Mission: Gender Equality, Carmen-Mirela Butaciu, LAM Lipova, Romania GENDER EQUALITY LESSON PLAN - Carmen Mirela Butaci | Page 4

10
mins
Ask Students:
Does society teach us that some characteristics in the
‘gender’ list are more important or valuable than
others?
You may need to provide an example such as: “Society
teaches us that being sensitive (like girls) is nice, but
that being assertive (like boys) is important and
therefore more valuable”.
Can our ideas about gender change?
How we can be a part of this change?
Plenary
Differentiation and alternatives
Additional questions if time: Ask
participants
• How have expectations of
girls/women changed over the past
10 or 20 years?
• Is what is acceptable for men and
women
in
other
countries
different?
•
Have
the
biological
characteristics that define us as
male or female changed over time,
or are they different in other
countries?
• Explain that what societies
expect from women and men, or
from girls and boys, may be
different; but male and female
reproductive functions are the
same everywhere in the world
R ESOURCES
(Include equipment required for class and/or for teacher preparation)
Write up the definition of discrimination on a board or flip-chart.
• Prepare flip-charts or paper for groups to draw on and a flip-chart or board to write on.
• Prepare to show the Plan International Video “Because I am a Girl: I’ll take it from here” (note –
without access to the internet or capacity to watch video simply remove this element of the lesson.)
The lesson does not depend on it.
• Print out the “Empowerment Star” in appendix 1 to distribute as additional or homework
activity.
Note: Before teaching this lesson you should think about whether any of your students might have
or are now affected by, gender inequality in their lives. Be sensitive to this and try to make
A been,
SSESSMENT
sure your classroom is a safe environment for all your students. Make it clear that students can
choose to speak or not speak about their own experience as they wish.
Additional or homework activity:
Empowerment Star Give each student an empowerment star (appendix 1). Ask them to think about the
questions under the star, answering them honestly about how they feel now – not what they aspire or
hope their situation to be like in the future. Try to think broadly about your life, your community and
your interactions with members of the opposite sex, parents and people with power. Circle on the star
the number that corresponds to each answer given. Connect the dots. Someone who is completely
empowered (all 5s) will make a perfect, full sized octagon. Someone who is not empowered at all (all 1s)
REFLECTION
will make a tiny octagon. Ask a mix of boys and girls who feel comfortable to share their empowerment
stars and compare the differences. Consider what star shapes might be like to girls and boys in other
countries.
Take Action for Gender Equality
As an educator you have the power to channel students’ positive energies and help them believe that
they are not helpless, that change is possible, and that they can drive it. Encourage involvement in the
Empowerment Star Self-Assessment Tool
Plan International Hear Our Voices Campaign. Help speak out for the thousands of girls from the
poorest parts of the world who are unable to speak out for themselves. Complete the Girls
Empowerment Star and School Equality Scorecard to plan improvements in your school.
http://plan-international.org/hearourvoices/