Activities

The materials included in this page are great resources especially for teachers wanting to teach about diversity. Please try some of these activities out and include your own activities to share with others. The jelly bean color you have chosen tells us something about you as a personality. This individual is highly structured and organized Surroundings are neat If given an assignment, wants to know how many pages, exact requirements Always wants to know the rules Memorizes things well Can’t stand sloppy, unorganized people Deliberates before making decisions Not usually outspoken Always in a state of transition, whether they are 8 or 80 Usually smart and innovative, often artistic Sometimes confused in making decisions, unsure where they’re supposed to be Hard workers Exciting to be with – will try anything as long as it’s safe Spiritual aspects usually important to them They look at things with perspective and respect others’ opinions Cheerful and good-natured Have the ability to get along well with almost anyone They are friendly and have a ready smile Usually have a quick wit Fluent, often eloquent and profound in speech Do not like to be left along Enjoy life and inspire others to reach their highest potential Are courageous and their energy seems boundless Smile much of the time If they see someone not smiling, will ask what the problem is Genuinely care about people and become involved in others’ problems Highly influenced by others, share their sadness or grief Make their decisions with feelings, act on impulses of the heart Spend a great deal of time on the phone, usually listening to others Sensitive, enthusiastic friends and lovers Flirty and passionate Highly creative and highly excitable Have new ideas and are visionaries Short attention spans – can’t stay put for long at a time Disorganized, often choosing to close doors rather than deal with the organization Procrastinators who thrive on chaos, enjoy the challenges of different problems Have a problem dealing with highly structured time Questioning – when given an assignment, asks why it must be done a certain way, want to do it differently Set high standards for themselves and those who work for them = GREEN: NEED TO STAND AND REMAIN STANDING WHILE TRAITS ARE READ We always ask green to stand because they love recognition These people are seen as leaders, usually in highly visible positions They are respecters of authority and tradition They are decisive, directed, and focused They love black and white jelly bean people to organize their projects for them = ASK FOR A SHOW OF HANDS OF THOSE WHO THINK THE COLOR DESCRIPTION OF THE JELLY BEAN/GUM DROP THEY CHOSE IS VALID FOR THEM AS THEY PERCEIVE THEMSELVES. THIS IS STATISTICALLY 80% VALID. (About ¾ of the participants should raise their hands.) Emphasize the following: No one is just “one color”, but one color is usually dominant. All of us have some of the various traits associated with other colors. This is important to realize when dealing with others. We should be able to empathize with those who see things differently and deal with problems differently than we do. || || The most diverse multicultural integrated candy in the world. You have your red ones, your yellow ones, your orange ones, your brown ones, and your green ones, (and the newest blue ones). All in one package, all co-existing Together One color doesn’t think that it is superior to the other. One color doesn’t discriminate against the other. All colors are the same size, shape, and weight. All colors look different on the outside, but have the same ingredients on the inside. M & M’s all have the same flavor, and they all taste G-o-o-o-d. Not all M & M’s are perfect though, some have Nuts!!! In the real world we call them racists, and bigots. Would it be nice if like M & M’s our prejudices, melted into the abyss like chocolate melts in our mouth? And all people were judged by what was inside, rather than the color you see on the outside??? If candy can be prejudice free WHY CAN’T WE??? Dr. Marilyn Kern-Foxworth || || BABY RUTH, 3 MUSKETEERS, BUTTERFINGER, SNICKERS, HERSHEY BAR, ALMOND JOY, CLARK BAR, GOOD 'N' PLENTY, ENERGY BAR, CHOCOLATE COATED RAISINS. NO....you cannot change your answer once you decide! Ready? (C'mon, choose one!) Okay, now, let's see what the research says about you ...... || || __1. Knows a folk dance.__ 2. Has been to an American Indian pow wow. __3. Has cooked or eaten ethnic food in the last week.__ 4. Can say, “hello” (or similar greeting) in four different languages. __5. Has sat under a palm tree.__ 6. Has attended a religious service of a religion other than their own. __7. Has attended a Kwanzaa celebration, or knows what Kwanzaa is.__ 8. Has relatives or ancestors who came through Ellis Island. __9. Plays a musical instrument.__ 10. Has had to utilize crutches, a wheelchair, a cane, or has worn a cast __11. Can name four different kinds of breads from other cultures.__ 12. Has seen a Spike Lee movie. __13. Is bilingual, or has relatives who speak a language other than English.__ 14. Knows some American sign language. __15. Likes to do jigsaw puzzles.__ 16. Has studied a foreign language. __17. Has had a pen pal.__ 18. Has attended a Las Posadas celebration, or knows what Las Posadas is. || || There would be: 57 Asians 21 Europeans 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south 8 Africans 52 would be female 48 would be male 70 would be non-white 30 would be white 70 would be non-Christian 30 would be Christian 89 would be heterosexual 11 would be homosexual 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States. 80 would live in substandard housing 70 would be unable to read 50 would suffer from malnutrition 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education 1 would own a computer When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for both acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent. || || 2. On an easel pad, draw the bowl. 3. Ask the Group, "What would you like on your salad?" (eg: lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and croutons.) Draw them on top of the salad bowl. If someone says "dressing", reply "We are not ready for the dressing, but will talk about it later." 4. Make the analogy that the bowl represents the school and the salad ingredients are the variety of people in the class. 5. Ask the Group to identify what some of the salad ingredients could symbolize. (eg: lettuce = different ages, cucumbers = beliefs, tomatoes = religions, olives = hair color, croutons = ethnicity) 6. Then tell them that we are ready for the dressing. 7. Make the analogy that the dressing symbolizes pluralism. Refer to the chart with the definition of pluralism. "Dressing is Roosevelt School ... it gets on all of us, but it doesn't change us from being a tomato, or an olive ... but it's what enhances us all ... it binds us together ... it what makes us all part of this salad ... it makes us the 'Roosevelt' salad." || All of the above activities were found at http://www.scoutingweb.com/ScoutingWeb/SubPages/DiversAct.htm and modified to fit our purpose.
 * || **Walk Apart - Walk Together** || ||
 * || Two "volunteers" come forward and stand with backs together. The "audience" is asked to call out things about these two volunteers that are different. Differences sometimes push us apart. As each difference is called the volunteers take one step apart. When they reach the end of available space, have them turn and face each other. Now the audience is asked to call out things that are similar/alike about the volunteers. As each similarity is called out, the volunteers take one step toward each other. || ||
 * || **JELLY BEAN - PERSONALITY TEST** || ||
 * || With a large selection of each color of jelly bean, ask each person to take one, considering the color of the jelly bean. (Gum drops may be used as well, but some colors may have to be eliminated.) Tell the group to hold the jelly bean and not eat it.
 * WHITE OR BLACK** :
 * YELLOW:**
 * ORANGE:**
 * RED AND PINK:**
 * VIOLET:**
 * || **ME & MY M & Ms** || ||
 * || I have always liked M & M’s.
 * || **CANDY BAR ANALYSIS** || ||
 * || If you were buying candy and you had to make only one choice among the following, which would you choose?
 * BABY RUTH** - Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm fuzzy items. A little nutty. Sometimes you need a little treat like an ice cream cone at the end of the day.
 * 3 MUSKETEERS** - You are adventurous, love new ideas, are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up, you whip out your saber.
 * BUTTERFINGER** - Smoothly articulate, you are an excellent after-dinner speaker and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time.
 * SNICKERS** - Fun-loving, sassy, humorous. Everyone enjoys being around you. You are a practical joker-others should be cautious when shaking hands with you.
 * HERSHEY BAR** - Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people and can be counted on in a pinch. You tend to melt and get gushy if held too close.
 * ALMOND JOY** - Sexy, always ready to give and receive, very energetic, and really like to get into life. The opposite sex is always attracted to you.
 * CLARK BAR** - You like sports, whether baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control.
 * GOOD 'N PLENTY** - You are a very fun loving person who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to go to the movies with you. Children find you amusing.
 * ENERGY BAR** - You are very active. You are so active, life is passing you by. Get a life!!!!
 * CHOCOLATE COATED RAISINS** - You go to the bathroom, frequently.
 * || **CULTURAL SCAVENGER HUNT** || ||
 * || Chat with the people in the room. Find people who have had the following experience. Have them sign their name or initials in the appropriate blank. Try to talk to everyone in the room.
 * || **SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT** || ||
 * || If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.
 * || **Making a Diversity and Pluralism Salad** || ||
 * || 1. Explain to the participants that you will be making (drawing) a salad.

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR OWN ACTIVITIES ON DIVERSITY HERE: