25_fair vs equal 3-5

Fair doesn’t mean giving every child the same thing, it means giving every child what they need. —Rick LavoieBig Ideas For This Lesson Fairness and Equality: The Band-Aid Lesson At Home Resources Level: Upper Elementary (3-5) Concepts: • Diversity • Equality • Fairness • PrivilegeWe live in a diverse world. This means there is a wide range of differences between and among indi-viduals and cultures. How can we best prepare our children to meet the challenges of our increasinglydiverse world?Developing a deeper understanding of fairness goes hand-in-hand with increasing students’ toleranceand appreciation for diverse learners and an understanding of privilege. Many students think that fairmeans equal; however, fairness means treating people according to their needs. This does not alwaysmean it will be equal.When students understand the difference between fairness and equality they are better able to copewhen things seem “unfair” and develop greater empathy for those with needs that are different fromtheir own. Essential VocabularyEquitable: Treating people fairly, according to their needs.Privilege: A set of unearned benefits given to a person based on membership to a particular social group (e.g., gender,race, sexual orientation, family, education, country of origin, language, physical and mental ability, etc.).Fair and Fairness: Treating people according to their needs.Equal and Equality: Treating people the same, regardless of their needs.© 2017 Empowering Education, Inc. PAGE 1 of 2 All rights reserved.

FAIRNESS AND EQUALITY | GRADES 3-5 PracticeWorking with your student, reflect on their unique needs, along with their unique abilities, talents, and inter-ests. You may want to create a T-chart with “Needs” on one side and “Abilities” on the other. What makes yourstudent special? How are their needs different from their peers and the rest of the family? What abilities ortalents do they have that others do not?Finally, reflect with your student on how these unique needs/abilities could be used in service to the greatergood. In your opinion, what special gifts can you both offer to make the world a better place? How can you goabout offering these gifts? Student Resources• Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin (Grades 4 – 7)• O ut of My Mind by Sharon M Draper (Grades 4 – 6)• Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (Grades 4 – 6)• Rules by Cynthia Lord (Grades 4 – 7)• Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco (Grades 2 – 3)• Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Grades 3 – 7)• Asperger’s Rules!: How to Make Sense of School and Friends by Blythe Grossberg• How to Talk to an Autistic Kid by Daniel Stefanski• The Asperkid’s (Secret) Book of Social Rules: The Handbook of Not-So-Obvious Social Guidelines for Tweens and Teens with Asperger Syndrome by Jennifer Cook O’Toole• The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders (And Their Parents) by Elizabeth Verdick and Elizabeth Reeve, M.D. Adult Resources• Celebrating Diversity, Nurturing Respect (PDF)• Neurodiversity in the Classroom: Strength-Based Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs Succeed in School and Life by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.• What is Neurodiversity? (Blog)• Young Learners, Diverse Children: Celebrating Diversity in Early Childhood (Book) by Virginia Gonzalez© 2017 Empowering Education, Inc. PAGE 2 of 2 All rights reserved.