Skip to Main Content

Give Our Class a Hand

Take pride in diversity as students create a banner that celebrates their differences.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Have a class discussion about the following questions: What makes up a community? Can a classroom of students and teachers be a community? What makes each person unique? What commonalities unite us? How can embracing our differences help promote creative and innovative thinking?

  • Step 2

    Have students trace their hand on a piece of paper and write their name on the palm. Ask them to write something special about themselves on each finger - perhaps an activity they enjoy, a quality they're proud of, a food or tradition associated with their family or culture, etc.

  • Step 3

    Have them use Colors of the World crayons to shade the area around the writing and then cut out the hand drawing. Glue them all to a long ribbon.

  • Step 4

    Have students discuss the words they chose for their hand drawings. Have a discussion about the similarities and differences among the classmates. Display the ribbon in the classroom or hallway.

Standards

SS: Individual Development and Identity: Explore, identify, and analyze how individuals and groups are alike and how they are unique and how they relate to each other in supportive and collaborative ways.

SEL: Social Awareness: Understand the perspectives of and strengths of others.

SEL: Social Awareness: Empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.

Adaptations

Create a classroom diversity poster. Have each student contribute something, either in words or drawings, about their own culture or about a friend or group represented in the community.

Encourage students to engage with a virtual penpal in a different country. (Teachers can research credible sites that help students connect.) Have them learn about their lives and culture and see how they're similar and different.