Pride Parade for LGBTQ+ Families (2 of 2)

Author: Orlaith Egan
Subject: History
Topic:  Integrated
Grade Levels: Elementary School: 2nd Grade

Overview:

This is Part 2 of the 2-part Pride Parade for LGBTQ+ Families lesson plan. It can be used as a standalone.

Students will examine the relationship of modern-day families to the history of their community through exploring the importance of Pride for LGBTQ+ families. This is a two-part lesson in which students will engage with the storybook “This Day in June,” which welcomes readers to experience a Pride celebration, and therefore (1) examine the origins of Pride- the Stonewall Riots, and (2) discuss the struggle for Marriage Equality in the United States.

Time: 45 minutes

Lesson Plan Resources:

Lesson Objectives:

• Students will discuss the importance of marriage equality 
• Students will create and present a poster for a school Pride family festival event

Essential Questions:

1. What about your family and loved ones are you proud of? 
2. What is something that could happen to your family that would make you want to protest and speak up about?

Standards:

HSS 2.1 Students differentiate between things that happened long ago and things that happened yesterday. 

HSS 2.5 Students understand the importance of individual action and character and explain how heroes from long ago and the recent past have made a difference in others’ lives. 

CCSL 2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

HISTORY FRAMEWORK CH 5 P 48 By studying the stories of a diverse collection of families—such as immigrant families, families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parents and their children, families of color, step- and blended families, families headed by single parents, extended families, multigenerational families, families with members having a disability, families from different religious traditions, and adoptive families—students can both locate themselves and their own families in history and learn about the lives and historical struggles of their peers.

HISTORY FRAMEWORK CH 5 P 52 Students learn about a variety of men, women, and children whose contributions can be appreciated by young children and whose achievements have directly or indirectly touched the students’ lives or the lives of others.

Vocabulary:

LGBTQ+ Family: A family in which some people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary or queer. This could include parents, guardians, foster parents, children, chosen family, siblings or grandparents who are LGBTQ+.

Queer: an umbrella term for people who fall outside the gender and sexuality “norms”; historically a negative term, it has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community; although some still consider it derogatory. 

Pride: the positive stance toward the LGBTQ+ community to promote their self-affirmation, dignity, equality rights, increase their visibility as a social group, build community, and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance; most notably expressed through parades and festivals.

Marriage Equality: the situation in which same-sex couples have the same legal right and protections to marry as opposite-sex couples.

Homophobia: fear, hatred, discomfort with, or mistrust of people who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

Transphobia: fear, hatred, discomfort with, or mistrust of people who are transgender, genderqueer, or don’t adhere to traditional gender norms.

Dressing in Drag: Wearing clothes normally worn by the opposite sex.

Teacher Background:

The teacher should be aware that students may have families with two moms or two dads; stepparents; a transgender parent or parents; adoptive parents; or foster parents. It is important to find out the language students use to refer to their families to help respectfully answer questions that may arise. Furthermore, when there is a student with same-gender parents, it is important not to put that student in the position of teaching other children about their family. That is the job of the educator, not the student.

“This Day in June” provides a very comprehensive and accessible reading guide at the back of the book, and also some notes for parents and educators on how to talk to children age appropriately about the contents of this book. It would be very useful for teachers to familiarize themselves with both of these prior to teaching this lesson, especially the information on the Stonewall Riots and Marriage Equality.

The teacher should also be familiar with the current-day challenges for LGBTQ+ families and why Pride is as relevant and necessary today as ever. The Pride Parade is something that is celebrated in the US, however in other countries around the world where LGBTQ+ rights have not yet been established, it is a protest rather than a “celebration.”

Materials:

• “This Day In June” book by Gayle E. Pitman
• Poster paper
• Coloring pencils / art supplies

Instruction:

Introduction (5 minutes)

Reintroduce the book, “This Day in June” and recap learning points from lesson #1 if using. Otherwise, introduce the book “This Day in June.” (note if you do not have access to the book, you can show the following video reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VI8UgEkH-c )

Discussion (20 minutes)

• Introduce the concept of Marriage Equality. LGBTQ+ people have not always had the right to marry in America. In response to LGBTQ+ activist groups fighting hard to get the government to allow people to marry who they loved, regardless of gender, in 1996, the government passed a law that defined marriage as being only between a man and a woman. The LGBTQ+ community again had to stand up for themselves and protest against this unfairness. Eventually in 2013, after years of hard work and not giving up, the government overturned their previous law, and in 2015 marriage equality was made legal in all 50 states of America. Do you think this would have been achieved without people going out and speaking up?
  • Turn to the page where you find the following text:  “Loving kisses;” there are two people kissing, each wearing a banner. Discuss the following questions:
    • What do the banners say? 
    • Can you see another couple on this page that might be newly married too?
    • What do some of the posters on this page say? 
    • Point out the “Marriage Equality” poster. Why do you think this was written on the poster?
    • Why do you think people get married? 
    • Show students the “= love” poster next to the couples on the page. What do you think this means? 
    • Do you think the love between the men in suits in this picture is the same as the love between a man and a woman who is newly married too? 
    • Do you think it was fair of the US government to make a law that only allowed marriage between a man and a woman? Why not?

Activity (20 minutes)

• Divide students into groups of 4 and provide each group with a piece of poster paper and coloring pencils
• Explain to students that they will work as a group to design an information poster for a Pride family festival event in their school
• After posters are made, groups will present their posters to the rest of the class

Relevant Resources:

Pitman, Gayle E. “This Day In June.” Magination Press, 2014, Washington DC.

“This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman – reading by Soho Parish Primary.” youtube. Educate & Celebrate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VI8UgEkH-c.

Author Information:

Orlaith Egan is an elementary school teacher in San Francisco, CA. She undertook an Education Internship at Our Family Coalition in San Francisco, during 2018-2019.