• Grade 3
• Where Oliver Fits – Activity #3: "Celebrating Individual Differences"

Activity #3: “Celebrating Individual Differences”

This activity is to be completed over several weeks, focusing on one student per day only. Each day focuses on one student (the VIP student for the day). Students will learn all the unique strengths of their classmates.

Materials:

• White paper large enough to trace a life-sized outline of a student
• Camera
• Thick coloured felt pens

Teacher Preparation:

• Take a photograph of each student’s face, including their neck. Develop and enlarge each photo to life size.
• Cut out each face, so no background remains (head and neck only)

Step by Step:

Step One: Explain the idea of tolerance: when we maintain a fair and objective attitude toward others, no matter what their opinion, practice, belief or customs. It allows us to accept and appreciate our differences. Having tolerance helps us be good citizens.

Step Two: Ask the students what tolerance might look like in the classroom or out on the playground (E.g. – kind voices, sharing the swings, inviting someone on a team, talking nicely when there is a disagreement, not using put downs, smiling, kind words)

Step Three: Have a student lie down on a large sheet of white paper with their hands on their hips and have fellow classmates trace the student’s body.

Step Four: Have the student cut out the outline (silhouette) of their body.

Step Five: Have that VIP student come to the front of the class.

Step Six: Pin their silhouette to the board with the photo of their face pinned above.

Step Seven: The VIP student is to describe all things that they feel is unique or different about themselves. Reinforce the courage it takes to do so.

Step Eight: Then, have classmates offer more ideas about this student that makes them unique.

Step Nine: Using a thick felt pen, the teacher writes all these characteristics on the paper silhouette.

Step Ten: When completed, mount the paper silhouette on the wall in the hallway. Each day a different student goes up, linking arms with the previous student displayed.

End Product:

Life sized silhouettes of students’ bodies linked on the wall along the hallway leading to the classroom. Student strengths and differences are identified on each silhouette. Each day students look forward to seeing whose unique qualities will be displayed.