Why am I Different?
CONCEPT: Self Esteem
BRIEF SUMMARY
Read a story that describes differences among people (including growth, hereditary traits, specific physical conditions, abilities, preferences, home and neighborhood experiences, family standards, family composition, ethnic/religious/cultural backgrounds). Discuss why differences are important and why they are good. Play People Bingo.
OBJECTIVES
After completing this activity, children will be able to:
- understand how people can be different from each other (looks, preferences, families, etc)
- identify at least one thing that makes him/her differerent
- realize that being different is a good thing
- identify what makes other people different
METHODS
Read the book Why Am I Different? by Norma Simon.
Discuss the book as it is being read:
- Who is the biggest kid in their house?
- Whose hair is a different color than their mom’s?
- Who has things that make them sick if they eat them? What kind of foods?
- Who likes to dress up for Halloween? What do you like to be?
- Who lives in a house with an elevator?
- Who has taken the bus?
- Who is the only kid in the family?
Talk about being different:
- Why being different is good. ( It would be boring if we were all the same.)
- What kinds of things can be different: what we look like, what we like to do, where we come from, what we like to eat, what our families are like.
- There are some differences that we can change, such as what we wear, what we do. There are other things that we cannot change, such as what we look like, where we live, having PKU.
- PKU can make us different from other people. What are some things that make people different? ( allergies to foods, wearing glasses, hair color, where we were born, how old we are)
Play People Bingo
- Distribute a Bingo card and stickers or stamps to each child.
- Children will get a sticker or stamp from other children who have differences (such as a different hair color, a different shirt color, a different birthday month, a different favorite food, etc.)
MATERIALS
- Book: Why Am I Different? by Norma Simon. Published by Albert Whitman & Company, 1976, reprint 1993. ISBN: 0-8075-9076-2
People Bingo cards- Stamps or stickers