Name of Lesson: Words Can Hurt

Counselor: Erica Sgroi

UNIT/TOPIC:
(If unit, note how many
lessons in unit):

Stereotyping and Hurtful Words 1 Lesson

DOMAIN:
(academic, career,
personal/social)

Personal/Social

GRADE LEVEL(S):

4th grade

GUIDANCE
STANDARD(S):
ASCA Standards
Addressed:

PS:A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

PS:A2.1 Recognize that everyone has rights and responsibilities.
PS:A2.3 Recognize, accept, respect and appreciate individual differences.
PS:A2.4 Recognize, accept and appreciate ethnic and cultural diversity.
PS:B1.7 Demonstrate a respect and appreciation for individual and cultural differences.

INDIANA
STANDARDS
ADDRESSED:
*If this lesson is
crosswalked with other
academic areas, please list
here.
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES

3-5.3.16 Describe ways in which students can demonstrate respect for others.
3-5.3.19 Describe ways in which students demonstrate respect for others views and religious
beliefs.

To learn what a stereotype is.

To learn about hurtful words and how they make someone feel

TIME REQUIRED

30 minutes

MATERIALS NEEDED

Pre/post test, pencils, worksheets, dry erase board or chalkboard

ACTIVITY SUMMARY

Opening, pre test, activity about what girls and boys can do, discussion, post test

1.
PROCEDURE

2.
3.

Opening intro to who I am, and what the lesson will entail 2 minutes
Ask a student to read the poster Sticks and Stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me.
Show them the other picture, Imagine a world where the words would
appear in your skin. Could you be more careful of what you say?
Ask them to think about it throughout the lesson.
Well talk about this at the end.
Pre-Test 3 minutes
T-chart Activity 15 minutes
2 headings: Things Boys Can Do Better and Things Girls Can Do Better
Ask students what things could fit in each category
After a list of 10-12 items, ask the students about each item Can this only
be done best by boys? The same with the girls list.
o If the students determine that a particular item is unique to that
category, circle it.
o The goal is to have no items circled as being specific to boys or girls.
o If items are circled, ask the students why they think that that

4.

5.

6.

particular item can only be done by boys or girls.

Stereotypes 10 minutes
Tell the students that when people think that all members of a group of people
do a certain thing, that is a stereotype.
Write the word stereotype on the board next to the T-Chart
Give the following phrases, and ask the students if it a stereotype or not, and
why
o People from the south love fired chicken.
o All people from Asia are smart and are good and math and science.
o He throws like a girl.
o People who come to the U.S. from foreign countries and dont learn
English are lazy.
o People who have dark hair, dark beards, and dark eyebrows are
criminals.
o All baby boys wear blue.
o Boys that cry are sissies.
Have a discussion about why these phrases may me misleading and/or unfair.
Conclusion 5 minutes
Ask another student to read the phrase, Sticks and stones may break my
bones, but words will never hurt me.
Ask them what they think about that is the statement true or false, why?
Post-Test 3 minutes

EVALUATION:
What data will you
collect and How will you
collect data to show:
1.
2.

impact on K-12
students
feedback on
lesson

FOLLOW-UP PLAN:

1.
2.

Pre/Post Assessment information will give me an idea of how much information

the students gained from the lesson.
I will contact the teacher a week after the lesson so see if they have noticed any
difference in their classroom.

I plan to follow up with the teachers after the lesson to find out if the classroom environment
has improved.

CITATION(S)
References/Resources
Used:
Cite copyrighted materials, but
do not reproduce copyrighted
materials in your lesson plan.
Non-copyrighted materials must
be reproduced and included in
your lesson plan.

This lesson was used and adapted from Words Can Hurt developed by Clare Friend and Barbara
Dillbeck from Learning to Give