2019-2020 ARTLINK TEACHER'S HANDBOOK ENGLISH 2019 2020 ArtLink Guidelines FINAL | Page 23

II. Lesson Plans and Activities
Introductory Lesson: Challenging Stereotypes
Activity
3. Analyzing
4. Discussion
5. Conclusion
Description and Important Points
Hiroshi just started working on a hip-hop dance
routine for the school talent show. He needs a makeup
kit to put on his stage makeup, but doesn't need a new
dictionary.
Born
in Argentina, Anna still enjoys skiing and
•
snowboarding every winter. She would put a pair of
new skis to good use; there is no need for a new rocking
chair.
Ask, “Did the labels on these people mislead you into making
the ‘usual’ choices?”
To know a person well, you need a great deal of information-more
than you'll find in a label. With nothing but a word or two to go on,
your mind produced a stereotyped image rather than a real picture
of the person.
In printing, a "stereotype" is a metal plate which reproduces the
same picture over and over. In thinking, a stereotype is a mental
picture in which all people in a particular group look and act the
same way.
Stereotypes can cloud our judgment because they ignore the fact
that no two human beings are identical. Take the taxi driver, for
example. In your mind did you picture him as a middle-aged,
tough-talking driver? This is one stereotype seen in movies and on
TV. However, real taxi drivers can be young or old, male or female,
foreign-born or from any US state. Yet, when we think in
stereotypes, we tend to ignore these possibilities.
How true to life are these stereotypes? Usually, a stereotype has
some truth to it. There probably are some senior citizens who do
not get out much, some "A" students who are scholarly and
some taxi drivers who are tough. But there are many more who
do not fit these descriptions.
Stereotypes distort the truth. They suggest that all people in a
particular group behave in the same way, which is not true. When
people begin to stereotype others on the basis of their race,
religion or nationality, the result is prejudice.
Materials
•
Filled Index
Cards
Filled Index
Cards
If possible, ask your students if they have ever experienced being
stereotyped and how they have overcome those situations.
Draw some conclusions about their personal experiences.
Hold a discussion about any stereotypes students might hold
toward the people who live in their partner country. Make a list
of these. Ask students where they think these views came from.
Finally, reinforce the importance of thinking twice before
assuming they are right about a country, a region or a culture
they have limited information about. With this in mind, they are
ready to connect with an overseas partner on this program.
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2019 -2020 ArtLink Program “Our Environment, My Culture”
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