How Do You Teach Diversity Lessons On Hate Crimes?
Diversity is a fact in our world, and teaching students to understand and accept it is important step towards bringing about a more peaceful society. Unfortunately, some people need to see a drastic example in order to understand the lessons presented, which is why I developed the following lesson plan. This can be adapted to most any level of student as needed. Ask your students to bring in a newspaper or magazine clipping about a “hate crime” and to write a paragraph expressing their opinions and personal definitions of crime, hate crime, violent crime, prejudice, injustice, etc. Request volunteers to share the clipping they brought in and/or read their opinions and definitions to the class. Lead a class discussion on the differing opinions and definitions brought up through the homework assignment and students’ reactions to the news stories. Show DVD clips from movies such as “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Freedom Writers’ Diary,” “Boyz in the Hood,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Romeo + Juliet,” or “
