Lesson Plan - Gender Based Stereotypes

Minds-On: Gather students and show them different objects and have them identify whether it is a girl object or boy object.  For example, hold up a football and ask them which box the football should be placed in - "Boy" or "Girl".  (Other objects can include a doll, a stuffed animal, a dress, a shirt, knitting needles, etc.)
Students decide which box objects are placed in, they may realize objects can go in both boxes, where you can introduce a third box labelled "Both" and then you can go back through objects placed in the boy/girl boxes and discuss whether objects placed there could be moved to both.
Ask students to provide a rationale for their responses to open up the discussion on gender based stereotypes and why certain objects are geared towards different sexes.

Action:  In small groups (2-3 students), encourage students to create a list (words/pictures) of objects, activities or interests that are promoted for "Girls", "Boys" and "Both Genders" using a shared Google Doc.
Once they have generated and shared ideas, ask students to create a poster using Google Draw or a slideshow using Google Slides that would help students feel included in all spaces regardless of their interests.
Guiding Questions:  How can they show students feeling happy about wanting to play soccer or dance or any other activity regardless of their gender?  What symbols can they incorporate into their poster/slideshow that would represent acceptance of others? How can they change stereotypical views?

Consolidation:  Students share their posters/slideshows to another group of students.  Encourage students to comment on 2 positive aspects of each others' work, such as "I liked the way you used the symbol... because..." or "Your poster/slideshow makes me feel included because..."

Modifications/Extensions:  For the Minds-On, create a quiz on Kahoot to get individual student responses that are more discreet.  Quiz questions can include:  Who plays football?  Boy, Girl, Both;  Who practices gymnastics?  Boy, Girl, Both;  Who drives a truck?  Boy, Girl, Both;  Who dresses dolls?  Boy, Girl, Both
More lesson plans/resources/booklists that promote inclusive school environments can be found here.