Activities
In a classroom environment, activities about Friendship, Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion help everyone get along. Friendship activities help bring us together. Diversity shows us everyone’s special in their own way. Equality means everyone gets the same fair chance. And inclusion makes sure no one feels left out. When we do these activities, the classroom environment thrives, making it a welcome place for everybody, no matter what!
Diversity
Students bring an item from their home that represents their culture, heritage, or family tradition. They can present the item and explain its significance to the class!
Discuss the origins, meanings, and stories behind names. This can lead to understanding cultural significance and history!
Develop a calendar that showcases various holidays and celebrations from around the world. Learn about and celebrate different ones each month!
Students draw several concentric circles. In the innermost circle, they list their core identity (e.g., name), and in the outer circles, they list other aspects of their identity (e.g., ethnicity, religion, hobbies, roles). This can blend into a discussion, showing how identity is multifaceted!
Students can teach games that are played in their culture, to the class!
Discuss common cultural myths and stereotypes and debunk them. This can be a fun way to challenge misconceptions!
Encourage students to interview family members about their history, migrations, and traditions, and then share with the class!
Create charts comparing different cultural practices, traditions, or habits. It helps students identify both differences and similarities.
Host a trivia game where questions are related to cultural facts, famous personalities, or historical events from around the world!
Equality
Ask students a series of questions (e.g., “Step forward if you have ever traveled outside the country.” “Step back if you’ve ever felt excluded because of your background.”). This activity visually demonstrates privileges and challenges!
Present a situation from two perspectives, showcasing how biases can be formed and how equality can be misunderstood or misrepresented!
Ask students to create artwork symbolizing equality. Discuss the symbolism behind each piece.
Conduct anonymous surveys to gauge how students feel about equality in the classroom and use feedback to make improvements!
Study figures in history who fought for equality and discuss their impact!
Students sit in a circle and take turns giving positive affirmations to each other, emphasizing the value of each individual!
Ask students to write a day in the life of someone different from themselves, emphasizing understanding and empathy!
Set up stations with props (e.g., crowns, glasses that blur vision, heavy backpacks). Students move from one station to another, experiencing different roles, and discussing how each prop made them feel in relation to equality!
Ask students to write poems from the perspective of someone from a marginalized group. This encourages empathy and understanding!
Give each student a topic they need to weave in, in the story chain! Then, start a story related to equality and have each student add a sentence or two, weaving in aspects of fairness, understanding, and respect!
Inclusion
Mark where each student’s ancestors come from on a world map. Discuss the rich tapestry of backgrounds and cultures in the classroom!
Students with visual impairments or blindfolds describe an object through touch, and others guess. It emphasizes different ways of perceiving the world!
Set up challenges that require teamwork and cooperation, emphasizing the strength of diverse teams!
Students create timelines of their lives, marking significant events, helping peers understand each other’s journeys!
Begin with a statement like, “I’ve been to a country in Asia.” If true, students link arms, forming a chain. The next student adds another statement, and the chain grows, emphasizing interconnectedness!
Create bingo cards filled with diverse experiences or traits (e.g., “Loves spicy food”, “Knows two languages”). As students mingle, they can mark off boxes when they find a match, helping them learn about their peers!
Introduce sports or games from different countries, like kabaddi, sepak takraw, or bocce, allowing students to experience and enjoy them!
Break a lesson into sections. Assign each group a portion to learn and then teach to the class, emphasizing the importance of every individual in the learning process!
Students pair up. One describes a picture without naming it while the other, blindfolded, tries to draw it. This emphasizes the importance of clear communication and understanding!
Each student makes a paper snowflake. On each section, they write or draw something that makes them unique. Display them to show that just as no two snowflakes are alike, neither are two people!
Friendship
Each student writes a compliment for another. Read aloud and then link them together into a chain!
Students write down acts of kindness they’ve witnessed and place them in a jar. Read a few notes aloud each day or week!
Discuss what “ingredients” make a good friendship and have students create their own “Friendship Recipe” card!
Set up a “Friendship Wall” in the hallway, where students can grab a sticky note, write a compliment for someone, and place it on the wall, so everyone can see, and do a kind action of their own too!
Have students sit in a circle. Toss a ball of yarn to a student while holding the end. As they toss it to others, they share something they appreciate about the person they chose. This creates a web of appreciation!
Create a classroom pledge about being good friends. Have everyone sign it and display it prominently!
Each student writes their name on a strip of paper. As the chain is built, students share an experience where someone was a good friend to them!
Students create awards (e.g., “Most Supportive Friend”) and present them to their classmates!
Students stand up if a statement read aloud applies to them, and sit down, if it does not apply (e.g., “Stand up if you’ve helped a friend this week”). This helps students see commonalities and differences!
Pair students and give them a Venn diagram to fill out, highlighting their similarities and differences!
Pair older students with younger ones for reading sessions or mentorship!
Students write letters or notes to friends in the class, thanking them for their friendship!