physical differences activities

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Activities for Learning About Physical Differences

The following list of activities are designed for early kindergarten through second grade.

[Note: In all white classes help children see differences in skin tones and emphasize that skin differences are positive features. Follow up by displaying photographs, posters, and stories of people whose skin tone and features are different and comparing them to their own.]

Make a book “We All Look Special.” Paste a photo of every child and adult in the class on a page. Below the photo have them describe in their own words how they look, including their hair, eyes, and skintone.

Get paint chips from a paint store and have children match their hair, eyes, and skin tone. Make a chart or graph.

Provide skin tone crayons and have children draw their self-portraits several times during the year.

Have children mix paint to match their skin color and make handprints on a mural.

Trace children on large sheets of kraft paper and have them color or paint themselves.

With permission, cut a small swatch of hair from each child. Paste or laminate on an index card. Have children try to identify whose hair is on each card. Sort and graph cards in different ways.

Make a bulletin board of color photographs of each child and all their family members and relatives. Talk about how each child looks or doesn’t look like his or her family.

Make a collage of eye shapes using photographs of the students plus clippings from magazines.

Read the book We Are All Alike. We Are All Different Cheltenham Elementary Kindergarten (Scholastic)

Ideas based on: Louise Derman-Sparks & The A.B.C. Task Force The Anti-Bias Curriculum NAEYC

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