HOW
TO OVERCOME PREJUDICE

  DO NOT prejudge people. Get to know them first as individuals before deciding whether you like them or not.

  TREAT others the way you want to be treated.

  DEFEND people who are being treated with prejudice. Don’t get carried away by the crowd when people are unfair to someone else.

  LEARN about other cultures, countries and people. [/ vc_column_text]

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

If you are using the video, ask the first two questions before watching.

1. Are we all exactly the same? In what ways are we different? How are we alike?

2. Are the differences bad? Why or why not?

3. The children in the discussion part of the video said Burna was being prejudiced. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

4. Why did Essie decide not to invite Wonker?

5. How did Groark feel about not inviting Wonker to the party?

6. How did Groark handle the situation with Essie and Burna? Was that a good way to do it? Are there other ways you could have handled it?

7. What is prejudice?

8. How is being prejudiced different from not liking someone?

9. How many different forms of prejudice can you think of?

10. Was any other character in the video a victim of prejudice? How?

11. Have you ever experienced prejudice? How? How did you feel?

12. How do prejudiced people treat others?

13. How do people become prejudiced? Where do they learn prejudice?

14. What would you do if someone acted prejudiced towards you?

15. What would you do if one of your friends acted prejudiced towards someone else?

16. Do you strongly agree or disagree with something the children said in the discussion part of the program?

17. What did you learn from this video?

(If you wish to copy or use any material from this website, please click here for the terms of use.)

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GROUP ACTIVITIES

1. Discuss with students how the following situations can show prejudice.

  • Teasing someone about their weight.
  • Do not play with someone because they cannot run fast.
  • Annoy people because they speak another language.
  • Nicknames for people for their skin color.
  • Ignore someone because they use a wheelchair.
  • Do not allow a girl to play with carts because she is a girl.
  • Do not allow a child to take dance classes because he is a child.

2. Have the children build puppets of themselves. Use these puppets to act out prejudiced situations. Have students find ways to handle those situations and change prejudiced behaviors.

3. Play a ranking game. Have children group into teams according to the following categories: Hair color, skin color, eye color, gender, height (lowest and highest according to a preset parameter), month of birth, places of birth (all born in the same state or the same city), clothing (certain colors and styles), likes and dislikes (such as colors, food, music, etc.)

With each category, describe a situation that demonstrates an unfair situation. For example:

“What if today I only allowed those with brown hair to go outside for recess? Would that be fair?”

Or “What if only girls could eat their lunch today? Would it be fair?”

After the game, discuss how prejudice is not fair to anyone.

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WRITTEN ACTIVITIES

1. To help understand the cultural diversity of each person’s ancestors in the classroom, students can interview one of their parents, a grandfather or relative about the ways they celebrated holidays, traveled, lived, etc.

Younger children can draw pictures to illustrate what they have been told and share it with the class.

2. Write about someone who overcame the obstacles of prejudice to accomplish something worthwhile. It may be a great politician, a teacher, or even a family member. Older children can write a report about what they have learned, illustrate it and share it with the class.

3. Write a description of what you think Wonker really is like. Younger children can draw pictures and the teacher can list Wonker’s qualities as children describe.

4. Write a letter to Groark telling him what you think about the way he handled the situation with Burna and Essie. Do you have any advice to give?

(If you wish to copy or use any material from this website, please click here for the terms of use.)

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TASKS FOR THE HOUSE

To involve parents in this activity, copy the Parent Page (next section) and send it home with the children. Ask the children to discuss the video with their parents and to do the following activities:

1. Take the section titled “Overcoming Prejudice” home (at the top of this page) and post it somewhere where your family can see it. Discuss it with your parents or other adults in the family.

2. Talk to your family about prejudice. Discuss experiences they may have had with prejudice and how it affected them or their family.

3. For a week, keep a record of television shows showing comments or actions related to prejudice. Discuss it with the family or in the classroom. How did these programs affect our vision of others and how we treat others.

4. Select a person you don’t know very well. Make an attempt to try to meet her. Learn about their culture and background. Look for the ways or characteristics in which you are alike.

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(Copy this section, and send it to the parents.)

PARENT PAGE

DEAR PARENTS:

Your child is learning some valuable skills that will help him get along better with others, resolve conflicts peacefully, and avoid violent situations.

The class is about prejudice.

We have shown your son a video titled: Groark Learn About Prejudice , which features a puppet show and a discussion of what prejudice is and how to overcome it.

Here are some things you can do to help your child recognize and manage unfair prejudice:

  • Ask your child to tell you about the video program and what you learned from it.
  • Discuss with your child what prejudice is and what kinds of behaviors demonstrate prejudice.
  • As you watch television with your child, help him identify language, dialogue, or actions that demonstrate prejudiced behavior.
  • If your child has to deal with bias situations at home or at school, be open to discussing ways you can properly handle those conflicts.
  • Help your child become more sensitive to his own behavior or language, which may be prejudiced in nature.

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EDUCATIONAL GOALS

CHILDREN LEARN:

What is prejudice.  

What’s wrong with being prejudiced.  

How to avoid being prejudiced.  

The benefits of being open to different types of people.  

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THE VIDEO STORY


Groark and Essie are alarmed at Burna’s prejudice.

 

G roark and his friends plan a party. Burna convinces others not to invite the new boy to school, citing reasons that sound like a classic racist attitude. But when Groark learns that Burna doesn’t know the new boy, he goes out to speak to a group of real elementary school kids and gets a lesson in prejudice. They explain how people sometimes treat others unfairly because of their size, their age, their gender, their race, or their ethnic and national origin. You also learn why it is important not to prejudge people. Groark brings this lesson back to his friends, and they decide to include the new boy.

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Click Here
to learn about the video series


Getting Along
with
GROARK ™

   Control Anger
Resolve Conflicts Be Good Listeners Intimidation Prejudice and Respect  
  
  
  

Available in English
and Spanish.

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C or l or r e e s t or s p e r s or n to j e s !  

Click on the Popcorn Park puppets below to get worksheets that you can print for your children to color.

Popcorn Park Puppets

Popcorn Park Puppets

Popcorn Park Puppets

Popcorn Park Puppets

Popcorn Park Puppets

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TERMS OF USE

© Copyright Elkind + Sweet Communications, Inc. All rights are reserved. The content on this website is dedicated to non-commercial educational use. If you wish to copy or use part of this material, please click here for the “terms of use.” Except as provided in “terms of use,” this material is strictly for private use, and may not be republished or copied without the written permission of the editor.

 

 

* Popcorn Park as well as Popcorn Park Puppets are registered trademarks of Elkind + Sweet Communications, Inc. This video series as well as the discussion guides were created, written and produced by Elkind + Sweet Communications, Inc. © Copyright Elkind + Sweet Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. [/ vc_column_text] [/ vc_column] [/ vc_row]

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