Sample LGBT Lesson Plans
- GALE BC Gay And Lesbian Educators of BC Sample Lesson Plans - LGBT
Grade K - 3, Resource: Skutch, Robert; Who's In a Family?
Learning Outcomes
- to broaden children's views about family configurations
- to understand that families have some similarities and differences
- to identify common characteristics within all families
- to be able to define what makes a family
Context
In this lesson, it is important to broaden students' understanding of what families are. This story should be read as part of a board-based unit on families that looks at foster, nuclear, adoptive, divorced, single-parent, same-sex, extended and traditional family structures. Try to include as many books as possible with good representations of racial and ethnic minorities, as these are often difficult to come by. You may want to use this book part way through a theme to dispel myths that all families are alike in composition.
Preparation - collect stories about a variety of family models before starting the theme.
Instructional Strategies
In this lesson, a variety of instructional strategies may be used: KWL, Compare & Contrast T-Charts or Venn Diagrams, or co-operative group work using a Think, Pair, Share Strategy. You may want to frame children's understanding within a KWL (Know, Wonder, Learn) strategy to assess children's prior knowledge and understanding of families.
Lesson
Ask children the following questions throughout the unit and record responses on separate charts.
1. What do we know about families?
2. What do we wonder about families?
3. What have we learned about families?
Explain standards to children that everyone's ideas are acceptable as we may have different ideas about who is in a family. Try to impress upon students that the common "glue" that holds families together is love.
Families can be defined in many ways. They are unique. K/1 teachers may want to adapt some of these strategies for children with pre-writing skills.
Big Book Lesson Script
Have children work in co-operative pairs to make a class big book. Use sentences below on each page.
Page 1 - Some families have a mom and a dad.
Page 2 - Some families have a mom.
Page 3 - Some families have a dad.
Page 4 - Some families have two moms.
Page 5 - Some families have stepparents.
Page 6 - Some families are interracial.
Page 7 - Some families are foster families.
Page 8 - Some families have no children.
Page 9 - Some families are extended families with many relatives living together.
Page 10 - Some families have two dads.
Page 11 - Most families are held together by a common "glue" called love.
Feel free to add other forms of family as well.
This book could also be used to compare and contrast an animal and human family. You can use a Venn Diagram to record similarities and differences as shown below:
Ricky's Family Lion Family
Ask such questions as:
1. The words and picture give us information about Ricky and his family. How is Ricky's family the same as or different from yours?
2. How is Ricky's family the same as the lion family?
3. How many mothers does Ricky have?
4. Do you suppose a human family can have more than one father or mother? If so, then how can that be?
5. How is Ricky's family different from the lion family?
6. How many parents are in the lion's family?
You may want to compare Ricky's family (stepparents) with Laura's family (same-gender parents).
Ricky's Family Laura's Family
1. How many mothers does Laura's family have?
2. Do Ricky and Laura's families look the same?
3. What do you notice about Laura's family?
Explain to the class that families are diverse and can come in a variety of forms. Celebrate the fact that not all families are the same. et cetera
- GALE BC Gay And Lesbian Educators of BC Sample Lesson Plans - LGBT
Grade level K-3, Resource Valentine, Johnny; One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads
Elwin, Rosamund and Paulse, Michele; Asha's Mums
Learning Outcomes
- to develop students' awareness and knowledge of families with more than one parent of the same gender
- GALE BC Gay And Lesbian Educators of BC Sample Lesson Plans - LGBT
Grade level K-3 - Family Photographs
- GALE BC Gay And Lesbian Educators of BC Sample Lesson Plans - LGBT
Grade level K-5 - Say Stop! To Sexism
Resource: Valentine, Johnny; "Eagle Rider" story from the book The Duke Who Outlawed Jellybeans
Learning Outcomes
- to familiarize students with the concepts of sexist and gender exclusion
- to encourage children to change their play behavior to be more inclusive
- to encourage students to recognize and challenge stereotypes based upon gender
- to help children identify problems and learn how to solve them using their own language skills i.e. using "I messages."
Preparation
Teachers may want to modify this lesson for younger grades to discuss family roles with respect to gender. This lesson works best when taught over a number of days with two adults role playing a variety of classroom scenarios and pretending to be "the kids": as they act. Students in the classroom are the audience.
Instructional Strategies
- role plays and class discussions
(Concepts: Gender Roles, Sexism and Stereotyping)
Lesson
Adults act out role-plays about the exclusion of children from different areas of the classroom or activities based upon their gender. For example, "No boys allowed in the kitchen center!" or "No girls allowed in our fort - this is for boys only!" Use common scenarios that students can identify with or those that may have occurred in your classroom.
Ask students to identify the problem being acted out and the rule being used to exclude other children. Discuss each scenario after it is acted out.
After class discussion write the word "sexism" on the board and explain that it is when people assume only boys can do some things and girls cannot (and vice-versa). It is when we exclude someone or a group of people just because they are girls or boys. Use examples from the past such as when women were discouraged from becoming doctors, lawyers, truck drivers and men did not stay at home to look after the kids. Explain how people's duties are sometimes restricted because of their gender.
Read the story "Eagle Rider" to your class and ask them to identify the problem faced by Scarlett. Enquire as to their ideas about the fairness of only boys being Eagle Riders.
Discuss sexist ideas as to what roles family members were allowed to play in the past based upon their gender. Highlight common duties from responses in your classroom and sue open-ended questions to get kids to think about family roles as changing over time. et cetera
- EGALE Canada Seeing the Rainbow
Grade Level 2 PEACE
Title: Saturday is Pattyday, Author: Leslea Newman
The stereotypic family of mom, dad, brother, sister of "Pleasantville" is not representative of the diversity that exists in families today. This story addresses separation and divorce and is based around a same-sex family.
The comfort level you bring to the lesson will depend on your own experiences, biases, openness and acceptance of individual differences and choices. Think through how you will use this story to deconstruct prejudices and stereotypes.
Read the story. Identify the main characters, setting, plot and resolution of the story in a discussion. Name the feelings that both moms are experiencing. List them on a chart.
How does Frankie learn to deal with the separation of his parents? Who helps him? How does Frankie find inner peace with the changes in the relationship with his parents? Use a calendar with twelve months on one page, to organize Frankie's visiting schedule to Patty. How many times will he be able to visit Patty in a year.
If the students feel comfortable speaking of their own experiences with separation and divorce, invite them to do so. Et cetera
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario - Adapted from We're Erasing Prejudice for Good
- From EGALE Canada Seeing the Rainbow
Level: Junior/Intermediate THE PORCUPINE GAME
Step 1 Draw a large circle on the board and label it in the center with "Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Two-spirited." Brainstorm all list of the stereotypes used about this group and record on spikes coming out from the circle.
Step 2 As you are brainstorming, discuss any misinformation and attempt to dispel the belief in any of these stereotypes.
Step 3 Ask the group to describe the kind of discrimination BGLTT people face because of the pervasive stereotypes.
Step 4 Cross out the words in the center of the circle BGLTT and print in "ME."
Brainstorm the feelings that the group would have it they were faced with these stereotypes and discrimination.
Step 5 Given the context of hatred, brainstorm how the group thinks that bisexuals, gays, lesbians, transgender and two-spirited individuals react in the fact of such discrimination.
Talk about the suicide rates, the harassment, the homelessness rates, drug abuse, etc. experienced by BGLTT individuals.
It is also important to also talk about how BGLTT people, particularly youth, have demonstrated resilience and courage in facing bigotry and prejudice.
To close the exercise, bring out the contributions made by members of the BGLTT communities through art, literature, community building, etc.
Adapted from The Rainbow Resource Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- From EGALE Canada Seeing the Rainbow
Grade Level: 7 SELF-ESTEEM
Title: Zack's Story, Author: Keith Elliot Greenberg
Read the section at the back entitled "Information about Gay and Lesbian parents." Answer any questions students have. Have your students write a reflection using cursive writing about their feelings on Gays and Lesbians. Tell them you're going to read "Zack's Story" now. Read the story and answer questions your students have.
After you've read the story and have answered their questions, have them write a second reflection using cursive writing on Zack. (How the feels, etc.) How do they feel about Gays and Lesbians now? For those students who are comfortable and feel secure, let them read their two reflections to the large group. Share a number of these and discuss issues, points of view, etc. that come up with your class.
Have a speaker come in from a Gay and Lesbian community agency such as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG) to share their experience with your class, for about 15 to 20 minutes and then open it up to student questions. (Check your boards' policy on non-board speakers.)
Have each student draft and edit a letter to the speaker dealing with the following four points:
1) what I found interesting
2) what I will approach in a new way
3) what I learned
4) what I need more information on or have questions about.
Have students send their letter, via the Internet if the speaker has employer-mail. If not, send by Canada Post. Before these are mailed, have students enter their personal responses into a database. Have students evaluate the data and present their findings to the class.
Talk about the types of harassment that Zack or his family may be subjected to. This is a good time to make links to your school or board's code of conduct. You may also want to make some links to the Human Rights Code and other legislation.
- GALE BC Gay And Lesbian Educators of BC Sample Lesson Plans - LGBT
Grade Level 11-12 - QUEER TRIVIA
Context: This lesson is an attempt to present a wide array of information about queer people, organizations, events and legal issues around the world. It is intended to give students a sense of the history and variety present in LGBT communities. Preparation: Photocopy queer trivia pages and discussion questions or prepare as overheads. Prepare questions of our own (optional).
Instructional Strategies: Small group discussion, large group discussion, personal reflection and writing. Lesson: Present "queer trivia" pages. Discuss the importance of respect during discussions. Give students time to discuss some of the information before tackling the questions on their own. Assign questions or allow students to choose several to answer. Have students write their answers individually. Follow-up Activity: Further research or reading on some of the people, publications, organizations, events or legal issues. Research the political climate of any of the legal issues. Essay writing or oral presentations based on research. Visual displays. Create a student-generated list of questions for others. Develop games to present the information.
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