September Week 1 Activity
Gender Sensitivity role plays from our ‘Classic’ collection
Type of activity: School Level Activity
Introduction
Gender stereotypes often arise in social situations. Children face a great deal of pressure to be popular and to conform to their peer groups. Acting out realistic social situations in a safe, controlled classroom environment is a good way to prepare students for situations that might come up. It also helps children think about their roles in both fighting and perpetuating gender stereotypes.
Expected Outcomes
- To encourage students to speak openly about gender stereotypes and how the pressure to conform to socially constructed gender norms influence their daily lives
- To use dramatic expression to brainstorm ways to combat rigid ideas about gender in their daily lives.
- To internalize the fact that teasing or bullying someone because they do not conform to gender norms or stereotypes is never acceptable and ultimately harms all of us
- To continue developing a community where individual identity is respected, and students feel safe about expressing themselves
- To form a collective definition of gender that respects a wide variety in gender expression
Steps for the Activity
- Make groups of 5-6 students and share the activity with your class and allot one role card to each group. Kindly refer this file - Role Play Scenarios
- Ask the members of each group to coordinate with their respective groups online and come up with a role play based on the role card allotted to them, to help them think about gender and gender-identity-based teasing and bullying at home, school, and society.
- Allow 3-4 days for the students to prepare for the role play, with a solution at the end of the role play.
- On the final day, connect with the students on your online teaching/learning system (Zoom, Microsoft, Google, etc.) and ask the groups to present their role plays.
- After each role play, ask the following questions to the remaining class about the problem and possible solutions to the problem -
- What are the stereotypes in the act?
- What do you think are the causes of the problems enacted here?
- What are some possible, realistic solutions to this problem?
- How does thinking about gender as a social construction change our way of looking at these scenarios?
6. Share the recording of the session with us at contributions@deshapnayen.org
Responses