Students will conduct a school-wide survey to determine the degree of bias and discrimination present in the school. Students will use the results of the unit to develop a plan to address problems that are identified. Students may also wish to identify a philanthropic organization that specializes in human rights or protecting the disadvantaged and begin a campaign for support.

Anticipatory Set:


As students enter the room, a Power Point presentation of a country should be playing on a projection unit (if possible) or a few posters depicting information on a selected country should be on display.

• Explain to students that they will be producing their own presentations using the information they have found in the previous lesson.
• Using the information gathered, have students create a PowerPoint or HyperStudio presentation on their selected countries. In the event that technology is not available, the students can create a poster to illustrate their findings. Students should work in groups of two or three. The presentation should include information from student research, Peace Corp narratives, and the information on injustices found in the previous lesson. Students will need to use their research guide from the previous lesson to help organize their information for use in a presentation.
  Note to teachers: The scoring checklist for this activity includes all of the main topics from the research guide, requires at least 12 frames (posters will also show this), and requires that at least four of the frames have graphics.
• Students will give oral reports to the class using their posters or electronic presentations.
  Note: If using PowerPoint or HyperStudio, a computer projection unit will be advantageous. If no computer projection unit is available, students may need to view the presentation in small groups at a computer station.
• Students will conduct a school-wide survey using the survey from Lesson One: Stereo What? to determine the need for programs to address the problem of bias.
• Using the survey, ask the students to brainstorm ideas to raise awareness and to take action against the forms of bias identified by the survey results. Possible activities would be:
• Create posters to put in school halls to challenge other students to examine their biases and work to eliminate them.
• Create a presentation for the whole school, the community, and/or the board of education that will inform and educate regarding the outcome of the survey.
• Develop action plans that give examples of specific actions or activities students can do as individuals to help eliminate bias in their everyday life.
• Take the results of the survey to the local newspaper along with an article explaining the results. (Seek administrative approval before sharing the survey results with the public.)
• Organize activities (through the Student Council or other school organizations, if desired) that will bring the school together to address the issues and outcomes of the survey.
  Note: The activities listed above are only suggestions and students or teachers may choose alternative activities more suitable to their specific classroom.