Goals
Brief description of the issue
A strong endorsement of gender stereotypes is associated with higher school dropout rates, for boys as well as for girls. We learn those stereotypes from a very young age, therefore they have to be broken down even at the elementary level if we want to give students all the chances they need to succeed in school. To do this, concrete activities aiming at deconstructing gender stereotypes can be very helpful and spark interesting discussion with your group.
The Teaching Tolerance website has put together a variety of classroom resources in many social justice domains and on multiple topics. The mission of this organization is “to help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy” by providing them free resources.
This lesson plan, Can Girls Be Plumbers?, according to the website, “helps early-grade students begin to think about gender roles, stereotypes and career choices”, but it can also be adapted to older students.
To see the lesson plan, click on this link.