AtL & LGBTQ Activity

Last year a couple of my students spoke to me about wanting to cover more LGBTQ issues in the curriculum or in advisory. I have made a few activities, for every grade, to be delivered through homeroom/advisory time. 
This week my Grade 9s had their first session. I checked in with the three homeroom teachers and they said it went very well. One said they were nervous before teaching it, but that it came together perfectly. Another said, because the focus is on discussion, and there are no wrong or right answers in advisory, that this is becoming a safe space for students. I was so happy to hear this, and hope the other sessions are as successful.
This first lesson is looking at the Social Skills AtL - Helping other to succeed, and is about LGBTQ representation, as well as how we can help others feel supported.

Students start off by reading an article from The Day "​LGBT pupils and the long fight for acceptance". The day is a fantastic resource- under every article you will find activities, discussion points and further resources. It's quite a cheap resource, but if your school doesn't have it, you can still access three articles a month.

Students then talked about LGBTQ characters in films, before looking at actual LGBTQ celebrities. Here they were able to discuss representation and stereotypes!

Lastly they watched a beautiful video, where Ellen Page comes out at the  HRCF's Time to Thrive Conference. Students reflect on this, and think about the barriers people face to coming out. They also reframe the class by thinking about how topics covered link to the IB Learner Profile.

Lastly students tackle the final question "How can we make sure members of our community feel confident in being their authentic selves?*" .  (*Not just in relation to sexuality and gender, but in relation to any part of their identity).
Feel free to make a copy of this activity and use it with your students too.