Objective: Students will understand the term “prejudice” as it applies to race, class and gender.
Procedure: Teacher opens a discussion about the origins and meaning of the word. Then moves to a discussion of ways in which people prejudge others today including traditional gender roles and issues of class and race. The discussion will begin with cliques at school—how and why they are formed. Next students discuss prejudice in their the community and then the world. To get a broader understanding of prejudice, students could discuss how they view people of different ages for example, senior citizens, middle-aged people, college students etc.
Students then read a poem titled “Brotherhood” written by a student of the school. The poem centers on how the eight-grader feels left out because of his race. A class discussion follows.
Closure: Each student writes a poem about him/herself and how he/she relates to others in the school community or on how to survive in the school community.