Day Two: Sexual Orientation, and the Quiz

PowerPoint for the Presenation on Sexual Orientation can be found here:

PowerPoint on Sexual Orientation

The day started off with students being asked to reflect on the question shown in the PowerPoint. This question was in response to the outfits we were wearing, where Aaron was dressed in feminine clothing, and Shayla and Heather in masculine clothing. This was intended to be a transition from perceived gender stereotypes into sexual orientation and the topic of homophobia.

From their we went into defining Sexual Orientation and the terms that go along with it.

After doing this we went into what was deemed a "Reflection Time". We presented the prompts in the PowerPoint, and asked the students to reflect on their answers, individual and then in groups of two. This was a method to help breakdown how people perceive the topic at hand.

Afterwards we dove right into the topic of homophobia. What it is and how to address it. Specifically we discussed on how to deal with it within the classroom setting. Along with this we presented charts and numbers that present the rates of harassment in terms of sexual orientation. We discussed about the issues of GLBT students, and students with GLBT parents.

This concluded our presentation on Sexual Orientation.

For the project, we had to quiz the students on the entire presentation. We did some review to help refresh on the ideas and then administered the quiz.

The Quiz can be found here:

 Gender and Sexual Orientation Quiz

After the quiz we had to formulate question that we as class were charged with to ask educators on the topic. In order to do this the class worked in groups to form these questions

The questions that were made were as follows:

1. Where do you see issues regarding sexual orientation and/or gender roles? (Social groups, physical locations? Teachers, family, recess, bathrroom?)

2. What are some strategies that you use to help prevent verbal harassment in your classroom?

3. Can you give some practical examples of how you promote gender equality in your class?

4. What is one example of a situation you have encountered where a student was treated poorly because of their or their parents gender or sexual orientation? Looking back, how would you handle that?

5. Do you think/see other minorities sympathizing more with those who are gay or lesbian?

6. Which demographic do you see issues from most?

7. How do you help support students in expanding their viewpoint of gender identity?

That concluded Day Two, and the presentation.

Some questions about this presentation:

• What could be expanded on about sexual orientation in the classroom?
• What was not included that you feel should have been regarding sexual orientation?
• What is some additional advice you would give to us as future teachers in dealing with sexual orientation in the classroom?
• How could our quiz be improved upon?
• What are your thoughts on the questions that are to be asked of educators? How can they be improved? (Feel free to answer the questions as well)