
i. Have the students who think it is bullying put their hands on their heads.
ii. Have the students who do not think it is bullying keep their hands on their desks.
iii. Tell the students that this scenario is an example of bullying.
c. Ask the students what they think the reason for the bullying was. Have them pick out parts of the scenario that support their answer. The students should talk about how the white students’ skin color or race was the reason for the bullying.
d. Tell the students that this is an example of racial bullying. Tell the students that racial bullying is using words or actions several times on purpose that hurt someone because of their color, ethnic origin, national origin, ethnic group, or nationality. Students might be unfamiliar with some of the terms in that definition (nationality, ethnic origin, etc) so discuss them with the students so that they understand them. Tell the students that people of all races can be bullied because of their race.
6. Split the class into four groups. Give two groups scenarios that represent racist incidents. Give two groups scenarios that represent racial bullying. The students will not be told which category of scenarios they are getting.
a. Racist incidents:
i. A student at lunchtime makes a racist joke about black people, but no black kids are around.
ii. Another student describes her new neighbors to you saying, “They are Asian, but very nice”.
iii. You are in the hallway at school and overhear a teacher making a comment about another student; “I don’t mean this in a racist way but Mary is proof that a person born in Mexico can be successful in America”.
b. Racial bullying:
i. A girl from Turkey has recently joined the class. She is repeatedly referred to as ‘Turkish Delight’ by a group of other girls and doesn’t appear to mind.
ii. Three Asian students go up to their African-American classmate and say, “Your skin is so dark, it makes you look weird”. This has happened for the last three days.
iii. A group of students are drawing their families. There is no marker that matches a white students skin tone. She is working next to a black student who is using a brown marker that matches his skin tone. The black student starts laughing and making fun of the white student because that student’s drawing doesn’t match her skin tone.
c. Tell the students that they need to decide if their scenarios are examples of racial incidents or racial bullying. Tell the students that racial incidents are any incident, which is thought of to be racist by the victim or by any other person who might observe the incident. Tell the students that racial incidents are still offensive and not okay to say, even if they do not fit with our definition of bullying.
d. Once the students have determined whether their scenarios represent racist incidents or racial bullying, have the two racist incident groups and the two racial bullying groups combine and see if they had the same reasons for deciding what type of scenarios they had.
e. Pair a racial bullying student up with a racist incident student. Have them share their scenarios with each other and explain to each other how they decided whether their scenario was an example of racial bullying or a racist incident.
7. Talk about each of the scenarios as a whole class, explaining important aspects of each incident to the students.
a. Scenario: A student at lunchtime makes a racist joke about black people, but no black kids are around.
i. Teacher’s explanation: Even though there were not any black students present when the racist joke was made someone could still think it was racist and be offended by it.
b. Scenario: Another student describes her new neighbors to you saying, “They are Asian, but very nice”.
i. Teacher’s explanation: Focus the discussion on what the word but implies. The word but is implying that there is something associated with being Asian that could overshadow the fact that they are nice.
c. Scenario: You are in the hallway at school and overhear a teacher making a comment about another student; “I don’t mean this in a racist way but Mary is proof that a person born in Mexico can be successful in America”.
i. Teacher’s explanation: The teacher’s comment focuses on how there is something about how Mary being Mexican might prevent her from achieving in America.
d. Scenario: A girl from Turkey has recently joined the class. She is repeatedly referred to as ‘Turkish Delight’ by a group of other girls and doesn’t appear to mind.
i. Teacher’s explanation: The statement says that she does not “appear” to mind but do we know this? How easy is it to stand up in front of your peers if you don’t like how they are behaving?
e. Scenario: Three Asian students go up to their African-American classmate and say, “Your skin is so dark, it makes you look weird”. This has happened for the last three days.
i. Teacher’s explanation: The students were repetitively making fun of another student because of his skin color.
f. Scenario: A group of students are drawing their families. There is no marker that matches a white students skin tone. She is working next to a black student who is using a brown marker that matches his skin tone. The black student starts laughing and making fun of the white student because that student’s drawing doesn’t match her skin tone.
i. Teacher’s explanation: Again, the bullying is happening because of the student’s skin color.
8. Remind the students that even though racist incidents are different from racial bullying, they are still not appropriate comments to make because they are based on parts of a person’s identity and are used to make one person or a group of people seem better than another person or group of people and that they can often lead to racial bullying.
9. Begin a discussion with the students about how differences amongst people should be embraced and thought of as positives rather than negatives – something to be used to bully another person. Have the students pretend that every one of them is white (this is assuming that the students represent diverse backgrounds. If the class is all white have them journal about what backgrounds and points of view are missing in their class). Have them journal about how their classroom community would change under that circumstance. What points of view would be missing? What cultural aspects that students bring to the classroom would be missing? The students have already had lessons focusing on culture and how it relates to one’s race. Through this journaling exercise, they will further explore the concept of how someone’s culture impacts how they live their life. Once the students have finished journaling, have them get with a partner and share their response. Ask the whole class what they learned about differences through this activity.
10. Summarize the lesson by reminding the students that racism still exists in our society. Remind them that racial bullying can happen to anyone, no matter what their race is, and that racist incidents are just as bad as racial bullying. Tell the kids that differences make our world exciting and that they should be embraced.
11. Have the students complete an exit ticket (described in the formal assessment section below).
Assessment:
· Informal Assessment:
o The teacher will listen to the students descriptions of their scenarios and their explanations of how they decided which category they fit into to see if the students understand the concepts of racist incidents and racial bullying.
· Formal Assessment:
o At the end of the lesson have the students complete an exit ticket about racial bullying. Have them include a definition, and at least two examples of racial bullying.
o Collect the students’ journals about how their classroom community would change if they were all the same race. Read the journal to see if the students understood the importance of differences.