Breaking The Mould - Appendix 9
Toys, gender stereotypes and advertising. Lesson plan
These Year 2 lessons use toys as a starting point for helping children to think
about changes in their own and their families’ lives, discuss what a gender
stereotype is, recognise differences and similarities between people and
begin to consider the impact of advertising on our choices.
See Boy’s toys and girl’s toys in the online document Boy’s Things and Girl’s
Things – challenging stereotypical choices and behaviours for more on this
activity.
www.teachers.org.uk/educationandequalities/breakingthemould
Medium Term Planning for: Historical, geographical
and social understanding
Class: Turquoise
Term:
1:2
Year group: 2
Year: 2012
Outcomes:
Children will explore changes in their own lives and the way of life of their families.
Children will sort old and modern toys and discuss how they are different.
Children will find out about the past though handling and discussing artefacts.
Children will find out about toys played with in other parts of the world and locate countries on a map of the world.
Children will read and enjoy William’s Doll and use this story to explain what a gender stereotype is.
Children will recognise the differences and similarities between people and learn that this is something to respect and
celebrate.
Children will look at a range of toy advertisements and use these to create a poster challenging gender stereotypes.
Learning
Intention
(National
Curriculum)
To explore
changes in their
own lives and the
way of life of
their family or
others around
them.
To explore the
way of life of
people in the more
distant past who
lived in the local
area or elsewhere
in Britain.
To identify
differences
Activities
Differentiation
Connect: Think about your favourite toy, the one you bought to school at
the end of last term. Why is it your favourite? What do you like best
about it?
Big picture: We are going to think about our favourite toys and compare
them to the toys we played with when we were little, and the toys our
parents and grandparents played with.
I am learning to talk about the toys I, my parents, and my
grandparents have played with (together)
I am learning to compare the toys I played with when I was a baby to
the ones I play with now (independent work)
Input: Show a range of toys (teddies, dolls, balls, games consoles,
robots…). Which ones would your parents/grandparents have played with?
Why/why not?
Then show a range of toys for toddlers/babies and for primary school
aged children. Which ones would be suitable for Tom’s baby sister?
Why/why not? Begin to write a word bank of words used to describe toys
(soft, cuddly, hard, plastic, wood, moves, noise…)
Task: Children draw and write about a toy they play with now and one they
played with when they were a baby, identifying any differences and
similarities.
Plenary: Ask children to ask their parents/grandparents about the toys
they played with when they were children. We will feedback next lesson.
LA – use sentences
starters to help them
compare toys...
When I was a baby I
played with _________.
Now I like playing with
_________.
HA – use because in a
sentence to explain why
some toys are more
suitable for older
children.
Connect: Did you ask your parents/grandparents about their favourite
toys? What did they tell you?
Big picture: Today we are going to look at modern toys and toys from long
ago and start thinking about how they are the same and different.
I am learning to sort old and modern toys.
Input: On tables children have a range of artefacts/photographs of old
and modern toys and sort into 2 groups. Report back to class explaining
choices. Write WMG sorting old and new toys - talk about materials
toys are made out of, what they do, if they use electricity or
LA – stick pictures with
partner support,
encourage to use new
vocabulary relating to
materials and functions of
between ways of
life at different
times.
batteries…
Task: Children have A3 sheet with pictures of old and new toyshops. They
work with partner to stick pictures of toys on shelves in correct shop (e.g.
pictures from modern catalogues/pictures from internet of old toys).
Plenary: Show children 3 bears (a new bear, Rowan’s childhood bear and
1940s bear). Which are old and which is new? How do you know?
To find out about
the past from a
range of sources
of information
(for example,
stories, eyewitness accounts,
pictures and
photographs,
artefacts, historic
buildings and visits
to museums,
galleries and sites,
the use of ICTbased sources)
Connect: Show pictures/online examples of early computer games and
modern ones. How have they changed?
Big picture: Today we are going to look more closely at some toys from
long ago.
To use globes,
maps and plans at
a range of scales.
Connect: I have found some secret photos to tell us where Sean the Croc
has disappeared to (connects with English plan about missing favourite
toy/Dogger)
Big picture: Sean the Croc has been on holiday, exploring countries all
around the word and finding out about what children there play with. We
are going to use his photos to learn about toys from around the world.
To recognise how
places compare
with other places.
To recognise what
they like and
I am learning to describe the toys that children played with long ago.
Input: Use puppet making mistakes to write a WMG history detectives
(be careful with precious old objects, look carefully, describe what
they look like and what they are made of, make clever guesses). On
tables children have a range of old toys to explore and discuss.
Task: Children choose one artifact and complete a fact sheet about it –
draw/label artifact, materials, What does it do? Who would have played
with it? What does it feel like?
Plenary: Read Otto – The Story of a Bear. Discuss the idea that old toys
have stories because they have been loved by different children over
many years. Can we invent a story for our old toys? Big writing session?
I am learning to identify countries on a map of the world.
Input: Show children a map of the world and discuss any countries they
already know. Show Sean the Croc’s holiday photos and discuss what
toys/games children play with in different parts of the world. What are
they made of? How are they different from our toys? Identify countries
on map of the world.
Uganda – plastic bottle car (ensure misconceptions about all children in
Africa being poor are addressed)
Chinese dragon toy
Kabaddi – India (play this game in a PE lesson?)
Pokemon - Japan
Shadow puppet – Indonesia
Worry doll – Guatemala
Russian dolls
Task: Children have A3 map of world and work in partners to stick
pictures in correct places.
Plenary: Atlas quiz – who can find the places we have discussed in an
Atlas?
Connect: Talk about children’s favourite toys again. Are there some kinds
of toys that boys like more or girls like more? Why do you think this is?
toys
HA – label toys and draw
additional toys on shelves
LA – use word bank of toy
words to help describe
toy
HA – add additional
interesting fact using
labels from old toy
suitcase.
LA – stick pictures with
partner support,
encourage to use new
vocabulary relating to
materials and functions of
toys
HA – Write a caption for
each picture explaining
what the toy is and what
it is used for.
dislike, what is
fair and unfair,
and what is right
and wrong.
To share their
opinions on things
that matter to
them and explain
their views.
To identify and
respect the
differences and
similarities
between people.
To consider social
and moral
dilemmas that
they come across
in everyday life.
Does this mean that boys can’t play with teddies..?
Big picture: Put a statement on the board: Girl’s don’t like playing with
cars. Do you agree? Why/why not? In the next 2 lessons we are going to
be talking about the toys that boys and girls play with and try to answer
some questions about why some people think some toys are for boys and
some are for girls.
I am learning to explain how a character is feeling in a story and
know what a gender stereotype is.
Input: Read the class William’s Doll by Charlotte Zolotow. Discuss...
Why was William teased?
Why did William's family and friends tease him because he wanted a doll?
Why should only girls play with dolls? Where did this idea come from?
Take feedback on each question.
Introduce the words ‘gender’ and ‘stereotype’ to the discussion- when
people guess what people will like or be like just because of their gender
or what they look like.
Ask what the stereotype is in this story- only girls play with dolls.
Task: Children work in groups. Each group has a picture from the story
with a speech bubble. Children write speech bubble to show how the
characters in the story are feeling. They then present to the rest of the
class using acting/freeze frames/reading out speech bubble.
Plenary: In this story, who was William's friend? Who did not believe the
stereotype and helped William get what he wanted? What does the story
teach us?
Mixed ability groups. HA
children to scribe.
Connect: Show children an illustration from William’s Doll. What did
William want? Who was worried about this and who helped him?
Big picture: We are going to look at some other toys today and see if they
have any gender stereotypes connected to them.
I am learning to talk about the toys that boys and girls play with and
describe how advertising is used to sell toys.
Input: Children sit in a circle with a venn diagram in the middle made with
3 hoops and labels: boys, girls, both. Children take it in turns to sort a
range of toys into diagram and discuss why they put them there (include
books, action figures, cars, dressing up clothes…) Show children some
advertisements for toys (e.g. Barbie/transformers). Can you see any
gender stereotypes here? Discuss colours and images used (eg. Pink,
flowers = girly).
Task: Children make collages using advertisements for toys/pictures of
children playing/their own drawings. Sheet of paper divided in half: Some
people think that… But actually…
Plenary: Look at a range of children’s posters and discuss.
Beyond Pink and Blue by Robin Cooley,
Rethinking Schools 2003
LA- finish sentences:
Some people think that
only boys like pirates. But
actually some girls like
them too.
HA- children write
caption to explain what is
going on in pictures.