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.

Gender Identity

Many students struggle with gender identity and fitting in with social expectations.  There's pressure at school to fit in with their peers.  There's pressure within the family to follow expectations set out by parents or other members.  There's pressure within society, for example shopping in boys' sections or girls' sections and when participating in activities primarily considered boy-centered (i.e, hockey, football) or girl-centered (i.e, gymnastics, going to the spa).

This powerful video depicts the difficulties a young individual faces when understanding their own identity and how they fit into their own communities.


How do we, teachers and parents, work together to help develop a healthy sense of being in our students who struggle with gender identity?

We need to be sensitive to not only presenting our students with culturally relevant, up-to-date resources, but also to gender identity and the stereotypes that young children are learning about.
A few great children's books that promote positive body image are:

William's Doll
Ballerino Nate
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress

This resource supports transgender and transsexual students in the education system from K-12.  The story on page 17 describes the difficulties a student has in focusing on school and becoming withdrawn from activities when they are worried about fitting in with their peer groups.  It also describes how parents and educators can support a student to accept their own feelings and encompass their bodies with a positive mindset.