1. Why I’m Unique… Action Project at Pittsfield Elementary

6. 5 th Grade

8. Mrs. Lauer’s 2 nd Grade “ I think our project was successful. For the most part the kids all understood what we were trying to accomplish and everyone was an active participant. With the second grade class, brainstorming ideas and getting them down on paper took longer than expected, but that was OK. We overcame this obstacle by giving them more time and eventually were able to finish the whole lesson. I think the kids liked sharing about themselves and I feel like this lesson had a positive impact on them all. I am not sure if they will always remember the lesson, but I think they all learned something and had a fun time doing it.” –Kristen Padilla

9. “ I was with the 5th grade group. I thought the project was successful and most of the students grasped the point of the project although not many showed it very clearly. It might be that they have done many activities dealing with diversity. However, their class was diverse to begin with and all the students seemed to have friendships with people from different backgrounds then their own. My hope for this project is that the students became more aware of their classmates and more tolerant of people who are different than them. Also, I hope that they've become more self-confident and self-acceptant. I wish that they will carry the lesson we taught them throughout their lives and that they continue being unique, and that the project was significantly influential in helping them interact with others in the future.” -Yaye Ba

10. Some examples of the final results “ I think that the project was very successful. For the most part, the children were very engaged with what we were doing, which can be hard with 25 second graders! They were interested in finding ways that they were unique, but they were also interested in what their classmates were writing down. The idea of what makes a person unique was over some of their heads, but many put down thoughtful and interesting things about themselves. I was a little unsure as to how the second graders would do with this project, but I learned that they are capable of grasping such abstract concepts such as uniqueness. This shows me that they do understand what makes people unique, and as such, can learn to accept people's differences. I think that the project will have a lasting impact on the classes that we did it in. As the students shared their pictures, the other students seemed engaged in what they were saying. We also explained why we did the project at the end of the hour and told them that all of their friends were unique just like them. They took a minute to think about this, and then nodded their heads in agreement. I hope that they learned not only about the things that make them special, but also about how people with differences can still be great friends. By their body language at the end, they seemed to agree with both of these ideas.” -Kristin Eckert

11. “ It was successful because it gave the children the opportunity to talk about why they are unique. They did not even understand the word, but by the end they were happy to share why they were different. It is great that they could recognize the differences in a good way and not be assume of them. Many of the children have a lot of differences, some of them have been through hard times such as surgeries or cancer, while others can speak a different language. Throughout their lives these differences will impact them and it was great to be able to share in a good way these differences. I think it was very meaningful to the kids. They were very excited to share why they are unique and I hope that never lose that excitement, because being unique and different is extremely important.” -Aundrea Albers

13. The students were not the only ones who got something out of the project. It is great experience to lead a lesson and be able to have dialogue with students about important issues. The great thing about children is they amazing insight into issues and many feel confident in sharing their honest ideas. An important aspect about the project was how the pictures will be displayed around the school for all the other students and they might spark a conversation about the subject for those that didn’t participate in the project. –Allison Goodman