How to be an ally
Being an ally is about genuinely supporting others who face discrimination and exclusion. This lesson explores what being an ally is and helps students to identify practical strategies for being one.
Year level
7-8
Duration
60 minutes
Type
In class activity
Take away activity
SEL Competencies
Social awareness
Learning intention
Students learn what it means to be an ally, and identify practical ways to support others as well as strategies they can use for self-care.
Key outcomes
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
recognise examples of allyship
identify strategies for being a good ally
identify self-care strategies to use as an ally.
Materials needed
Students' devices
Students' workbooks
Whiteboard/smartboard
Access to ReachOut.com resources: How to be an ally to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, What is an LGBTQIA+ ally, and how can I be a good one?, How to support people from different cultural backgrounds and Self-care
Mapped to
Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education
Examine the roles of respect, empathy, power and coercion in developing respectful relationships (AC9HP8P04)
Investigate strategies that influence how communities value diversity and propose actions they can take to promote inclusion in their communities (AC9HP8P05)
Australian Curriculum: General Capabilities
Personal and social capability:
Social awareness
Intercultural understanding:
Navigating intercultural contexts
NSW PDHPE Syllabus
Investigates effective strategies to promote inclusivity, equality and respectful relationships (PD4-3)
Applies and refines interpersonal skills to assist themselves and others to interact respectfully and promote inclusion in a variety of groups or contexts (PD4-10)
Victorian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education
Analyse factors that influence emotions, and develop strategies to demonstrate empathy and sensitivity (VCHPEP128)
Examine the benefits to individuals and communities of valuing diversity and promoting inclusivity (VCHPEP132)
Activity 1
Think, pair, share: What does allyship look like?
10 minutes
To help set up a safe and supportive classroom environment, we recommend you access the following:
Think, pair, share: What does allyship look like?
Share with students the following definition: An ally is someone who is not a member of a particular marginalised group but who takes action to support that group. Explain that marginalised groups experience systemic social, political and economic discrimination and exclusion. This means they have less access to resources, rights and opportunities than mainstream groups. Marginalised groups include (but are not limited to) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, LGBTQIA+ people, cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) people, and people living with a disability or mental illness.
Ask students to think about times when they have seen someone else be an ally.
Students share their thoughts with a partner and make a list of examples of allyship.
Ask pairs to share their list with the rest of the class, recording each answer on a whiteboard/smartboard.
Note: It's worth discussing that while learning about allyship is important, it can be a confronting topic to learn about and so it’s normal for students to take their time in processing the concept. If students are having difficulty coming up with examples of allyship, you can share the following. Allyship is demonstrated by:
pulling someone up on a racist or discriminatory joke
going to a rally or event in support of a marginalised group
if responding to an issue that impacts a marginalised group, sharing a relevant article online written by someone from that group.
Activity 2
Jigsaw activity: How to be an ally
30 minutes
Divide students into three groups and explain that these will be the 'home groups' of this jigsaw activity.
Ask the students to pair up with another student within their home group and assign each pair one of the following ReachOut articles:
Give each pair time to read over their article and become familiar with it.
Create 'expert groups' by having pairs from each home group join up with pairs from the other home groups who were assigned the same article.
Give these expert groups time to summarise the main ideas from their article to answer the question: How can I be a good ally? They can do this creatively by:
drawing a mind map
designing a poster
making a presentation
creating hashtags for a social media campaign.
Note: To help them identify key themes, encourage students to use the subheadings from the articles.
Bring students back into their home groups and ask pairs to present their creative summary to their group.
Activity 3
Self-care strategies
10 minutes
Explain that being an ally can be a difficult and emotional task. To help others feel good, it’s important to feel good about yourself and to take some time for self-care. This can help students manage the challenges that can come with allyship and help to build their resilience and wellbeing.
As a class, watch the video clip Self-care.
Ask students to think about scenarios when they might need some self-care as an ally (e.g. helping a friend who is going through a tough time, hearing stories of racism and discrimination, standing up to someone).
Ask students to write down up to five self-care strategies they feel could help them on their allyship journey.
Have students share their ideas with a partner, then write down some new self-care strategies they could also use.
Activity 4
Take-away acrostic poem: Allyship
10 minutes
To assess students’ understanding and learning, have them individually create an acrostic puzzle for the word ‘Allyship’, based on ideas they have discussed throughout the lesson. For each letter, encourage them to come up with a meaningful action they can take.
For example:
A: Ask how I can help
L: Learn about the important issues
L: Listen to other people's stories
Y:
S:
H:
I:
P:
