Elementary School Lesson Plans: General LGBTQ

This collection of lesson plans is for California Elementary School students, grades K-5th.

Lessons

Women’s Rights

How and why was the Declaration of Sentiments modeled after the Declaration of Independence?

A Place in the Middle

A Place in the Middle is the true story of Ho’onani, a remarkable eleven year old girl who dreams of leading the hula troupe at her inner-city Honolulu school. The only trouble is that the group is just for boys. She’s fortunate that her teacher understands first-hand what it’s like to be “in the middle” – the Native Hawaiian tradition of embracing both male and female spirit. As student and teacher prepare for a climactic end-of-year performance, together they set out to prove that what matters most is what’s inside a person’s heart and mind.

What is Marriage Equality?

Length: 0 minutes

On June 26, 2015, in a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court of the United States held that the 14th Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize marriages lawfully performed in other jurisdictions. This means that marriage equality is now the law of the land in all 50 states. Prior to this historic day, 37 states plus the District of Columbia had legalized marriage for same-sex couples. This lesson provides an opportunity for students to explore marriage equality, gain background information about it, and reflect on their own thoughts and feelings about marriage equality.

What is a Hate Crime?

In this lesson, students learn the definition of “hate” and how to use alternate words, discover and understand how national laws are made and apply that understanding to the concept of government protection.

Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag Symbols of Us: Identity Capes or Flags

In this lesson, students will learn about a key activist and leader in LGBTQ history, learn about the creator of the rainbow flag, share and explore identity through discussion of literature and art, explore the concept of identity, and embrace differences in the classroom community through the creation of identity pride flags or capes.

A Look at LGBTQ History and Prominent LGBTQ People

In this lesson, students will listen to or read non-fiction texts for understanding, design a poster with key information on a prominent LGBTQ person or historical event, make a short presentation for the class based on their research, and write a short essay on a key moment in LGBTQ history or about a famous LGBTQ person. By doing this, students will learn about events in American history that are often omitted from textbooks and prominent LGBTQ people and about historical events that were part of the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

Comparing Gender Roles of My Grandparents’ Time to Now

An open book with a rainbow extending from the pages sits atop a multicolored rainbow background that looks like it was created from colored pencil.

In this two-part lesson, students will carry out and reflect upon an interview with a parent, grandparent or guardian to acquire a deeper insight into gender roles in the past. Students will compare and contrast, through the lens of gender, the work and dress expected of them and their immediate families today to that of their grandparents, parents or guardians when they were children.