Dealing+with+Differences


 * Dealing with Differences**


 * Submitted by** Jen Ratchye Rinaldi

3C – Student demonstrates an awareness of cultural issues and a respect for human dignity and differences.
 * Standard**(s):

//Paper/Pencil// //SEL Journal// //“The Girl who Swam with the Fish” by Michelle Renner//
 * Materials**:


 * Time**: 1 Hour


 * Assessments/Activities:**

__Gathering__: Ask students to meet at the carpet area. Share that today you will be talking about how everyone and everything in the world has differences, and how the differences make the world a wonderful place. Explain that in the book you will be reading, there is a girl who gets the opportunity to go on a journey and learn about life from a different perspective. __Activity__: Read the story to students. As you are reading through the story, discuss how the girl’s life is very different from the life she is experiencing on her journey. Ask students what she is learning, and have them predict what she might do differently as a result of that knowledge. After finishing the story, ask students if they’ve ever had a time where they felt a certain way about something, only to have it change after they learned more about it. Have students share their personal learning experiences about differences in people or things. Explain to students that we all see things differently, and that, like the girl in the story demonstrated, spending some time and energy learning more about something we may not understand can give us a deeper appreciation for it. After reading and discussing the story, have students take out a sheet of blank paper. Explain that you will be asking them to draw an animal. Don’t tell students what animal it is they will be drawing, because all students won’t draw the same thing, despite being given the same directions. Give students about ten specific steps (i.e. head, four legs, two eyes, etc.) for drawing that animal. After giving the verbal directions, have students share their drawings. Discuss how they are each different, and have certain students come up to explain their thinking. After each student shares their drawing, have class conversation about each person’s thinking and how it may have been different from another’s. Ask students if, after hearing the illustrator’s thinking, they can now understand where it is they’re coming from. __Debrief/Closing__: Ask students to open their SEL journals and either explain about a time they felt they understood someone or something more after learning about it, or write about what they learned from today’s exercise. Level 3.0 – Student is able to articulate why learning about differences is important and provides examples of times they have done this. Or, if choosing the second journal prompt, student is able to clearly articulate what s/he learned today and why it is important. Level 2.0 – With assistance, student is able to perform requested task as listed above.
 * Assessment**: