Cultural Lesson Plans for Teachers about the ... - Brown University

LESSON PLAN THREE — TEACHER INSTRUCTIONS
The Haffenreffer
Museum of Anthropology
BROWN
Activity One: A Discussion About Stereotypes
The most important lesson students can take home with them after learning about the
many cultures discussed in the Museum’s Culture Connect CaraVan program is that all
people around the world are alike in that they need the same things for survival, and all
people obtain and do those things differently based on their cultures. It is never too early to
help students learn to tolerate and respect cultural differences, and to learn to recognize a
stereotype.
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Gather magazine images or locate images on the internet from movies, television, cartoons,
toys, and other consumer products that promote stereotypes, like this cigar store Indian
once did.
Ask your students what they think of when they see these images.
Do they have a pre-conceived image in their minds when they hear “Indian” (Native
American), “Asian,” “Hispanic,” “white,” or “African”?
Ask them to draw and discuss in groups how they came up with these images.
Find images of people on the internet that would
challenge your students’ pre-conceived ideas. Did
your students laugh or say “gross” when they learned about a
particular cultural practice during their studies (an example
might be body tattooing)? Have students research that
cultural practice further and have a class discussion about
it. (Why do people have body tattoos? Does it have special
meaning/significance? Is it for special ceremonies? Is it a
form of beautification?) In your class discussion, connect the
practice with something similar in American culture. (Do some
Americans get tattoos? Why? What other things do we do
to express meaning to others? Do we wear t-shirts or jewelry
with symbols or phrases that tell others something about our
personality? Do we wear special clothing or ornamentation
when we go to church, funerals, weddings, or other
ceremonies? What do we do to make ourselves “beautiful”?)
Cigar Store Indian, 19th Century;
Haffenreffer collections,
photograph by Sarah Philbrick
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