One of the great things about humans is that each has a personality of his or her own. Each person comes with a unique combination of qualities. Think about the positive qualities people can have. Talk about:
It is said that any quality you admire is really yours.
How does government “of, by, and for the people” depend on respect? Write an essay connecting the concepts of democracy and respect. How is listening to different points of view a sign of respect and a cornerstone of democracy? What is it about the concept of democracy that relies upon mutual respect among people? How is the very concept of democracy related to respect for the individual?
Bullies are often trying to make people “respect” them. Is this really respect, or is it fear? What is the difference? How is bullying and violent behavior an act of disrespect?
There are many ways people show respect to others, and the more aware that students are of what those actions look and sound like, the more likely they are to incorporate those behaviors in their daily lives. Here are 35 activities students can do to learn the meaning and value of respect. There’s one (and a few more) for each day of the month.
Click here for the lessons.
Respect can be said in many different ways when looking at languages. Click here for a printable sheet to use for discussion.
Use this translator for other words:
Yahoo! Babel Fish
Έχετε τη διασκέδαση
Have students look through magazines for people respecting others’ differences or pictures of different kinds of people working or playing together. Create a class “We Respect Differences” collage.
Discuss Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech after viewing it below. Talk about how it affects people of all races.
In this lesson, students search for the most positive aspects of some very unusual “people.” The activity reinforces the idea that one can’t always judge the quality of a person by his or her appearance; sometimes people can be appreciated for their differences. Click here for the lesson plan.
We must teach people how to operate in a world that is diverse and pluralistic. Schooling is not effective if it doesn’t have a multicultural component. This is true now and will be even more so in the future. By 2000 AD, 1 in 3 will be minorities. 80% of the labor force will be women and minorities. By 2010 AD, 1 in 2 will be minorities. Click here for a lesson on respect complete with a script: Triangles are not Bad!
Have students create their own totem pole out of construction paper to show respect. Each student will make 3-5 animals on their pole to represent different aspects of what they think respect is. Hang the totem poles around the room and let the students explain their own!