Intercultural Teenage Concerns
Objectives:
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- list social, political and economic concerns that American teenagers have today.
- compare the concerns of an American teenager to those of a Nicaraguan teenager.
- role-play inter-cultural situations to promote understanding of others.
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Materials:
- Student Handout: Somos Differentes, Somos Iguales
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Activities:
- Brainstorm with students some of the different issues they face as teenagers and place their responses on the chalkboard.
a. Issues that may come up: drugs, popularity issues, alcohol, racism, bullying, adults telling them what to do, no one understanding them, not getting enough respect, enough credit, teasing, sexism etc.
b. Leave these on the board to refer to later.
- Distribute the student handout entitled Somos Differentes, Somos Iguales.
a. Direct students to read the quotes in the first section-"Adultism."
b. Afterward generate discussion with such questions as "Do you agree or disagree with these comments? Why?" "Have you ever felt this way?" "Are these significant issues?"
c. Continue this process through the remaining sections.
- After all the sections have been discussed, explain to the class that these are all quotes from young adults in Nicaragua of all genders, races and backgrounds.
a. Ask students if that fact surprised them. Why or why not?
b. Ask students to explain the significance of the fact that teenage problems and concerns are similar regardless of country, race, socioeconomic status and gender.
- Concluding Activity
a. Divide the class into groups of 4-5 students.
b. Direct each group to develop a short skit in which they role play a situation that reflects one of the issues that have been discussed. Explain that the role-play should focus on how they would act in the situation that would help to remedy the problem.
c. Allow 15 minutes for the group to develop the skit and then have them perform for the class.
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