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Note to Teachers: Getting Started This PowerPoint presentation accompanies Lesson 7: When Differences Matter from the Standing Up for Democracy scheme of work. It is important to read the lesson plan in order to understand its rationale, the procedure, and suggestions for how to frame dehumanising language in the Notes to Teachers section. This presentation includes verbal instructions for the activities in the Notes beneath each slide. Accessing hyperlinks in PowerPoint involves extra steps: select View - Notes Page - right click on the hyperlink - and select Open Hyperlink. Alternatively, you can access the hyperlinks from Lesson 7: When Differences Matter or by viewing the presentation in Google Slides. While you may need to modify this presentation to meet the needs of your students, please note that Facing History and Ourselves is not accountable for any changes that alter the presentation's content or original layout. Information about Standing Up for Democracy PowerPoint Slides Each PowerPoint accompanies a corresponding lesson plan that includes more detailed instructions about the activities and should be read in advance of teaching the lesson. Wherever possible, we have used images in lieu of writing to encourage the verbal delivery of instructions as a means of boosting focus and to promote active listening skills. The same image is used for each recurring teaching strategy throughout the scheme of work to facilitate recall and promote student independence.

When Differences Matter

Guiding Question What happens when one aspect of our identities is used to sort us into groups? When Differences Matter: Learning Objective To recognise that when one aspect of our identity is privileged above others by members of society, it can affect how we see ourselves, how we see others, and the choices we ultimately make.

When Differences Matter How do you feel about yourself and others when you are a member of the “in crowd,” a group of students that is privileged in some way or has social power? How do you feel about yourself and others when you are not a member of the “in crowd”? Set the tone for the lesson by reviewing your classroom contract. Then remind students that in the last lesson they examined the human tendency to divide ourselves into groups. They also explored how our desire to belong can affect our decision-making process and how we treat others. Tell students that in this lesson, they will investigate what can happen when we are grouped based upon aspects of our identity, and what can happen when one aspect of our identity is privileged over others by members of society. To help students connect their own experiences to this lesson’s content, ask them to respond in their journals to the two questions. Let them know that they will be sharing their responses with a partner. After they have finished writing, ask students to think, pair, share with a partner.

In Crowd Out Crowd Create a two-column chart on the board or flipchart paper and label it “In Crowd” and “Out Crowd.” Record the students’ ideas as they share how they feel about themselves and others when members of these groups. You can revisit the chart after viewing A Class Divided to compare your students’ experiences with the members of Jane Elliott’s class.

Provide historical context for the video A Class Divided and the dehumanising language that Elliott and her students use to describe individuals and groups of people they deem as “other” in the film. (See Notes to Teacher). Pass out the handout A Class Divided Viewing Guide and have students count off by 2s. Tell the 1s that they should focus their note-taking on Mrs. Elliott, the teacher, as they watch the film, and the 2s should focus on the students. Play the video A Class Divided (00:00-17:56) or (03:10-17:56), which you can borrow from the Facing History library. Or you can find the original 1970 classroom footage, called Eye of the Storm, on streaming sites like YouTube (See Notes to Teacher). You might pause at minute 10:28 and pair students by numbers (1s with 1s and 2s with 2s) so they can share and add to their notes. Then show the second half of the film. If your students found it helpful to share their notes with a partner, repeat this step.

One Surprising fact or idea One Interesting fact or idea One Troubling fact or idea Show the video a second time. Ask students to complete a S-I-T response on their handouts or in their journals. Have them share their responses with a partner or in a class discussion.

Next, merge pairs to create groups of four. Ask groups to discuss the questions on the next slide. Circulate to get a sense of how the students are interacting with the film’s content. After the groups have discussed the questions, ask each group to share one interesting insight from their discussions.

How is this message reinforced in real life? Who in the film determined which differences matter? Who do you think decides in real life? How was the message about which differences matter reinforced in the film? How is this message reinforced in real life? Why, for the most part, do you think the students went along with Elliott’s experiment? What is the lesson Jane Elliott wanted her students to learn? What lessons can you learn from the film? Project the questions one at a time as groups discuss them. Alternatively, you can print and pass out copies of the questions in addition to projecting them for the class.

Who determines which differences matter? What does Elliott’s classroom experiment suggest about what can happen when one aspect of our identity is valued more than all of the others? While eye colour may not be related to power in our society, what are aspects of identity that give some people more power and privileges than others? Who determines which differences matter? Why do individuals and groups either go along or not go along with these decisions? How do beliefs about differences in our society shape the way we see ourselves and others? How do they shape the way others see us? How do beliefs about differences in our society shape the way we respond when we encounter an individual or group that is different from us? Facilitate a class discussion using some or all of the questions.

In their journals or on the Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World handout ask students to make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections between A Class Divided, one or more texts from this scheme of work, and their own lives.

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