Kindergarten Geography: Teaching Diversity to Young People

Abstract

A Southern Poverty Law Center grant enabled purchasing dolls representing children of different races, ethnicity, and condition of disability. The teacher used these with other materials to sensitize kindergarten children to human differences. She directed them to cut pictures from National Geographic Magazine showing people who are “somehow different/' Responses from children were classified. Nine commented on adornment, three on household setting, two on occupation, and one on race. Little research exists on teaching geography to kindergarteners except on the ability to read maps. The authors contend that kindergarteners are quite ready to learn about regional differences among human populations.

Key Words:

• kindergarten
• geographic education
• teaching tolerance and diversity
• dolls as instructional aids
• teaching strategies