Judging On Appearances

Being accepting of others is an important part of respect and fairness. A first step in accepting others is to avoid judging on appearances.

Grade Level: 6-12

Character Skills

Fairness
Respect

SEL Skills

Self-Awareness
Social-Awareness
Relationship Skills

Academic Skills

Diligence
Curiosity and Passion

Definitions

Respect

Follow the Golden Rule.
Be accepting of differences.
Be courteous to others.
Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements.
Be considerate of others’ feelings.

Fairness

Play by the rules.
Take turns and share.
Be open-minded. Listen to others.
Don’t take advantage of others.

Self-Awareness

Identify and understand emotions, values, attitudes, motivations, mindsets, and personal attributes.

Social-Awareness

Assess the feelings of others and be sensitive to the feelings and needs of others.

Relationship Skills

Interpersonal and social skills to guide appropriate behavior and create positive relationships and meaningful connections .

Diligent Learner

Have a growth mindset and is willing to learn from mistakes.

Curiosity and Passion

Enthusiasm for understanding more about themselves, others, and the world around them

Share This Activity

Students will discuss the impact of judging based on appearances.

Instructions

Ask students (in small group discussions):
- What does it mean to be accepting of others?
  - Remind students that we can accept differences without agreeing with others’ viewpoints.
- How does it show fairness and respect to be accepting of others?
- When judge someone without getting to know them, we are not showing acceptance. How have you ever judged others based on their appearance?
- How have you seen others be judged based on their appearance?
- If we judge someone based on appearances, it is probably because we don’t know them very well. Why does that change when we get to know someone? (Not only do we know them better, but we can also be more compassionate when we understand someone’s life.)
Show students this video from CBS Evening News.

Ask students (in a large group discussion):
- What surprised you about the story in the video?
- How did the students right an injustice years later?
- How do you assume the couple felt then and now?
- What is harmful about judging others based on their appearance?
- What injustices do you see happening in our school that are based on appearances?

Reflection

How could you use social media to advocate for acceptance? Create a sample social media post about accepting others regardless of their appearance.

Video: CBS Evening News. (2018) Students take action after hearing the couple’s honeymoon story. Youtube.com.

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