Diversity at Lawrence
DIVERSITY at LAWRENCE COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL
The Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act was introduced to offer legal protection to those people with one or more ‘protected characteristics’. The protected characteristics are:
Age.
Disability.
Gender reassignment.
Marriage and civil partnership.
Pregnancy and maternity.
Race.
Religion or belief.
Sex.
Sexual orientation.
Our Lawrence Community Primary School/Anthony Walker Foundation pledge:
We pledge to respect everyone whatever their race , gender, ability, religion or appearance.
Diversity flows through our curriculum at Lawrence Community Curriculum. We are continuously looking for opportunities to celebrate the diversity of our country and our locality and school community.
“We have worked with the school for a couple of years and the evidence is clear when one visits the school that diversity is promoted to the full”.
John Au (Anthony Lawrence Foundation)
At Lawrence Community Primary School we promote diversity by:
Setting clear rules in regards to how people should be treated.
Challenging any negative attitudes.
Treating all staff and students fairly and equally.
Creating an all-inclusive culture for staff and students.
Avoiding stereotypes in examples and resources.
Using resources with multicultural themes.
Actively promoting multiculturalism in lessons.
Planning lessons that reflect the diversity of the classroom.
Ensuring all students have equal access to opportunities and participation.
Making sure that learning materials do not discriminate against anyone and are adapted where necessary, e.g. large print or audio tape format.
Using a variety of teaching methods.
Using a variety of assessment methods.
Ensuring policies and procedures don’t discriminate against anyone.
OUR BROAD AND BALANCED CURRICULUM PROMOTES DIVERSITY THROUGHOUT
Early Years/Foundation Stage
In Foundation Stage, diversity is reflected in the toys and equipment on offer each day, eg. in role play, character toys and reading books.
Throughout all of our teaching in continuous provision and PSED sessions children are taught to respect each other. This includes teaching children to listen to each other when sharing news or ideas, taking turns with toys and equipment as well as giving compliments and praising each other for hard work and effort. We teach children that everyone has strengths and weaknesses and everyone has things which are ‘tricky’ for them. We encourage children to value the efforts of every individual.
Many of our children have very limited English and in some cases no language at all. Younger children accept this and play together as we openly explain that everyone is learning new things at school and talking and speaking at school is difficult for some children if they are shy, or speak a different language at home.
Our cohort often includes children with severe learning difficulties, SEN and/or behavioural needs, sometimes resulting in children moving to a different school with special needs provision. Our children accept that some children may behave differently to others or may require more adult support.
We talk about differences as a strength as this is what makes us all individual and special.
In Nursery, during our topics on ‘Homes’ and ‘Families’, we explore how every family is different but also the same, as a place of love. We celebrate the customs and religious celebrations of our children and families throughout the year.
In Reception, we learn about, and celebrate, the different religious and cultural festivals of our children and families, such as, EID, Christmas and Chinese New Year. As one of our PSED topics, we learn about ‘celebrating differences’. As a class, we talk about how each child is special and unique, how our families are different, and why it is good to have friends who are different to themselves. During our weekly music lesson, we listen and respond to different styles of music from around the world. One of our ‘Talk 4 Writing’ texts is ‘Elmer’. In this topic, we talk about the importance of being ourselves, how being different to our friends is a good thing, and that differences are what makes things fun and interesting.
ENGLISH
In YEAR 1 children will be exposed to different texts which include people from different backgrounds. We avoid resources where stereotypes are used and challenge stereotypes where they are encountered. We read stories with Black, Asian and minority ethnic characters such as ‘Ruby’s Worry.’
In YEAR 2 the story of Silly Billy contains worry dolls, a cultural tradition from Mexico. In Does chocolate grow on trees we find out about farmers and workers in Tropical countries. When we look at traditional tales from our culture and some traditional tales from around the world such as ‘The Strongest Man in the World’ an African tale.
In YEAR 3 pupils read ‘Where Would You Like To Live?’ and look at the similarities and differences between the lives of children around the world.
Pupils also read ‘Shocking Styles’ and explore different cultural fashions around the world.
In YEAR 4 we look at Christophe’s Story (about the experience of refugees coming to the U.K.), the Shang Dynasty (looking at Chinese culture, traditions and diversity through the ages) and poetry from different cultures.
In YEAR 5 pupils read ‘Friend or Foe’ through which they look at the effects of War and conflict on opposing sides. The talk about the difference between city living and more rural settings.
Pupils read ‘Oranges in No Man’s Land’ which is set in Beirut during the Civil War. Children have the opportunity to discuss issues around conflict through religious division, through delving into the lives of refugees.
Children have access to read high-quality text that celebrates the work of scientists and sports people from a variety of backgrounds.
We read, as a class novel, The Infinite, which promotes positive images of disability and challenges stereotypes.
In YEAR 6 pupils read Eye of the Wolf, exploring displaced communities through the eyes of an African child and animals from across the world, looking at the impact of war and enslavement.
Pupils read John Agard Collected Poems, exploring the experiences and thoughts of a Windrush child, linking them to what they know about immigration and racism.
During Active Read sessions, children will read texts who look at people from a variety of backgrounds. In addition to this, the ‘Class read’ books look at current issues that that are represented by characters from a variety of backgrounds such as:
‘The Boy at the Back of the Class ‘ which tells the story of a Syrian refugee who suddenly appears in Alexia’s class.
Auggie Pullman, who is a boy born with a facial deformity and explores the issues he faces when he attends school for the first time in Year Five.
In addition to this, numerous books have been purchased that improve the choice diversity that children can choose to read in their own time. Children have access to read high-quality text that celebrates the work of scientists from a variety of backgrounds.
Mathematics
In YEAR 4 we look at “Hidden Figures” (about the experience of women of colour who were famous Mathematicians (“Computers”) at NASA.
Mr Keenan is currently working on texts with EYFS, Y1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 and these will be shared here soon!
PSHE
Anthony Walker #commUNITY
Students from Liverpool John Moore's University came into school to make a film about hate crime.This film will be used by the Anthony Walker foundation for education purposes locally and nationally
Anthony Walker Foundation School Equality Charter
Here at Lawrence Community Primary School we are immensely proud to become the first recipients of the Anthony Walker Foundation School Equality Charter which we received at an awards presentation at the school. We even made the evening news!
The award acknowledges the schools commitment to ensuring diversity, equality and cohesion are a cornerstone of the school environment enabling pupils to learn, develop and thrive.
The award was presented by Dominique Walker who formally presented the Charter to the school. Invited guests included former pupil and World Champion boxer Tony Bellew.
John Au, AWF partnerships and projects manager, said:
“This presentation is a testimony to the hard work and sustained efforts of all connected with the school to help children value and respect each other .We have worked with the school for a couple of years and the evidence is clear when one visits the school that diversity is promoted to the full”.
Anthony Walker #commUNITY
Students from Liverpool John Moore's University came into school to make a film about hate crime.This film will be used by the Anthony Walker foundation for education purposes locally and nationally.
In Year 1 through the ‘Celebrating Differences’ topic we identify and celebrate ways in which we are similar and different to others and acknowledge that acceptance of differences is key to a healthy world. We also celebrate the diversity of the different make up of families through the ‘Relationships’ topic.
In Year 2 we look at the ways we are different and why this is a good thing in our Celebrating differences topic.
In Year 3 we look at different types of relationships and what constitutes a family. We also look at how people who are faced with challenges overcome obstacles such as Michaela ‘Chaeli’ Mycroft, a South African woman with cerebral palsy, who despite only using her arms and legs to a limited extent continues to push her boundaries and look at things she can do.
In Year 4 we look at “Accepting People” and “First Impressions” in Celebrating Difference, the story of Malala Yousafzai in Dreams and Goals and the story of Ghandi resisting pressure in Healthy Me in PSHE. We are currently working with LFC on a Being Me in my World project which incorporates Celebrating Difference as well.
In Year 5 we celebrate difference, mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. We look at the use of child labour in cocoa plantations in Ghana and peoples experiences of Racism.
In Year 6 we explore our rights and responsibilities, comparing them to those of young people in Ghana. We celebrate our similarities and differences, learning about young people with disabilities. We also discuss the importance of having empathy with people from different backgrounds.
HISTORY
In Year 1 we look at ‘why do we remember the 5th of November?’
This celebrates the diversity of the rights to religious freedom and it encourages the children to discuss the importance of accepting and respecting different religious beliefs.
In Year 2 we look at explorers from different cultures and what we know from their expeditions and the places they discovered. We look at Ibn Battuta and the difficulties faced by him during his travels. This also leads to discussions about places of religious importance such as Mecca and the muslim pilgrimage the Haj.
In Year 3 we examine The New Stone Age, The Metal Ages and Ancient Egyptian culture, life and achievements and how it has impacted the world we live in today. We also study key individuals from these historical periods such as Queen Boudicca and Tutankhamun during our English lessons and the impact that they had.
In Year 4 we look at children in the past and attitudes to childhood from different cultures (Romans, Ancient Egyptians, Victorians, Tudors) in the past.
In Year 5 we look at historical significance in our topic ‘What impact did the Anglo-Saxons have?’ We then apply this to different contexts and examine the importance of Martin Luther King, Mary Seacole, Nelson Mandela and Stephen Hawking.
We examine modern Greece and ancient Greek culture, life and achievements and how it influenced the world we live in today. We look in depth at individuals of merit in the fields of science and Mathematics.
Throughout the topic ‘Would the Vikings do anything for Money’ we examine living in an interconnected world.
In Year 6 we study aspects of the religion and culture of the Ancient Maya, exploring why we should remember them and discussing their decline and the role played in this by European explorers.
We explore the Second World War from the perspective of different sections of society, also taking into consideration the impact of bombing in the axis countries at the hands of the allied countries.
GEOGRAPHY
In Year 1 we look at different ways of living within our local area, through the topic ‘What is it like where we live?’ and we explore local landmarks within the community such as the mosque, the hindu temple, churches etc.
In Year 2 we look at different ways of living within countries in our ‘What will we see on our Journey around the World’ topic. We look at different wonders of the world and discuss why they are so wonderful to different groups of people and/or cultures.
In Year 3 we look at the physical and human characteristics of volcanoes and explore the impact that they have on the lives of people who live in these areas such as the economic benefits.
In Year 4 we look at the human characteristics of North and South America linked to cultural diversity
In Year 5 we examine how oceans and waterways are essential for communities around the world. We look at pollution and environmental issues that affect different parts of the planet. In particular we look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and its effects on its locality and its people.
In the topic ‘How is our Country Changing?’ children study how London changed as a result of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games and the impact on its population.
In Year 6 as part of our topic ‘Where Does Our Stuff Come From?’ we explore where our clothing and food come from, looking at the pros and cons of the Fair Trade scheme and how our choices can impact different areas and people around the world.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
In Year 1 we learn about Our Wonderful World, Special Books and What Hindu’s Celebrate.
In Year 2 we learn about Christian celebrations, What Muslims celebrate and who Buddha was. We find out about Islamic New Year, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr . We also learn about the prophet Muhammed (Mawlid al-Nabi ). We find out about the Day of Ashura and Hajj and we discuss religious festivals as they occur such as Diwali.
In Year 3 we learn about the Christian Bible and its significance, Jewish celebrations and Sikh rites of passage.
In Year 4 we learn about Islamic Rights of Passage, why Christians celebrate Easter (exploring Christian beliefs about life after death) and Belonging and Identity (Children will think about what 'diversity' means (in terms of the UK population) and they will also consider how opinions are formed about what constitutes a 'minority')
group varies, and the importance of showing
tolerance and understanding.
In Year 5 we examine the religions of Buddhism, Hinduism and the different beliefs within our community.
When examining Hinduism we build on the children's understanding of major world religions by learning about Hindu stories, traditions, rituals and places of worship.
When examining Buddhist Worship and Beliefs the children find out who Siddhartha Gautama was and how he became Buddha, what Buddhists believe and how they worship. They will also be challenged to think about what they believe about life, death and everything in between.
In Year 6 we learn about churches, Sikh worship and the community and what happens when we die.
When examining churches, we discuss the importance of churches and how they are used to reflect local cultures and the ways that the features of a church encourage people to worship and how they are used to serve their communities. Children will also learn how the church is important in creating a sense of belonging and community.
Children will learn about Sikh worship, beliefs and the importance of prayer. In addition to this, children will learn about how the Sikh community welcomes children and how the Langar and Sewa are used to give back to the community and look after those who are less fortunate.
During the ‘What happens when we die?’ topic, children will learn about sadness and how it is experienced by everyone at different stages of their lives. Children will also learn about how people's lives are remembered in different ways, depending on their religion and communities. Children will also be encouraged to discuss their own ideas and others about what happens when a person dies, as well as understanding the importance of expressing emotions that people can feel after a bereavement . Finally, children will be asked to explore practical ways of remembering someone who has died, after researching how this is achieved across a range of religions.
ART
In Year 1 in our ‘African Art’ topic, we explore the Maasai culture and look in depth at their patterns and jewellery, we make traditional Maasai headbands. We also watch videos to promote discussion about their way of life, the importance of music and dancing and who the Maasai warriors are. They try to make links between their own experiences and test out their own ideas.
In Year 2 in our Aboriginal Art topic, we read stories and look at Aboringinal art and the naturalistic way they painted from the earth. How the ‘dreamtime’ story makes them feel about the first sunrise. Children will recall our own experiences of the world and sunsets, discuss beliefs from the Aboriginal culture, we make rainmakers using different styles from dot art and australian animals.
In Year 3 we closely examine the world of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. They learn to discuss the paintings and give comments about the artists work. Use language and equipment to build confidence in their skills. The children explore different styles of Indian art such as Rangoli and Mehndi patterns and Madhubani paintings. They also look at festivals that celebrate Indian artwork such as Hastimangala. Look at the use of elephants in religious and social ceremonies throughout India. Children will discuss the use of animals in society, is it a good idea or not? Let the children discuss with others and give responses. Look at the use of henna and design a pattern for themselves.
In Year 4 We look at Jewellery and the cultural and religious reasons for wearing it. How precious jewels are mined and the human consequences around the working and safety of the work involved. What role do buildings play in society? Discuss the architects, designs and purpose of the buildings. Compare cathedrals and how the buildings’ features affect people. Children will discuss designs and purposes for each building. Sonia Delauany uses orphism and pattern and colours. Children will discuss the influence of artists' work on them and others. Then to move on to how art is influenced into fashion. Children will design their own clothes in the style of Sonia.
In Year 5 we examine the life and works of Frida Kahlo. The children explore the passionate and vibrant artworks of Frida Kahlo and discover the artist behind the famous self-portraits. The children discuss their own cultural background through their own families. They look for images to express their pride in their cultural identities.
When examining Chinese Art pupils explore hundreds of years of Chinese art history including calligraphy, terracotta warriors or Ming vases,When examining Chinese Art pupils explore hundreds of years of Chinese art history including calligraphy, terracotta warriors or Ming vases. Children will select and record from experiences and observations.
In Year 6 Children will be discussing Street Art. Is it vandalism or art? Look at different examples to discuss how it makes them feel and the impact it would have in communities. Image how artists can influence society and how we think. Explore how symbolism is used in artwork . ‘ Express Yourself ‘ the children are encouraged to look for the positive elements of their own personalities to create a portrait into a calligram.
Identify emotions from facial expressions. Discuss how these emotions make them feel.
Examine if artists use colours for expressions of emotions. Monet and the environments he studied to paint. Does an environment affect your emotions ? Why?
DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
In Year 1 We look at different fruits and where they are grown around the world and decide which ones to include in a healthy fruit smoothie.
Nature Collages
To be able to walk into nature. Talk about the different natural objects they can see touch and smell around them. To be able to use tools to make a twig structure and collages from nature walks.
In Year 2 we talk about where our food comes from as we design and make a healthy wrap and drink.
Rain Sticks Discuss the use of musical instruments and how the music would make you feel? Talk about their own experiences and share the emotions with others. Make an aboringal rain stick . Using dot designs and aboriginal animals the children can name and identify for decorations. Make a plan and review the process what you enjoyed and what was difficult.
In Year 3 we look at food from different cultures such as South America. The children are given the opportunity to prepare and cook their own fajita mix. Children look and discuss the use of card and paper structures.
Pop- Up Mechanisms
Review any they have seen or have at home in books. Use skills to fold, cut, and stick joints together. Understand how to reinforce a joint and repair any broken structures.
In Year 4 Look and explore the use of lamps especially night lights. Research designs and purpose of lights. Make prototypes from paper . Use diagrams to measure and plan night lights onto planning sheets, make changes and review.
In Year 5 Will look at the use of bird scarers in the country and in the city . Discuss the purpose and function of the scarers. Express their own ideas from experiences to design a bird scarer for either the countryside or city . Explain why the scarers are different for other environments. Make detailed plans using correct measurements, choose the correct materials and tools to build the scarers.
In Year 6 Children will review technical complex structures and their purpose. Build a kite as a bird scarer form instructions . Create a design to decorate the kite to scare the birds. Explain the function and purpose and where this scarer would be placed to work most effectively. How could these scarers help people in other countries. Make choices and discuss changes to designs. Share ideas with the class and
Explore new ideas and designs.
PE PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Roar For Diversity
Developed in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board, pupils explore the power of difference and celebrate diversity in teams.
They describe what ‘diversity’ means and what a diverse team might look like,
identify the diversity of skills and qualities that different people bring to a team,
identify their own skills and qualities and how these are different or similar to others’ and explain what they think about diversity. e to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVUPpF6aMxs
Our school is a very diverse community and we celebrate our links with many organisations that allow us to come into contact with many different people from many diverse groups. Our community partners are as follows:
Liverpool FC Foundation
Wavertree Cricket Club
Liverpool School Sports Partnership
Liverpool WaterSports Centre
Park Palace Ponies
Love Wavertree
Within these partnerships we engage with people of different ages and backgrounds; different ethnicities and abilities and most importantly we work with and support each other in a spirit of friendliness and camaraderie that create within our community a respect and love of sport and its diversity (from football to cricket from kinball to athletics and on: we celebrate everytime we partake in a different sport with different people). Our children understand that no matter who we are, where we come from and where we go to, we must always keep the spirit of sportsmanship paramount in our minds.
SPANISH
In Year 1 we learn about the story of the Three Wise Men and learn about spanish traditions around christmas, we also sing traditional spanish christmas songs.
In Year 2 we discuss Spanish festivals and customs, particularly Christmas. We learn the vocabulary to talk about the people who make up our families and how each is different but still brilliant.
In Year 3 We look at different Spanish speaking countries around the world as well as different cities in Spain.
In Year 4 We look at physical descriptions of people including hair and eye colour. While learning how to describe ourselves and others we use this opportunity to celebrate the diversity within our own classrooms.
In Year 5 We learnhow to describe our families in Spanish and looking at all the different families people have. We have watched a video about a Spanish family in which they describe the different traditions they have in Spain at Christmas time.
In Year 6 We learn about different professions and will begin to write and talk about family members and the jobs they do. We use this opportunity to look at all the different roles people in society fulfil.
MUSIC
In Year 1 we listen to ‘It's Like That’ by Run DMC - we discuss how the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture.
In Year 2 we listen to Hands,Feet,Heart by Joanna Mangono celebrating South African Culture, and also Zootime, a reggae song by the same composer.We listen to music from various cultures, such as Hlokoloza by Arthur Mofokate.
In Year 3 we explore the reggae music of Jamaican musician Bob Marley and his song ‘Three Little Birds’.
In Year 4 we are learning songs and musical notation from different cultures around the world (check with Cathy Dighnam for up to date music we will be learning as clarinets not in use)
In Year 5 we listen to and explore various musical styles from rock and roll, motown and pop. We listen to and perform the work of artists such as Chuck Berry, Luther Vandross, Adele and Lionel Richie.
In Year 6 We look at the song ‘Happy’ by Pharell Williams. During this unit, we talk about who this song might appeal to.
SCIENCE
In Year 1 we discuss materials and their properties, we experiment with different materials and their properties linked to building houses. We discuss materials different houses can be made from and we research different houses in different countries and how the suitable materials differ depending on weather conditions. During our ‘Animals including Humans’ topic we discuss the diversity of skin colour within our class and celebrate our differences such as hair colour, eye colour, skin colour etc
In Year 2 we discuss how different habitats meet the needs of the people, plants and animals that live there.
In Year 3 we learn about George Washington Carver during Active Read lessons. The children discover how he persuaded farmers to grow peanuts in order to replenish the nutrients in soil. This consolidates learning they will have done in their ‘Rocks, Soils and Fossils’ topic as well as relating to their topic on plants.
In Year 4 we learn about scientists both male and female who have made significant contributions to Science in Sound (Christian Doppler), Electricity (Thomas Edison), States of Matter (Bernard Pallisy), Classification (Jane Goodall and Dr. Serian Sumner) and the study of Teeth (William Beaumont).
In Year 5 during our life cycle topic, we research and present our findings of famous international conservationists.
For each topic, the children are given the opportunity to look at the works of scientists, such as botanists, biologists and astronomists, from around the world. Their works will be used to support or refute ideas in the lessons.Children are able to read ‘Whizz Pop Bang’ a monthly science magazine, which has a ‘Sensational Scientist’ feature that celebrates scientists who are significant in their field from a range of cultural backgrounds.
In Year 6 We read about BAME scientists and their achievements during Active Read sessions (Libbie Henrieta and Ibn Al-Haytham). We also study evolution and inheritance as one of our topics, during which we discuss the work of Ibn Khaldun who pioneered the theory of evolution. During this topic, we discuss different beliefs about Darwin’s theory of evolution. During each science topic, children will also be given the opportunity to study scientists from different backgrounds who have made significant contributions in their field. Children are able to read ‘Whizz Pop Bang’ a monthly science magazine, which has a ‘Sensational Scientist’ feature that celebrates scientists who are significant in their field from a range of cultural backgrounds.
Examples of Opportunities to promote Equality and Diversity in the Classroom at Lawrence Community Primary School *subject to covid 19
At Lawrence, we ensure that diversity is included within our teaching methods. We make reference and use examples from a variety of cultures, religions and traditions. We challenge stereotypes.
Here are a few classroom activities and ideas that we use and adapt to help promote multiculturalism in our school:
Themed weeks
Host ‘African week’, ‘Islam week’ or ‘Disability week’ and teach your students all about the chosen topic. You could try different foods, lisinterest.ten to music, play games, learn facts and watch videos. Try and incorporate the theme into each area of the curriculum to reinforce the topic and maintain
Use diverse images in resources
When you pick books, posters and activities for your pupls, make sure that they include people from different backgrounds or with disabilities to show that these differences are ‘normal’. Avoid resources where stereotypes are used.
Make use of current news events
Promote debate and discussion by raising current issues and seeing what your pupils understand about the situation. For example, find a story where someone was fired for being too old – what do your pupils think about this? How would they challenge it?
Quizzes
Host quizzes on a set theme and learn how much pupils know about different cultures, religions, disabilities etc.
Sample food
Set up an Indian restaurant or American diner in your classroom and let pupils sample foods typically eaten in the corresponding culture. What do they like or dislike about the foods? How is it different from what they normally have for dinner? Teach pupils the reasons why certain foods are (or are not) eaten in certain countries.
List things that come from abroad
A quick activity you can do at the start of a lesson to introduce the theme of multiculturalism. Ask your pupils to create a list of everything in their life that comes from a country outside of the UK. Go through their responses as a class – are they surprised by the results?
Male or female?
Explore the idea of stereotypes – provide each student with a list of 10 professions and ask them to decide whether each is a ‘man’s job’ or a ‘woman’s job’. Go through their answers as a class and see what stereotypes people have. Is it fair that these stereotypes exist? How would they suggest these stereotypes are challenged?
True or false?
Present the class with some facts about people with disabilities, another culture or based on the protected characteristics and ask them to decide whether the facts are true or false. Are they surprised by the correct answers?
Learn languages
Teach your pupils a few words in French, Afrikaans, Chinese etc to raise their awareness of language barriers around the world. If you have pupils in your class who speak another language, ask them to help. What are the benefits of speaking more than one language?
Hold debates and discussions
Divide your class into 2 teams. Provide one team with a statement, e.g. ‘I’m a woman working in an office and have been told I can no longer work there because I recently became pregnant’. This team must defend this statement. Ask the other team to give advice and challenge the statement. How do both teams feel afterwards? Which team would they prefer to have been on and why?
Hearing/sight/physical impairment games
Play games to raise awareness of different physical disabilities. Can your students put on a jumper with just one hand? Can they guide a friend around the classroom with a blindfold on? Can they lip-read what the characters on TV are saying with the sound off? Use these activities to show the difficulties that people face and explain how these people learn to overcome them.
First impressions
This is a good activity for older pupils. Watch the YouTube video by the Guardian, but pause it after 10 seconds, 16 seconds and 24 seconds, taking time to ask pupils what they think is happening in the video. Do their perceptions change as the video goes on? Get pupils to justify their responses. You can find the video on YouTube.
Tell stories
Find a few stories that challenge perceptions and stereotypes, such as the tortoise and the hare which proves that first impressions can be deceiving. These kind of stories will encourage pupils to think about their beliefs and look at the world in a different way.
Jigsaws
Make your own jigsaws whereby facts need to match up with their country etc. You could also do this with different flags, national dresses or languages
Celebrate occasions
Host an event for Chinese new year, Diwali, Easter, Ramadan etc to raise awareness of different cultures and religions. Explain why each occasion is celebrated and ask your students what they enjoy most about them.
Play music
Listen to music from around the world or create your own using percussion instruments. Introduce your class to instruments from other cultures that they may not have seen before and to different styles of music. If you have children with diverse cultural backgrounds in your class, perhaps they could do a show-and-tell?
REMEMBER! We can all promote diversity by:
Setting clear rules in regards to how people should be treated.
Challenging any negative attitudes.
Treating all staff and students fairly and equally.
Creating an all-inclusive culture for staff and students.
Avoiding stereotypes in examples and resources.
Using resources with multicultural themes.
Actively promoting multiculturalism in lessons.
Planning lessons that reflect the diversity of the classroom.
Ensuring all students have equal access to opportunities and participation.
Making sure that learning materials do not discriminate against anyone and are adapted where necessary, e.g. large print or audio tape format.
Using a variety of teaching methods.
Using a variety of assessment methods.
Ensuring policies and procedures don’t discriminate against anyone.