Fairness and Equality

Many students have a hard time understanding fairness because it is often confused with equality. What is fair, however, is not always equal and the classroom has plenty examples of that.

Understanding the difference between fair and equal requires students to take the perspective of others. In this activity, students will explore fairness by acting out a scenario. This will help them visually see what fairness looks like in action, and that fairness looks different for everyone.

Materials

• Band-Aids or stickers

Instructions

1. Prepare enough band-aids (or stickers to act as band-aids) for each student to receive one.
2. Ask the students to share what fairness means. Most students will define fair as equal. Tell them that you will do an activity to see if that definition is true.
3. Tell the students it is never fun to be hurt, but today we are going to pretend we all have injuries. Encourage each student think of an injury and get ready to act it out.
4. Tell the students you are the doctor and will be giving out a fair treatment.
5. When you say, students will all begin to act out the injuries. Encourage the silliness. As students act out their injury, ask them about their injuries. Once the students shares their injury, give them a single band-aid. Do this to every student, regardless of the injury. 
6. After everyone has been treated, ask a few students to share about their injury and ask if the band-aid would be the best treatment for their injury.
7. Discuss with students that based on the definition they provided at the beginning, you weren’t being fair, but you were actually being equal.
   • Equal – Everyone received the same treatment.
   • Fairness – Each student receives the treatment they need based on their injury. 

Discussion Prompts

• What should the doctors have done differently to make sure the injury treatments were fair and not just equal?
• How could understanding the perspective of others have helped the doctors?
• Have you seen things that are not equal, but are fair based on the needs of other students?

Extension

• Watch the video.
• Discuss the role each student plays in the classroom, school, family, or community to make things fair.
• In small groups, ask students to talk about what they can do to make sure things are fair. 

Journal Prompts

• What is one way you can make the classroom, school, family or community more fair?
• Describe a time when you felt left out because you were different.
• How does respecting differences make our school a more welcoming place?