382 Results

On-Screen Diversity: Why Visibility in Media Matters

Lesson Plan

GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language Does Entertainment Represent Our Increasingly Diverse Society?In recent years, we have seen some progress made in terms of the diversity and representation of characters and actors we see in movies and on television. For example, over the last sixteen years, the percentage of Asian characters with speaking roles increased from 3.4% to 15.9%. However, there is still much…

October 15, 2019

Important Books to Explore Bullying and Ally Behavior

Tools and Strategies

While bullying is still a problem in schools, the intersection of bias and bullying can be particularly harmful. Identity-based bullying is when a person is targeted based on an essential part of their identity (e.g., race, immigration status, sexual orientation, religion, or gender identity). It is common in schools and not only impacts the targeted person but everyone else around them that shares their identity. Identity-based bullying can leave all students feeling unsafe and fearful that…

September 24, 2019

Let’s Bring Current Events to Life in the Classroom

Article

Friends Using Mobile Phone on Steps in High School

September 15, 2019 Many have labeled today's young people apathetic and obsessed with their phones — a group not interested in news or improving their communities. Another common assumption is that college students and young adults don't vote and aren’t civically engaged. However, a recent survey dispels these misconceptions. The myth of youth apathy Common Sense Media reveals in a 2019 survey that teens are interested in news. In fact, 78% of thirteen to seventeen year-olds…

September 15, 2019

Amplify Constitution Day, Amplify Student Voice

Article

by: Libby Otto By mid-September, you’re busy with school, work and fall activities. Constitution Day, on September 17, may slip past you without a thought. So why should this year be any different? Constitution Day is the anniversary of the day that the Founding Fathers signed the United States Constitution. As you reflect this year on how the current political climate and public policies impact millions of people, continue asking yourself: are you making a positive change to…

August 16, 2019

How to Talk to Young People About the El Paso Shooting (In English and en Español)

Article

Female Tutor Leading Discussion Group Amongst High School Pupils

In August 2019, at a time when parents and teachers should have been be thinking about children’s new notebooks and back-to-school jitters, they instead had to contemplate how to talk with their children about mass shootings and anti-immigrant bias. On Saturday, August 3, 2019 a gunman opened fire in a shopping center in El Paso, Texas—a city that prides itself as one of the safest in the U.S. Some families were there to do their back-to-school shopping at Walmart when tragedy…

August 05, 2019

The Ghettos in Nazi Europe

Lesson Plan

Echoes & Reflections is dedicated to reshaping the way that teachers and students understand, process and navigate the world through the events of the Holocaust. They partner with educators to help them introduce students to the complex themes of the Holocaust and to understand its lasting effect on the world. GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening In this unit, students learn about the ghettos established throughout Nazi…

December 21, 2017

Senior Pranks Are Fun Until They're Not: What to Do When Pranks are Biased and Offensive

Article

June 17, 2019 It’s that time of year when seniors play “pranks” as a final goodbye to their high school days. Intended to cause havoc, senior pranks may be planned for weeks or months leading up to graduation. These pranks are often harmless, fun and light-hearted and, in the best of cases, reflect a positive climate and school spirit. But some pranks have the opposite effect. They are offensive, harmful to individual students and negatively impact school climate. These…

June 17, 2019

The Stonewall Uprising

Lesson Plan

GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Language On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall uprising took place. It began in the early morning at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. As was typical during that time period, police officers entered the bar and arrested employees for selling alcohol without a liquor license, roughed up customers, cleared the bar and arrested customers for not wearing at least three articles of …

June 03, 2019

Slurs and Biased Language (in English and en español)

Tools and Strategies

Sign on an establishment reads: "N" Word Not Allowed Here - Joking or Not

Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current Events For Educators | For Parents, Families, and Caregivers Topic SummaryEvery day—from the schoolyard to the workplace—we hear biased, hurtful and offensive language, including slurs, epithets (defined below) and so-called “jokes.” We also see slurs written on walls, buildings, streets and in our social media feeds. Many people, especially those who have children in their lives, wonder what to do when they see and…

May 16, 2019

Empowering Educators to Discuss Hard Topics

Article

May 06, 2019 By Jinnie Spiegler | ADL Director of Curriculum and Training This year, ADL had the opportunity to present three separate sessions at SXSW EDU -- a component of the big annual South by Southwest conference that focuses on teaching and learning. ADL’s sessions covered (1) discussing and framing current events in the classroom through an anti-bias lens, (2) acting as and developing better allies, and (3) the role art plays in promoting social justice themes in the…

May 06, 2019

Jewish American Heritage Month: Exploring Jewish Identity

Tools and Strategies

Jewish grandfather holding child and point to the sky

Use this collection of resources for educators and families to help teach about and celebrate Jewish American heritage in schools, communities and at home.

April 30, 2019

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but Watch Out for the Stereotypes

Article

April 18, 2019 As Cinco de Mayo festivities commence, it is important to stop and consider whether classroom observances and celebrations in general are inclusive and respectful and whether they do or do not promote stereotypical portrayals of groups of people—in this case, people who are Mexican and Mexican-American. Cinco De Mayo is a fun and festive holiday in the U.S. that it is often wrought with problematic choices made by people wanting to have a good time and celebrate…

April 18, 2019

Women's Soccer Team Takes a Stand

Tools and Strategies

US Women's National Soccer team players postmatch with China

Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current Events Topic SummaryOn March 8, 2019 (International Women’s Day), the U.S. women’s soccer team filed a gender discrimination suit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, which governs soccer in the U.S. The soccer team’s complaint alleges pay inequities and inferior support and working conditions. In their statement released by the team, the twenty-eight players described “institutionalized gender discrimination” that…

March 18, 2019

When a School’s Policies are Biased, ADL Steps In

Article

February 25, 2019 Mya and Deanna Cook, 15, were both excellent students, but they had been kicked off school sports teams, banished from prom, and sentenced to hours of detention for refusing to change their hair. When these twin sisters were punished by their Boston-area high school for wearing braided hair extensions, ADL helped them change their school’s controversial hair and makeup policies, which unfairly targeted students of color. ADL’s New England office received a…

February 25, 2019

Why We Need Legislation to Ensure the Holocaust is Taught in Schools

Article

February 21, 2019 One would think that teaching the lessons of the Holocaust in schools would be a given in the United States. After all, it is an essential component in learning about world history, the rise of fascism, World War II, and genocide, all of which are already part of any respectable high school history curriculum. But recent incidents of students appropriating and abusing Holocaust imagery have served as a reminder and a wake-up call for the need to teach the universal…

February 21, 2019

The Historical Harm of Blackface: How to Talk with Young People

Article

Reproduction of a 1900 William H. West minstrel show poster showing white and black face

February 15, 2019 Blackface has taken center stage in our public discourse. Again. Virginia is embroiled in a controversy based on admissions by Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring to wearing blackface in the past. The list of celebrities and other public figures who publicly condone blackface is growing and there are others entering the spotlight. Just a few months ago, NBC host Megyn Kelly set off her own controversy when she defended blackface as a Halloween costume…

February 15, 2019

Moving from Safe Classrooms to Brave Classrooms

Tools and Strategies

Multi-Ethnic Students Having a Discussion in a Classroom

For Educators In fostering inclusive, equitable and safe schools, we encourage educators to develop group guidelines for respect and safety in the classroom. These classroom guidelines can be created in a variety of ways and the list typically includes recommendations such as: share air time, actively listen, show empathy, respect confidentiality, participate fully, assume good will, be sensitive to feelings, and others. However, there is often a need to go further and frame guidelines around…

February 04, 2019

Calendar of Observances

Tools and Strategies

Increase your awareness of religious obligations and ethnic and cultural festivities that may affect students, colleagues and neighbors in your community.

January 01, 2020

Fighting Hate Through Games

Article

December 21, 2018 64% of American households have a member that plays video games for three or more hours per week. And these gamers are not just kids. In 2017, the average age of a gamer was 31, and there were more gamers over 36 than between 18 – 35 or under 18. At ADL’s Center for Technology and Society (CTS) we know that video games can be a meaningful force for good in society. We think games can be incredible tools in helping to challenge bias and create respectful and…

December 21, 2018

Patriot Front

Hate Symbol

The Patriot Front is a white supremacist group in the United States that uses a fasces and a circle of 13 stars as its logo, often placed on top of the image of an eagle.