The ‘isms… Sexism, Racism, Classism, and Ageism Please copy into the Writing Assignments section of your notebooks.

1. Sexism The prejudice and discrimination on the basis of one’s gender. Often, but not always, subjected to women.

2. Racism The prejudice and discrimination based in social perceptions of biological differences between people. The belief that all members of a race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. Often takes the form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other.

3. Classism The prejudice and discrimination against or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class.

4. Ageism The prejudice and discrimination against individuals or groups based on their age.

Turn to the next page and divide it into four boxes… Beliefs Behaviors Language Policies

Analyze the ‘ism that you have been assigned… On your own, define the term by analyzing the beliefs, behaviors, language and policies of the ism. What are the beliefs of individuals who grapple with this ‘ism? Ex. Men are smarter than women. Ex. It’s O.K. if male students act up in class, because, as the saying goes, "boys will be boys." What are the behaviors associated with individuals who grapple with this ‘ism? Ex. A teacher calls on male students more often than he or she calls on female students. Ex. Domestic violence: e.g., "A husband justifies his use of physical force to settle a domestic dispute by asserting that he is 'the head of the family.'" What is the use of language among individuals who grapple with this ‘ism? Ex. Slurs, jokes, verbal expressions, etc. Provide some examples of institutional policies associated with this ‘ism? Ex. A school uses textbooks that ignore or minimize the contributions of women. Ex. Police departments sometimes treat instances of domestic violence as "family disputes" and not as crimes.

In TKAM… Find 2-3 specific examples from the novel thus far that clearly demonstrate the ‘ism. Be sure to include the page number from the text.