All About Diversity

Free lesson plan, writing template and printable word-search puzzles for kids

Best suited to:

K – Year 4

KLAs covered:

English, PDH

NSW Syllabus outcomes:

English: ENE-OLC-01, ENE-VOCAB-01, ENE-PHOAW-01, ENE-PRINT-01, ENE-PHOKW-01, ENE-RECOM-01, ENE-CWT-01, ENE-SPELL-01, ENE-HANDW-01, ENE-UARL-01.

EN1-OLC-01, EN1-VOCAB-01, EN1-PHOKW-01, EN1-RECOM-01, EN1-CWT-01, EN1-SPELL-01, EN1-HANDW-01, EN1-UARL-01.

• people are all different and also share certain traits that make us human;
• diversity means variety/differences;
• we talk about diversity because it’s important to make sure that people of different genders, cultures and social and ethnic backgrounds are included at school, in workplaces and everywhere else;
• our differences are cause for curiosity and celebration, not for criticism and fear;

Need to know:

• All About Diversity is a non-fiction book which explores the things that make us different and the things we share;
• each double-page spread addresses a different aspect of diversity so you don’t have to read the whole book at once. The book is perfect to dip into at different times during the day and/or to read with a class over a week;
• there are 13 double-page spreads so I suggest reading 2-3 a day or in a sitting;
• there is a glossary and some notes for parents and teachers at the back of the book;
• the book explores the following types of diversity: clothing, gender, bodies, brains, families, ways of communicating, food, celebrations and festivals, things we like and preferred activities;
• this is a book which benefits from being read without too much prior discussion. Each double-page spread finishes with a discussion question and it’s a good idea to read only 2-3 of these at each sitting to allow plenty of time for discussion; 

Discussion Questions (before reading):

• show the children the front cover, read the title and ask if they have ever heard the word ‘diversity’. If so, what do they think it means?
• look at the images on the cover together. What do the children think the book will be about? Brainstorm and write the children’s answers on the class whiteboard. You can use a know-think-wonder structure to discuss and record what the children say;
• show the children the names of the author and illustrator. For younger children, review and discuss the meaning of the words author and illustrator;

Discussion Questions (after reading each double-page spread):

• there is a discussion question – sometimes a series of questions – at the end of most double-page spreads. Use these questions to generate discussions with your class. Worksheets containing each of these questions are available in the resource pack for this book;
• the two double-page spreads which deal with different bodies (disability) and different brains (neuro-diversity) do not include discussion questions. When you read these pages, you are likely to find that children make connections with their own lives and with people they know and that this generates discussion about those aspects of diversity. I like to follow the children’s lead on this;

Discussion Questions (after finishing the book):

• ask the children: why do you think the author wrote this book? Why do you think it’s important to know about and talk about diversity?
• why do you think it’s important to include people with different abilities in schools and communities?
• how might someone feel if they are left out because they are different?
• what clues from the pictures help you understand that diversity can be fun and interesting?
• why do you think the book shows examples of different languages and clothing?
• what does the book suggest about how we should treat others who are different from us?
• have you ever tried food from another country? What did you think of it?
• what are some ways you can be kind to someone who is different from you?
• what languages do you or people in your family speak?
• why do you think the world would be boring if everyone were the same?
• show the children the Table of Contents at the front of the book. What is this? Why is it there? What is it used for? (to show us quickly what’s in the book; to help us find a particular thing in the book);

Whole-Class Activities

• ask the children: how many different types of family can you think of? Who is in your family/lives with you? What do you love about your family? What makes your family diverse/unique/different? How can families change over time? (grandparents come to live; children move out);
• introduce the word unique. What do the children think it means? Explain that, though they may be similar to other people in many ways, there is no-one quite like them anywhere in the world: each one of them is unique;
• invite the children to discuss some of the ways they are different to one another and the ways they are the same or similar. Divide the classroom’s whiteboard into two and list the things the children say (I look like my sister; I’m a girl like the other girls in my class; I don’t like chocolate; I was born on a different day to everyone else in the class);
• show the class the Amazing Humans spread. Look over the map and re-read some of the speech bubbles about all the different people. Ask the children: which country and continent do we live in? Have you ever lived in or visited another country? Do any of your family or friends live in another part of the world? Bring up a world map using Google maps on the interactive whiteboard. Look at the country you live in and at some of the countries mentioned by the children;
• Sentence Observation: write a sentence from the book on the classroom’s whiteboard. You can write it without punctuation and get the children to tell you what’s wrong and correct the punctuation (full-stops, capital letters, etc) with coloured markers. Alternatively, write the sentence exactly as it appears in the book and then analyse it together, annotating it with coloured markers. Depending on their age, the children should be able to pick out the nouns, verbs, adjectives, compound words, pronouns, etc. (Note: there are sentence observations set up for you, complete with instructions, in the All About Diversity Teaching Resources Pack;
• ask the children to put their hands up if they speak a language other than English at home. Ask each one to tell you how they say hello in their language and write the words on the classroom’s whiteboard, along with the relevant language. Marvel together at the different languages and different ways to say hello;
• watch an episode of Where in the World with the children on ABC iview (create a free account). Note: in countries other than Australia, you may have to search for where to watch this in your country;

Individual Activities

There are templates for many of these activities to help scaffold children’s work in the resource pack:

• children complete a book review;
• Years 2-4: children answer comprehension questions – literal, influential and reflective (these three pages are in the resource pack);
• Years 2-4: write the discussion questions from each double-page spread on the classroom’s whiteboard. Ask the children to pick one and write about it. Alternatively, you can pick one of the questions and write it on the classroom’s whiteboard. Children can then write/draw about it;
• after talking about families and how they are different, introduce the idea of a family tree: what is it and what does it show? Model creating a very simple one on the classroom’s whiteboard. I suggest including only yourself, your parents and your grandparents. Children can then create their own (see template in resource pack);
• children complete a wordsearch using vocabulary from the book (free to download below);
• children write and/or draw a response to the book. They can draw or write about their favourite part, write about something they learnt from the book or write about their family;
• introduce the idea of a book review. What elements should be included (brief summary of what the book is about; their opinion, with reasons; recommended for which age/type of reader?) Children then complete their own book review; 
• children write about the country they live in or about a country they have visited. If they write about another country, encourage them to write about what is different about it and what is the same as the country they live in?
• children write about themselves and what makes them different from everyone else/unique;
• children write about one thing that makes them unique or different from the people around them;
• Year 2: children use a copy of the book to complete a word hunt: they write down a list of nouns, verbs and/or adjectives from the book;

Art & Craft Activities

Templates for these two activities are available in the All About Diversity teaching resources pack.

• children can create a string of paper people using A4 paper. Each child can draw his or her cultural costumes on the paper people, write words to do with diversity and kindness on them or make the paper people to look like themselves and family or friends. The video below provides simple instructions for making a string of paper people using A4 paper. Older children (Years 3-4) can make their own strings of paper people but you may wish to make them in advance for younger children and let them colour them in;

• after discussing what makes people different from other people, similar to other people and their unique selves, children draw a self-portrait and write words that describe themselves around the portrait. They can also write things they like to do or are good at but try to get them thinking about things like: ‘great smile’, ‘make people laugh’, ‘kind’. Do a gallery walk as a class to look at everyone’s art. Tip: if children have difficulty coming up with words to describe their wonderful, unique selves, other children – and you – can help. It’s wonderfully affirming for children to hear from their peers about the things that make them special;