In this lesson we take students on a trip to all regions of the world so they can see how gender varies widely around whichever culture it is practiced in. Students will practice understanding other traditions and ideas about gender diversity in a large-scale context.
Age & Level: B1 Intermediate, mid/high school
Length of Lesson: 90 minutes
Materials Needed: Paper Passports. Stickers/stamps of any kind.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to...
1. ...discuss visual representations of gendered ideas.
2. ...extract important information from archival materials.
3. ...practice speaking about researched material, and highlighting important information.
4. ...convey new ideas that they have learned about gender diversity.
5. ... apply awareness of different cultures to their everything thinking.
Full lesson plan on Google Docs:
Warm Up: Popcorn Attributes
Time: 15 minutes (depends on # students)
Pass a ball around “popcorn” style*:
Everybody stands up and the person who has the ball speaks for their turn. Then they throw it to another person across the room until everyone has spoken.
Instruct students to tell the class a suprising fact about themselves or their goals or their hobbies. Not each one will challenge a stereotype of course, but we are encouraging everyone to feel comfortable showing who they are!
*For virtual settings, you can use an online spinner with each student’s name on a spoke.
Presenting: Mapping Gender Around the World
Time: 30 minutes
In front of the class, introduce the website: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/two-spirits_map-html/
It brings you to a map displaying pinpoints around the globe.
Tell each student to pick one pinpoint on the map. Go around the class and have them announce their choice-- this gives them agency, as well as the opportunity to practice describing location, and ensures no one will pick the same place. You can note the student's choice on the board if you want. ~7 min (depends on # of students)
Alternatively (perhaps more quickly) you can have students run up to the board and write their names down on a projected map to claim an area.
Now, start clicking the various pinpoints to demonstrate that each one shows an example of how some who have resided there perceive gender in their own cultural contexts. Pick an example that no student claimed, and demonstrate an introduction:
Announce the location selected and the name of the gender population that lives there. Read the description of this selection and guide students through an annotation of the description, perhaps in a separate word document or by annotating a projection. See right for an example of annotating to extract the useful information and then compiling it briefly in their own words. Allow for questions. ~ 7 min
Tell students to begin preparing a similar presentation about their chosen location, using the tidbit found on this website and any other resource they’d like. They will make a basic poster with bullet points and be able to speak about each one. Students should convey responses to the following prompts: ~15 minutes
What location did you choose? Do you have a personal relation to this area?
What example of ‘gender diversity’ did you find? Please describe it.
What is something else you have learned about this group of people?
The paragraph can be overwhelming, but there is a lot of information we can disregard. Underline words you know and try to piece together some key points.
Where: Hawaii. I chose it because I went there on vacation.
Who: The mahu are from the indigenous society. Their gender role is between masculine/feminine.
I learned: The mahu role was sacred, but they experience discrimination today.
Practice: Global Gallery Walk
Time: 30 min
(Let’s say each student needs about 3 minutes to present, and they must present about 3 times. They must also listen to another 3 presentations that are 3 min. Add in time for milling about, clarifying, and struggling with communication.)
Arrange students in groups around the room by regions of the world (you can choose those, since you’ll want the distribution to be roughly equal and this will depend on the groups choices. There can be 4 or 5 total). Have each student tape up their poster with the main bullet points to prepare for presenting in the gallery. ~ 4 min
Have sets of stickers in various colors, one of which will represent each region. Every student shall receive twice as many stickers as the number of regions in the room minus their own (in their region’s own color). Once students visit each region, they receive a sticker from the presenter on their “passport” and offer a sticker on the presenter’s poster in return (demonstrate this with another educator or well-adept student). Everyone will need a sticker from each region on their passport, and students will also need to find time to stay put in order to receive at least as many stickers on their own poster from giving the presentation. ~ 25 min
*This could get chaotic, so perhaps instruct some regions to stay put and allow others to walk around, then rotate. Another option is to only require stickers from one or two other regions. There are a lot of ways a gallery walk may be coordinated.
Learning Assessment: Understanding Perspectives
Time: 10 minutes
Come together as a class once more. It may take a moment for everyone to settle down after the gallery walk.
Ask if anyone would like to be interviewed about their travels. Once a student comes to the front and lists all of their locations, ask them to speak about their own area, and perhaps another they visited.
Now, ask (either a new student or the same one, depending on how eager individuals are to participate) about an area you know was in the gallery but not in their passport. The student will likely look confused, and repeat that they didn’t visit that area.
Address the class now, and ask if this student should have to describe the area in question even if they had never been there. Lead them into a discussion about how we are unable to fully understand another culture when we have not experienced it. “But does that mean that ‘so-and-so’ on the other side of the room didn’t still present on this topic? Does their contribution (or grade) get erased simply because I chose to interview someone who had never been there or learned about it?”
We want students to find that just because they don't know about a cultural phenomenon, doesn't mean it is not valid. Students will be challenged, and then get the opportunity to share their perspectives about the new topic.
Wrap-up: Applying Awareness
Time: 5 min
Have students jot down a few reflections for the following on a notecard, and then turn it in as an exit ticket:
What is an example of something in the world that you do not understand, like languages, natural processes, or traditions? Does not understanding something make it not real?
Has someone misunderstood your appearance, clothing, or identity before? How did you feel?
What can you do to make someone feel welcome in class, even if they are different from you?