Unit(s): Interpersonal Communication, Stereotyping
Purpose:
The purpose of this exercise is for students to realize that all lemons DO NOT look alike.
Objective:
The objectives for students to begin confronting their individual prejudices and examine the way they stereotype people.
Materials:
A bag of 5 lemons
Procedure:
- Begin with a discussion of how we stereotype groups of people.
- Break the class into 5 groups. You need at least 4 in a group. Adjust the size to suit your class, but remember that you need one lemon for each group.
- Pick one leader for each group and have them come to the front of the room away from their group.
- Have each group leader pick "their" lemon from the bag.
- While they are in the front of the room, give them a few minutes to "get to know" their lemon. Have them study them closely so that they will be able to describe their lemon to their group.
- Once each leader has studied his/her lemon, collect the lemons and place them on a table or desk in front of the room.
- Each group leader is to return to his/her group and describe their lemon to the other group members.
- With the leader standing to the side away from the group, have each group come up individually and pick out their group lemon. The decision must be a consensus.
- The group leader will verify if the correct lemon has been selected. (Believe it or not, if the leaders take the exercise seriously, the group will pick out the correct lemon every time.)
- Continue class discussion on breaking stereotypes and what each individual has learned from the exercise.