Lesson 1: This is what I like

I am a boy/I am a girl and what I like and do is okay

Lesson description

The teacher introduces the topic by asking questions such as “What activities do you like doing?”, “What activities don’t you like doing?”, “What activities are done by girls?” and “What activities are done by boys?” The teacher waits for the students to think about possible answers and then acknowl-edges their answers.

As a second step, the teacher gives the students a copy of the handout, paper and pens. The students have to fold the handout in half and use only the top part of it for the moment. The teacher then gives the following instructions to the students:

• Write down whether you are a girl or a boy.
• Write down five things you like doing and do.
• Write down five things you do but don’t like doing.
• Write down five things you don’t like doing and don’t do.
• Write down five things you don’t do but would like to.

Indicate next to each thing you wrote down whether you think it is okay for your sex to do it (if you are a boy, whether this is okay for a boy to do, if you are a girl, whether this is okay for a girl to do).

When the students have f nished, the teacher asks them to walk around the class and share their answers with f ve other students. They record these students’ answers on the bottom part of the handout.

The teacher asks the students to come together and sit in a circle. A plenary discussion then takes place using the following questions as a starting point:

• What do you think of your classmates’ answers? Were you surprised?
• What are the things that only you can do?
• Which of the things your classmates do impressed you most?
• Do you see any common ideas in the things that students like doing but don’t do?
• What happens if a girl does boys’ things? Or if a boy does girls’ things?
• How would your family members answer the questions?
• Why do we answer the way we answer? Why do we think that some things are only okay for girls to do and some are only okay for boys to do?

As a last step, relate the questions to issues of EDC and HRE:

• What happens if someone doesn’t know about the things you like doing and do?
• What happens if someone doesn’t know about the things you don’t like doing but do?
• Who decides what a girl can do and what a boy can do?
• What happens if what boys and girls can do is restricted?
• Do you think that the roles will stay as they are? Was it always like this?

Extension: the lesson can be extended by focusing on the question of what students don’t do but would like to do. The teacher tries to find solutions together with the students on how these things could be tried out in the classroom context.