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| Type
of Submission: |
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This
idea is a submission for:
__A
curriculum idea
__Cool things to do
X A
special issue
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| Age
group for whom this activity is appropriate:
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3-5
years
| Brief
description of activity: |
This
involved discussions at our class meetings about stereotypes.
| What
I did to set this up and how I followed through: |
| We
always have a morning meeting in which in addition
to going over calendar concepts or today’s
schedule we talk about things that are important
to our class. I initiated a discussion of stereotypes. |
| Materials
used: |
| All
our software but especially the character-driven
games (e.g., Mickey Mouse). |
| What
the children had to do and what I wanted them
to learn: |
- This
is a talking rather than a doing activity.
- The
kids had to think about what makes a stereotype and
how not to get caught up in stereotypical thinking
- The
main idea is not to be limited in what you think you
can or can’t do because of someone else’s
categories
| Background:
How I got the idea: |
| The
kids really enjoy software that has characters that
they know and like. I noticed, however, that while
these characters can be appealing, they can have
built-in constraints that are sometimes subtle.
For example, Minnie Mouse is shown liking flowers.
I questioned the kids about whether boys could like
flowers, too. |
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| Analysis:
How the kids and/or parents responded: |
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Although you could think of this as a negative example,
it provided a good opportunity to talk about stereotypes,
a topic I think is really important for kids of all ages.
It’s amazing how much of the media that kids are
exposed to (software, TV, even books) has assumptions
about boys and girls or about race and ethnicity. I want
them to go beyond those categories. |
| Extension |
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