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The Paper Bag Princess: Let's talk about Gender, Gender Roles and Stereotyping

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The Paper Bag Princess: Let's talk about Gender, Gender Roles and Stereotyping

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This is a great book to begin a discussion about Anti-Oppression Themes Created by Lauren Chapple https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tIYlGm21lniTZCn1uwZj8UC324Ecl8kqGU_lPgyYctA/copy

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Gender Bias KS1 lesson 15-30 minute VotesforSchools

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Giving everyone the opportunity to speak up or give their imput 

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Giving everyone the opportunity to speak up or give their imput 

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Downloadable teacher resources for IWD activity

Around the world, students should be encouraged to actively engage in conversations and experiences that equip them to question stereotypes and bias, and celebrate women's achievements. International Women's Day and Teach Starter are supporting teachers by providing premium classroom resources that educate and inspire students. Read more about gender bias at school here.

Brilliant classroom resources for teachers

Are you looking for quick and easy, yet informative and reliable classroom resources to help students learn about and explore gender-related issues? Download these incredibly useful resources to actively champion International Women's Day in your school. We also invite further resources to help reflect the truly diverse and exciting world we live in.

And teachers, in addition to the brilliant downloadable resources below, remember to select some of the inspiring and informative International Women's Day videos as classroom discussion starters to reinforce important gender concepts or to provide entertaining ways to celebrate the day.

1. International Women's Day printable fact sheet

Download these informative International Women's Day factsheets to:

learn about International Women's Day

explore key themes that relate to International Women's Day

learn about some very interesting statistics about women's equality

discuss what can be done to forge women's equality in areas like government and work

Printable fact sheet PDFs

2. Case studies about inspiring women role models

Download diverse, inspirational case studies of women role models from around the world to:

celebrate the achievements of women

consider career choices and life pathways

explore success from different cultures

instigate discussion about gender-related barriers

Printable case study PDFs:

3. International Women's Day activity task cards

Download and cut out these 14 exciting classroom activities for your students to collaboratively enjoy in groups or individually to:

celebrate women's achievements

challenge gender stereotypes and bias

use problem solving and creativity skills

develop writing, reading and multi-media skills

Printable activity task card PDFs

4. Questioning stereotypes

The Ground Rules Comic is a fabulous resource for supporting students to think deeply about gender stereotypes and collaboratively discuss their views. The Comic is supported by Task Cards.

5. Challenging stereotypes for jobs

Read the Firefighter Story then access the Gender Roles Sorting Activity to support students in exploring and reflecting on their own perceptions.

Plus access the Female Gender Stereotypes in the Media Worksheet to explore and discuss how to spot gender stereotyping, understand and identify how it occurs, and learn how it can influence others.

6. Who is your role model?

Who inspires you and why? Download the "All About My Role Model" activity for younger students using the easy to follow booklet, also available in a mini-booklet version. Both come complete with full instructions.

Use the role model booklet to:

teach students to think about the strengths of others

reflect on qualities they admire

explore and value differences

Printable role model booklets

Downloadable classroom and teaching resources by age

If you'd like to access the above resources by age level, please select from the below options:

Further downloadable classroom PDFs and teaching resources

If you've enjoyed these materials and would like to access further resources, visit Teach Starter. Trusted by over 250,000 teachers around the world, TeachStarter provides over 130,000 pages of downloadable educational resources expertly created by experienced teachers, designers and illustrators.
* It has not been possible to provide the International Women's Day classroom resources in multiple languages this year, however we endeavour to address this in the future because we do understand and value how important this is.
Show International Women's Day videos

Use some of the inspiring and thought-provoking International Women's Day videos available from around the world as great classroom discussion starters or teaching resources.

Teaching notes for the gender stereotypes viral video

Watch the viral video challenging gender stereotypes. Use the accompanying Teaching Notes to discuss the topic "what if women and men switched for a day?"

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IWD: Downloadable teacher resources for IWD activity

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Around the world, students should be encouraged to actively engage in conversations and experiences that equip them to question stereotypes and bias, and celebrate women's achievements. International Women's Day and Teach Starter are supporting teachers by providing premium classroom resources that educate and inspire students. Read more about gender bias at school here .

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The following are a selection of DLA videos and teacher training material that primary and secondary-level teachers can use to create more gender responsive classrooms. Educators, mentors, and girls' education advocates can use these to reinforce gender equality practices, expose audiences to female role models, and establish local girls' clubs.

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The following are a selection of DLA videos and teacher training material that primary and secondary-level teachers can use to create more gender responsive classrooms. Educators, mentors, and girls' education advocates can use these to reinforce gender equality practices, expose audiences to female role models, and establish local girls' clubs.

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Children are naturally curious and often ask profound questions about themselves and The World Around Us. This Area of Learning helps pupils to explore and find age-appropriate answers to some of these big questions from the perspectives of Geography, History, and Science and Technology.

For further details, see the Statutory Requirements for the World around Us at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

Curriculum Objectives

The learning opportunities within The World Around Us help young people to develop as:

individuals,

contributors to society, and

contributors to the economy and environment.

Curriculum Planning

At Key Stages 1 and 2, The World around Us has four inter-related strands that connect learning across Geography, History and Science and Technology.

Progression Grids

The following documents illustrate the statutory requirements as suggested learning intentions. You can use these to help plan learning, teaching and assessment in this area.

Skills across the Curriculum

When planning topics, make sure that you provide opportunities for your pupils to develop their skills in Communication, Using Mathematics, Using ICT and Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities.

At all stages, you should encourage your pupils to become active participants in the learning process. Involve your pupils in choosing topics that interest them. Where possible, you should connect learning to current events. You should ensure that, where appropriate, you integrate aspects of the other Areas of Learning.

Science and Technology Progression Framework(Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities Guidance) 4.1 MB - uploaded 12-09-2017

History, Progression Framework(Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities Guidance) 2.3 MB - uploaded 21-04-2015

Geography, Progression Framework(Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities Guidance) 2.3 MB - uploaded 21-04-2015

Contacts

For more information on the World around Us, contact:

Melanie Mulligan
mmulligan@ccea.org.uk
(028) 9026 1200 ext. 2716

The Ecoworld resource helps pupils to understand how making small changes today can protect the future of our planet. Learn about the different types of energy produced, the energy we use in our everyday lives and how to be a responsible energy saver. Visit www.ecoworld.org.uk for animations, online and classroom activities.

The Vikings ICL provides a range of active learning experiences to assist teachers in making connections both within and beyond the Area of Learning The World Around Us. Included are a number of STEM enquiries to connect science and technology to a topic traditionally viewed as a history-only topic. To use a blended approach we have developed bespoke resources to bring games based learning to the theme through the use of Minecraft.

More Ideas for Connected Learning can be found from our Ideas for Connected Learning page.

This resource (sent to schools in 2005) was developed for all Primary Schools across Northern Ireland and aims to plant the seeds of an enterprising culture. Using a relevant and stimulating context the Storysack provides guidance for teachers to consider ways of adopting the enterprise approach.

Anything's Possible - Irish Medium Is Féidir Gach Aon Rud!

Anything's Possible Audio Recording - Irish Medium 4.8 MB

Out of This World - Building Learning

Children are fascinated by the mystery of Outer Space. In Out of This World children design and create a 3D model of an environmentally friendly hotel in a bid to encourage space tourism.

Connected Learning through the World around Us
Please review all links to judge their suitability before using them with your class.
There are a selection of Ideas for Connected Learning and Thematic Units that you can use to support the World Around Us in primary schools.

Frequently Asked Questions: The World around Us 82.6 KB - uploaded 21-04-2015

Implementation of the World Around Us Report 778.6 KB - uploaded 21-04-2015

Global Learning Programme - This website provides schools with resources, case studies and information on local training that will support them to educate for a fair and sustainable world through all areas of the curriculum.

Aim, Aspire and Achieve - A thematic unit which helps schools celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games (but can be adapted to celebrate other international sporting events).

Eat, Taste and Grow - A resource on food and local produce, developed in a collaboration between safefood and The Public Health Agency.

The Eco-Schools website offers ideas and resources for learning activities on 10 environmental topics, linked to many curriculum subjects.

Using the Locality is a list of agencies and websites that may help the study of the local environment.

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tabs] The World around Us Children are naturally curious and often ask profound questions about themselves and The World Around Us. This Area of Learning helps pupils to explore and find age-appropriate answers to some of these big questions from the perspectives of Geography, History, and Science and Technology.

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Resources to go with the lesson plans above

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Resources to go with the lesson plans above

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Mental Health and Wellbeing Lesson Plans

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Mental Health and Wellbeing Lesson Plans

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Discussion pics and infographics

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Outline of age related milestones for gender equality teaching

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Outline plan based on the Junto Emotional Wheel

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RCADS

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Artsy Boys and Smelly Girls Lesson Plan.

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Artsy Boys and Smelly Girls Lesson Plan.

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Search Results - gender found 138 records | TeachBC

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This lesson will use short stories and poetry to explore how gender roles and identity can be shaped by culture and change over time. Students will consider how gender identity and expression is influenced by societal expectations. They will also explain and support personal responses to a text.

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From the Beauty Myth to the next top models, how do the media construct our perceptions of healthy and attractive bodies?

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Male or female: Seems simple enough, but these categories which were assigned to us at birth carry with them a whole lot of social and cultural meanings and expectations. In this section, we look to unpack some of the media's baggage around what it means to be a boy or girl, man or women.

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AGENDA: a young people's guide to making positive relationships matter

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Free online toolkit helping young people to safely and creatively raise awareness of gender inequalities, sexual harassment and gender based violence.

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Sport England has worked with the Association for Physical Education to produce a range of newly updated resources to support you to bring This Girl Can into your school.
Resources include:

Six themed workshops focused on the campaign's emotional themes and featuring flexible and interactive tasks

Hints and tips to help staff and students actively implement the workshop ideas

In order to access the free resources for schools you MUST register on the This Girl Can website.
Once you have registered, you can not only access the 'Resources for Schools' but other materials, including:

Downloadable copies of the posters that feature in the campaign

Downloadable images that support the campaign

This Girl Can & partner logo's

Insight pack detailing the research behind the campaign

Create your own personalised This Girl Can poster with the new marketing tool

It only takes a minute, so please support us by registering and help build awareness of this hugely important campaign.

This Girl Can - Find out more

For more about This Girl Can, go to www.thisgirlcan.co.uk where you can find out about the women and girls in the campaign, get tips on how to get active and join the national debate.

Social Media:
Facebook (Please like and share this page)
Twitter (You can tweet, using the hash tag: #ThisGirlCan)

This Girl Can Adverts

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Sport England has worked with the Association for Physical Education to produce a range of newly updated resources to support you to bring This Girl Can into your school. Resources include: Six themed workshops focused on the campaign's emotional themes and featuring flexible and interactive tasks Hints and tips to help staff and students actively...

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Girls Like That Teacher Resources 5 Sep.pdf

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Diversity In Computer Science Education.pptx

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Girls/Women and Computing Computing At School

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Very few girls and women seem interested in computer science/programming. This is a major loss, both for the girls who are missing out on a challenging and well-paid career, and the employers who need quality programmers. This page is for any link relating to girls/women and computing, for anything that we can do to help redress the situation.

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science: it’s a people thing - a discussion workshop for girls

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A discussion workshop for KS3-4 female students

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Introduction

There are vast numbers of useful resources online for teachers looking for support both in terms of teaching STEM, and addressing the challenge of combating gender stereotypes. This list includes a wide variety of resources which you might find helpful, and we have split it into several sections:

Educational resources for girls

STEM careers resources for girls

General STEM teaching resources

Specific activities

General careers information

Relevant research

If you have resources to add to this list, or find any links that do not work, please email suw@findingada.com.

Educational resources for girls

These websites provide educational resources that are focused specifically on the needs of girls interested in STEM subjects.

WISE Campaign: People Like Me
The People Like Me project equips teachers and STEM Ambassadors with materials that can show girls from a diverse range of backgrounds that, if they continue with at least one STEM subject post-16, they are likely to have better prospects and more career choice.

STEM teaching resources and career info for girls G20: Generating Girls Opportunities Resources for educators and parents, including ideas for lesson plans on STEM-related fields, research articles, professional STEM organizations and tips on how to nurture girls in STEM.

STEM careers resources for girls

Help girls understand the vast breadth of STEM jobs available to them, and encourage them to imagine themselves working in a STEM career.

National Academy of Sciences: Women's Adventures in Science A website for young people about the accomplishments of contemporary women in science Highlights the varied and intriguing careers of some of today's most prominent scientists.

NASA Women and Girls Initiative: Women@Nasa NASA's education outreach programs targeted at women and girls, includes fact sheets and other handouts about women and space and aviation history.

Chandra X-ray Observatory: Women in the High-Energy Universe
Experiences and perspectives of careers, from the women working at Chandra.

Let Toys Be Toys: Lesson plan for primary schools (upper KS2) This lesson plan has been developed by Let Toys Be Toys as part of our work to help challenge gender stereotypes.

General STEM teaching resources

Resources to support teachers of any STEM subjects.

STEM combinations

Resources that cover a selection of or all STEM subjects

Imperial College London: Teaching resources https://www.imperial.ac.uk/be-inspired/student-recruitment-and-outreach/schools-and-colleges/teachers/
secondary-school-resources/
STEM presentations on different topics.

Science

Zooniverse: Science projects https://www.zooniverse.org/projects
http://www.zooteach.org/
A citizen science project. Citizen science offers a unique opportunity for any person, of any age, of any background to get involved and make a contribution to cutting edge science. Getting students involved in citizen science offers educators a free, easily accessible and inspiring opportunity to bring real science into the classroom.

Technology

Digital Schoolhouse Project Education resources aimed at Years 5 & 6.

Engineering

Maths

Specific activities

These resources provide information on specific activities that you can do with your class.

The Royal Institution - YouTube: Science for kids - Coloured pens experiment - ExpeRimental #11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV4vaqQEz5c
Teach children how to find the beautiful hidden colours in ink and use chromatography to solve mysteries.

Chandra X-ray Observatory: Recoloring the Universe for #HourOfCode with Pencil Code
http://chandra.si.edu/edu/pencilcode/
http://event.pencilcode.net/home/hoc2014/
Grades 4-12 students can learn how astronomers use computers to create images and understand their data (no prior coding experience necessary). Working with data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes on topics from exploded stars, to star-forming regions, to the area around black holes, students learn basic coding (for beginners - no experience required) and follow a video tutorial to create a real world application of science, technology and even art.

General careers information

These sites provide general careers advice and information for all students.

Relevant research

A selection of some of the research that has been done around the issue of girls' engagement in STEM.

Girl Scout Research Initiative: Report https://www.girlscouts.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gsusa/forms-and-documents/about-girl-scouts/research/
generation_stem_full_report.pdf Generation STEM: What girls say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Education Scotland: Research briefing This briefing looks at gender balance in STEM subjects in schools.

King's College London: ASPIRES project Publications and research on the ASPIRES project, which tracked the development of young people's science and career aspirations from age 10-14.

Feedback

If you have any feedback on these scenarios, or the rest of the education pack, or if you would like to provide suggestions for improvements, please contact Suw Charman-Anderson at suw@findingada.com.

About this pack

This free education pack comprises of:

All resources have been produced by Ada Lovelace Day, and are available to download for free from their website, findingada.com. These files will be continually updated so please do check the website for the latest versions.

For schools who wish to buy prints of the posters in sizes up to A0, these are available online from the Ada Lovelace Day RedBubble store, with prices starting at £10.99.

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to our sponsors ARM, and to Professor Averil Macdonald, the WISE Campaign, the Science Council, Practical Action, AGCAS and Prospects for their support and assistance in the preparation of this education pack.

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There are vast numbers of useful resources online for teachers looking for support both in terms of teaching STEM, and addressing the challenge of combating gender stereotypes.

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WISE offers a unique and wide-ranging set of resources relating to girls and women in STEM

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Computing Science - Gender lesson plans - Resources and activities

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Children can have a difficult time understanding their emotions and the way certain events make them feel in the early years of life. As educators and parents it is our responsibility to help and support them to manage their emerging and often confusing emotions. Recognising emotional responses in our own bodies is a learned skill and takes time and lots of practice!

Even as adults, knowing how to understand and manage our emotions can be difficult and we have all been guilty at some stage of not handling things the way we would have liked to in hindsight. So imagine how difficult it must be for young children who are often yet to even name the emotions they might be displaying!

Behaviour is one way children show their emotions and obviously their behaviour and actions are not always acceptable in the community around them. So how do we help them to find their way through this emotional journey of discovery?

It is important to realise that as educators (and/or parents) our response to their behaviour and emotional displays is important and can in fact shape the way they learn to recognise, display and control their emotions and feelings. So what can you do? I've got you covered!

I'm going to share 10 of my favourite strategies and 10 activity ideas with you so that you can help the children in your care express and manage their emotions. If you get to the end of the list I've also included a few printables for you to use in your programming. Let's get started!

Messy Play Opportunities - Ensure that you provide lots of opportunities for messy play both inside and out to allow children a way to express their feelings , work out their possible frustration and anger as well as to provide a calming experience as they use their senses to explore and play.

Model appropriately - Be aware of your own behaviour and model appropriate emotional expression and conversations. We know that children learn by watching us so make sure you are showing them what they need to see to form their own regulatory behaviours.

Listen before Talking - Listen when a child is expressing anger or distress - try not to immediately jump in and offer solutions to the scenario that has occurred and made them feel this way - feeling heard and understood can be an important road to recognising and naming what they are experiencing.

Build an Activity Kit - Use simple 'calm down' activities to help children move from a stressed or frustrated state to a calmer more receptive and positive state. See the list below for some easy ideas you can try.

Build Quiet Spaces - Ensure your indoor and outdoor environments have quiet spaces that children can go to if they feel a need for some time alone or to just process their current feelings. You might include some soft cushions, stories, calm down jars, drawing materials, puppets, dolls to allow them to work through their feelings using play props.

Use Questions - Use open ended questions when you can to help children express what they are feeling as they are participating in an activity.

Use Reflection - Make sure you are noticing and reflecting both the positive and negative emotions children are displaying as they need help to understand both.Try to reflect back to a child the emotion they are displaying and give it a label - help them to recognise and name what they are feeling.

Build a Vocabulary - Use activities and conversations to help children build a growing vocabulary of feeling words and how to use them to name their own emotions. Ensure they regularly hear you naming the emotion they are displaying.

Use Facial Expression - Communicate on eye level with all children and show them how your own face looks when you feel different emotions.

Give Recognition - Praise children specifically when they use emotional labels to talk to their friends or other educators. Explain to them and nearby children how using words helps those people around them to know exactly how they are feeling which is why you are so proud of them.

Read Books - Make sure you build a quality collection of stories that explore themes around labelling and displaying emotions. Talk about what's happening as you read, ask questions and find ways to get the children actively participating in the story you are reading.

Use Music and Dance - Offer children a range of musical experiences and ask the children to identify what the music sounds like "Does this music sound happy? What does your body do when it is happy?" "How does this music feel? What are the clues?"

Make sure you incorporate songs about feelings into your program as well. You can incorporate use of technology and find some wonderful songs and animations on You tube to share with your children

Expose the children to various music genres and ask them to move to the music in emotional ways. For example - "What would a happy dance look like ?" "How would your body dance if you were frustrated?"

Use Painting & Drawing Expression - Show children cards with faces showing different emotions (Free printable for you to make your own below) and ask them to think about what might have happened to make the person feel that way. Can they draw a picture? Can they paint a picture that shows how they are feeling at the moment?

Use Natural Materials - I recently made some pebbles for the children to build their own faces with. Simply cut out different mouths, noses, eyebrows from a magazine, glue to smooth pebbles with a watered down PVA mix and then add again over the top to seal. When dry the children can use them to build different facial features. talk about the face they have put together and what emotion the face might be showing everyone. I added some material and wool scraps for the children to use as hair .

Play Games - Use my free printable cards to play a game of 'Emotion Snap' or 'Emotion Memory'. Simple print two copies of the card for a memory game or 4 to play a snap game. Prompt dicsussion by asking children what emotion each card they have turned over (or snapped) shows.

Use Photos - Take photos of the children using their faces and body language to express different emotions - label each photo, laminate and display where the children can see them easily as they play. Every now and then ask a child to point to the photo of themselves that matches how they are feeling at the moment. It can be easier for children to recognise and label emotions when looking at their own face.

Make Calm Down Bottles - These work very well for younger children and give them some time to stop and calm themselves as they explore the bottle and the treasures within. There are lots of examples to explore on Pinterest but all you need to do for a very basic version is recycle some clean water or juice bottles, add water or hair gel, some sparkly bits and pieces or small objects reflecting current interests and glue the lids on securely. Let the children roll them, shake them and turn them upside down. They will be fascinated by the contents moving slowly in the bottle.

Go Fishing - Add paperclips to my small printable cards, collect a stick from outside (or use some dowel or a wooden spoon), tie some fishing line or cord to the stick and tape a small magnet or magnetic wand to the cord. Spread the cards out on the floor face up and let the children go fishing! There are many ways you can play this depending on the ages of the children but they might 'Try and catch a happy/sad/grumpy face' or 'Catch a face that shows how you are feeling today' - I'm sure you can come up with many other ideas to extend the activity and help the children to label each emotion.

Encourage Dramatic Play - Lie the emotion cards face down on the table or mat - children take it in turns to pick up a card, tell everyone what emotion the card is showing and then act out that emotion. For example they might put a big smile on their face and a happy dance around to show 'happy'. To extend this activity and talk more about feelings you could try asking the children what they think might have happened to make the child on the card feel that way. There might be many similar ideas or lots of different ones, try and explore them all and use as way to better understand what makes the children in your care feel the way they do.

Provide puppets and soft toys for children to explore emotions, real life scenarios and role play with as they put on shows or create small worlds.

Daily Chart - Introduce a class or group routine each morning (and again in the afternoon) for children to have the opportunity to share how they are feeling that day on their own feelings wall chart. I have included a small template for you but it would be easy to make a larger version to fit bigger photos if you choose.

Use the small emotion cards with a velcro dot on the back to attach to each child's laminated chart. Obviously you will need to print multiple copies of the cards as you might have many children feeling the same emotion. Leave the charts somewhere that is accessible throughout the day and encourage children to change their cards if they feel they need to express a different feeling.

If you would like to use my printable cards and daily chart template you can click the button below to download.

Simply print and laminate! I'd love to hear how you have used them!

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Social & Emotional Skills - Strategies and Activities for Teachers - The Empowered Educator

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Children can have a difficult time understanding their emotions and the way certain events make them feel in the early years of life. As educators and parents it is our responsibility to help and support them to manage their emerging and often confusing emotions.

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Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

This Goal aims to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls, everywhere. It also aims to eliminate violence against women, including trafficking and sexual exploitation, as well as harmful practices such as early and forced marriage, and FGM. Read more on the UN SDGs website...
See lesson plans, posters and other resources on the World's Largest Lesson website
Around the world women generally find it harder than men to access education and better paid jobs, and they are often excluded from decision-making. At the same time many women have the responsibility for bringing up children, organising food and looking after the extended family. Gender inequality is a big issue, not just in other parts of the world but in your home country too. One way into this topic could be to get pupils to reflect on their own experiences.

You could use this short film clip from Plan International, to start off a lesson about gender equality. It explores the difficulties and discrimination that can be experienced by many girls, especially those living in poverty; and it shows the important role education can play in changing their situation.

Here are some teaching ideas for exploring this Goal through different subjects:

English / Mother tongue: Choose a popular TV show, book or comic and look at the way male and female characters are portrayed.

Maths: Using data from the UN's Women in Politics map (PDF), compare female participation across countries and regions and present information in charts, tables and graphs.

Geography: Study two countries/regions and see how the lives of (for example) 10-year-old girls might be the same or different according to geographic data (climate, housing, food, etc).

History: Study a famous women's rights figure or activist from history, examining how social and political circumstances are different or similar compared with today.

Teaching resources
Lesson plans:
Mission: Gender Equality - 60 mins, ages 11 to 14. Suitable for Geography, Science, Language
comprehension

Everybody Wins When Girls Can Stay in School - 60 mins, ages 11 to 14. Suitable for Geography, Citizenship, PSHE, Social Studies

The World Is Not Equal. Is That Fair? - 60 mins, ages 11 to 14. Suitable for Citizenship, Social Studies.

Browse through resources that can help you teach about gender equality

Global goals

Click on the images below to explore the other Global Goals:

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Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls This Goal aims to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls, everywhere. It also aims to eliminate violence against women, including trafficking and sexual exploitation, as well as harmful practices such as early and forced marriage, and FGM.

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In partnership with USA TODAY Education, we proudly present a new series of lessons focused on gender, self-image and equality. This eight-lesson curriculum introduces topics such as media and bullying in the context of gender equality.

The student lessons and companion teacher guides are available here as PDF downloads.

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Gender Equality Lessons for Schools - See Jane

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In partnership with USA TODAY Education, we proudly present a new series of lessons focused on gender, self-image and equality. This eight-lesson curriculum introduces topics such as media and bullying in the context of gender equality. The student lessons and companion teacher guides are available here as PDF downloads.

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Are Gender Free Classrooms a Good Idea? | Good Morning Britain

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Emma Watson Makes Powerful Short Film About Gender Equality

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Interesting to talk to your children about the picture, headline and the tone of the piece.

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By Marilena Moriconi, Notre Dame For All

IT was with great interest that I read last month's Agenda article from my former neighbour, Liz Cameron, defending the admissions policy of Scotland's last state-funded single-sex school, Notre Dame High in Glasgow.

I have much in common with Baillie Cameron: we both lived on Byres Road for years; both come from ordinary working-class families; both attended Notre Dame High; and like her father, my uncle was a hard-working, talented piano tuner.

But here our similarities end.

I believe Baillie Cameron unfairly misrepresents the reasons why hundreds of parents, like myself, consider the time has come for our local secondary school to open its doors to all children, regardless of their gender.

Baillie Cameron attended Notre Dame High decades ago, calling it a haven for girls of different backgrounds. If she walks into most Glasgow schools - including Notre Dame Primary just down the road - she will also find a haven for children of different backgrounds: of many different cultures, faiths/no faith, languages, needs, social-economic background and, crucially, of both genders. Notre Dame Primary is a flourishing, inclusive learning community where children do not experience state discrimination until the doors of their local High School are firmly slammed shut on half of them - just because of gender.

Baillie Cameron, to use her own words, "wilfully ignores" the fact that preventing children from accessing education solely because of their gender can be nothing other than gender discrimination. If keeping children out of a state-funded school based on gender isn't discrimination, then what exactly is it? She argues that, by excluding boys, Notre Dame High helps girls from under-privileged areas. She overlooks the fact that if Notre Dame High were to accept boys, under-privileged boys would also have access to the school. Furthermore, it is not true that all children from Notre Dame Primary come from affluent families: one in five pupils at Notre Dame Primary are entitled to free school meals, significantly higher than many neighbouring primary schools.

Baillie Cameron appears to believe that gender is so fundamentally divisive that a single-gender education is the only way for girls to achieve equality. In 21st century Scotland, surely the best way to teach our children about inclusion, appreciating diversity, and treating everyone as equals, is for them to learn and grow together? That means pulling down gender barriers, not building them. My 11-year -old daughter is baffled by the "boy ban". In her word: "Why can't my brothers go to the High School too? Aren't boys and girls equal?" What lessons does the single-gender policy of Notre Dame High School teach our children?

To suggest that Notre Dame High would be ruined if it became co-educational is doing a disservice to the skills and professionalism of staff at the school, as if they would be unable to successfully teach boys and girls together like every other secondary in Scotland. When no other local authority in Scotland deems it necessary or appropriate, why is Glasgow sacrificing children's equality for what amounts to no more than all-girls nostalgia?

I think back to when Liz Cameron was my neighbour. My sisters and I attended Notre Dame High; we lived in the West End but were an ordinary single-parent family who were far from affluent. We were lucky to be educated locally, together, but what if we had been boys? Would we have been undeserving of Notre Dame High? Would it have been right to exclude us?

In 2018 we want all children to succeed. Notre Dame High should be a place "where future generations" of all children are allowed to flourish.

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Agenda: We must pull down gender barriers in schooling

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By Marilena Moriconi, Notre Dame For All IT was with great interest that I read last month's Agenda article from my former neighbour, Liz Cameron, defending the admissions policy of Scotland's last state-funded single-sex school, Notre Dame High in Glasgow.

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Vocabulary

gender [ jen-dur ] (noun) refers to the social roles, behaviors and traits that a society may assign to men (masculine) or to women (feminine)

( Note: There are many different ideas about how to define the term gender. We provide a working definition, but one of the goals of Teaching Tolerance's work is for students to come to individual and collective understandings and criticisms of the term that make sense to them and their personal and developmental needs.)

gender identity [ jen-dur ahy- DEN-ti-tee ] (noun) the sense a person has of their own gender and how they relate to their gender

stereotype [ STER-ee-oh-tahyp ] (noun) an overly simple picture or opinion of a person, group or thing

social construction [ SO-shuhl kuhn- STRUKT-shuhn ] (noun) an idea or definition created and enforced by a society

Overview

Gender stereotypes are very common in children's literature. Classic children's books and even more contemporary stories frequently portray boys and girls in terms of specific socially defined gender norms. In recent years, some children's authors have made an effort to develop characters who exist as individuals, often in explicit defiance of stereotypes. This sort of literature can be helpful to students talking about any sort of difference, as well as to children who are beginning to understand the depth and harmful nature of gender stereotypes.

This lesson allows children to look at one or more picture books that counter gender stereotypes. After discussion of the book, children will engage in a creative writing activity geared to fostering individual identity and resisting social definitions of what and how a boy or girl "should" be.

Procedure

Explain to students that today you are going to be talking about how children's books can reinforce, or play into, gender stereotypes (i.e., ideas about how girls and boys "should" be) and also how children's books and the characters in them can stand up against such stereotypes. Introduce the idea that gender is partly a social construction and that books can contribute to this construction. Invite students to spend a few minutes perusing the picture books in your classroom library with a partner. Encourage them to make observations about how authors represent boy and girl characters. (Note: If this aspect of the activity feels too unstructured for your group, you can also provide them with two to three specific picture books to leaf through and discuss.)

Come together to allow students to share observations. Ask students how they think children's book authors might contribute to the construction of gender, and challenge students to question whether this is fair. Remind or explain to students what the word "stereotype" means. Help them talk about examples of children's books that play into gender stereotypes. Ask how it might make boys or girls feel to constantly see gender stereotypes reinforced in books.

Read aloud a children's book where the main character seems to resist or stand up against gender stereotypes. (Note: See Materials section for suggestions.) As you read, stop to elicit student responses to the question: What personality traits and behaviors show us that this character rejects gender stereotypes? Chart student responses. When you are finished reading, help students look back over the list they have come up with. Ask how it feels to read about a character who stands up to so many gender stereotypes. Do students think it is helpful for such character to exists, or is it confusing? Do they find the character appealing? Help them think about why or why not, and consider how characters like this contribute to or change a social construction of gender.

Explain to students that they are going to write a profile of a character who stands up against gender stereotypes. Provide students with the appropriate graphic organizers and have them work independently to begin developing their characters. Students who finish the graphic organizers early can synthesize them into a written composite description of their character. As students work, circulate and ask them questions that might push their thinking a bit further. (Note: Preliterate students may sketch instead of writing to describe their character, but if you use this option, try to make time to help them flesh out aspects of their character such as likes and dislikes that may be harder to show through a sketch than physical appearance.)

Note: Be mindful of the fact that students may use this activity to express aspects of themselves they wish they felt freer to show. If students choose to focus on characters whose gender expression is quite different from their own, congratulate them on their mature ability to take on a different perspective. Conversely, if students choose to focus on creating characters very similar to themselves, congratulate them on their bravery in self-expression. Allow students to talk quietly amongst themselves as they work. This is an activity where collaboration can push thinking to a deeper level. Finally, be alert to the possibility of students falling into "safe" aspects of gender expression. It is common, for instance, for girls to focus on "loving sports" as a representation of girls defying gender stereotypes. This is certainly valid and important, but if you feel your students are ready, you may want to probe them to think about more complicated ideas like "expressing anger" or "caring little about physical appearance." Students focusing on boys may have a harder time because there are often fewer safe ways for boys to defy gender stereotypes.

Come together as a class and allow students to share three to five things they are proudest of in their character. Ask the class: How would our ideas about gender identity be different if at least half the characters in children's books were like our characters? Help them use their answers to understand the extent to which gender is a social construction. After discussing this question, congratulate students on working so thoughtfully with complicated and difficult questions. You may want to have them publish their character profiles and create a "Standing Up Against Gender Stereotypes" display (Note: Encourage students to create their own title for the display.) in your classroom or school library.

Applying What You've Learned

Think about what you've learned about gender stereotypes in literature. Pay attention to how characters from different genders are represented in the books you read both inside and outside of school. In a reading notebook, respond to these questions:

Which gender stereotypes are most frequently reinforced by characters in books, and why? Give some examples.

Which gender stereotypes are most frequently resisted by characters in books, and why? Give some examples.

How do you wish children's books and young adult books were different in terms of how they contribute to the social construction of gender?

Extension Activity

Once they are done creating characters, partner students with classmates to write a story involving their two characters. Make sure their stories include a setting, a problem, at least three main events, and a solution or resolution. The stories may or may not explicitly deal with gender stereotypes. Once the stories are complete, allow students the opportunity to share them with their classmates.

ELL Extension

As they create portraits of characters, have students make a separate bilingual glossary of adjectives (describing words) that help describe a person. They can write each adjective they use on a separate note card, then write its translation on the other side. They should draw an illustration to go along with each word, then compile the note cards into a glossary.

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This lesson allows children to look at one or more picture books that counter gender stereotypes. After discussion of the book, children will engage in a creative writing activity geared to fostering individual identity and resisting social definitions of what and how a boy or girl "should" be.

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Some really nice resources looking at gender sterotypes in the classroom here

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Help smash those stereotypes.

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Sweet experiment shows children doing same job but girl's awarded less

Young children don't understand why the girl's are getting less for the same job

Financial trade union Finansforbundet launch video to highlight issue

A Norwegian financial trade union have created a simple and incredibly moving video highlighting the gender pay gap issue.

The footage was made in honour of International Women's day and shows children taking part in an experiment illustrating how they react when introduced to the idea of gender inequality.

Put into groups of two, they participate in an exercise together that sees them pick up plastic balls from the floor and place them into containers.

When the task is done the children are told to close their eyes and hold out their hands for their reward but react with confusion when their team member doesn't get the same reward for doing the exact same job.

The children give unscripted responses after they were told that the reason for the uneven share was because of their gender.

'That is so weird', said one little girl as she examines her glass.

Another said: 'We did the same job but I got a smaller amount'.

A little boy also shared his thoughts on the matter: 'She was just as good as me so we should get the same reward, said one of the boys as he shares his larger glass of sweets with his female team mate'.

The gender pay gap is a hot topic of debate that has livened up in the last year following the BBC's gender pay gap scandal.

The film was to highlight the issue that inequality is still rife between men and women especially in high-profile sectors like finance.

Finansforbundet communications manager Anne Greva said that the specific goal for Finansforbundet , as a trade union, is to show financial workers that the issue is a priority.

She said: 'The aim of the film was to show young people on their way into the industry that someone is standing up for them'.

'We can't have these inequalities, so we want to take a clear stand.'

The video, which is captioned 'Why do these kids understand that your boss doesn't?', has received over 600,000 views on social media and over 170,000 views of the English-subtitled version.

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'But... we did the same job?': Children REJECT gender pay gap

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Sweet experiment shows children doing same job but girl's awarded less Young children don't understand why the girl's are getting less for the same job Financial trade union Finansforbundet launch video to highlight issue A Norwegian financial trade union have created a simple and incredibly moving video highlighting the gender pay gap issue.

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The gender pay gap experiment with boys and girls you can't miss

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Kids Explain Why Women Are Paid Less Than Men

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Hear Kids' Honest Opinions on Being a Boy or Girl Around the World | National Geographic

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Gender Neutral Book List

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This month, the UK is marking an important anniversary in the fight for equality between men and women.

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Tangram Puzzle

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A book to write and draw pictures about gender stereotypes.

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A book to write and draw pictures about gender stereotypes.