Building Community and Combating Hate:
Lessons for the Middle School Classroom
On this page:
Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Examples of Lessons
Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Examples of Lessons
Part 1: Overview
Audience: Teachers
Published by: Partners Against Hate (Anti-Defamation League) in association with the U.S. Department of Justice
Published by: Partners Against Hate (Anti-Defamation League) in association with the U.S. Department of Justice
Sometimes when guides are too long they can be very over-whelming. At only 62-pages long, this one is unintimidating and very easy to navigate. As can be seen from the table of contents for the lessons page, the guide covers many areas. Each lesson plan is only a few pages long with a variety of activities.
Part 2: Examples of Lessons
Lesson 8: The Escalation of Hate
I like this lesson a lot. I think it has a lot of potential because it requires students to be aware and critical of contemporary issues. Teachers can have students do an initial exploration of the topic during the unit. Students would look for examples in the news of different levels on the period of hate. They could present them in class. As the year progresses, they can continue to add news clippings. Alternatively, teachers can create a Pinterest board for each level and students can add different examples.
I like this lesson a lot. I think it has a lot of potential because it requires students to be aware and critical of contemporary issues. Teachers can have students do an initial exploration of the topic during the unit. Students would look for examples in the news of different levels on the period of hate. They could present them in class. As the year progresses, they can continue to add news clippings. Alternatively, teachers can create a Pinterest board for each level and students can add different examples.
Lesson 9: Personal Responsibility
The primary reason that we bother teaching these lessons is because we want our students to take meaningful actions to deal with these injustices. However, when dealing with discrimination and belonging, we rarely ever consider ourselves as part of the problem. This lesson provides a self-reflection exercise for students to consider their own participation or lack of participation in these acts. This self-reflection is the starting point for a discussion that will spur students towards a new understanding. Here is a portion of the self-reflection.
The primary reason that we bother teaching these lessons is because we want our students to take meaningful actions to deal with these injustices. However, when dealing with discrimination and belonging, we rarely ever consider ourselves as part of the problem. This lesson provides a self-reflection exercise for students to consider their own participation or lack of participation in these acts. This self-reflection is the starting point for a discussion that will spur students towards a new understanding. Here is a portion of the self-reflection.
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