Mini-Lesson

Current Event

Stereotypes, Media, and Islamophobia

This mini-lesson is designed to help students reflect on how the movies, shows, and books we consume can reinforce stereotypes about Muslims and the harmful impact stereotyping has on people's lives.

Published: May 1, 2020

Mini-Lesson

Language

English — US

Subject

Civics & Citizenship
Social Studies

Grade

6–12

Antisemitism
Racism

Overview

This mini-lesson is designed to help students reflect on how stereotypes—specifically stereotypes about Muslims—can be reinforced through the media we consume and the negative impacts that these stereotypes can have on people’s lives.

4 activities
Student-facing slides
Recommended resources for exploring this topic

Activities

Activity 1

Respond to the following questions in your journal:

Think of a time that someone made an unfair assumption about you. What was the assumption? How did it make you feel?
Was the assumption linked to any stereotypes about groups that you belong to? If so, how?

Activity 2

Watch the Secret Life of Muslims video Ahmed Ahmed: An American-Muslim comedian on being typecast as a terrorist.

Reflect:

According to Ahmed Ahmed, how are Muslims and Arabs stereotyped in movies?
How do these negative stereotypes make Ahmed Ahmed feel? What impact did these stereotypes have on his career?
How do you think these stereotypes might affect the way people think about Muslims or Arabs?
How does Ahmed Ahmed use comedy to counteract these stereotypes?

Activity 3

Watch the Secret Life of Muslims video Khalid Latif: Muslim NYPD chaplain: saluted in uniform, harassed as a civilian.

Reflect:

What assumptions do people make about Khalid Latif when he is in uniform? What assumptions do people make about him when he is not in uniform? What do you think explains the difference?
How have people—including people in authority—treated Khalid Latif because of assumptions about Muslims?
How is Khalid Latif impacted by the harassment and discrimination he experiences?

Activity 4

Pick a book you recently read or a show or movie you recently watched. Then, choose one character from the piece and create an identity chart for them. To create an identity chart, write the character’s name in the space provided below or on a piece of paper. Then, write the traits or characteristics of the character around their name, and connect each one to the character’s name with a line.

Credit:

Facing History and Ourselves

Reflect:

What stereotypes are there about people like this character?
In what ways, if any, does this character reinforce these stereotypes?
In what ways, if any, does this character break away from these stereotypes?
What impact can stereotypes have on the people who are being stereotyped? What impact can they have on society as a whole?
Do writers or directors have a responsibility to avoid perpetuating stereotypes, or even to counteract them? Why or why not?

Materials and Downloads

These are the resources from external sources that we recommend using with students throughout the activities in this mini-lesson.

Ahmed Ahmed: An American-Muslim comedian

Vox

Khalid Latif: Muslim NYPD chaplain: saluted in uniform, harassed as a civilian

Vox

Additional Resources

Collection

Explore resources that meet the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework.

Students working in groups in a classroom

Collection

Explore resources that meet the California History–Social Science Framework standards.

Four students sit in a circle in conversation. The student in the center speaks with their hands raised.

Mini-Lesson

These activities are designed to help students reflect on the devastating attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Image fore Reflecting on New Zealand Mosque attacks.

Mini-Lesson

Students learn about the overall rise in acts of hate in schools and examine a story that illustrates how acts of antisemitism, racism, and other forms of hate can overlap.

A young man holds a dark can of spray paint close to a blue wall to sketch his graffiti

Mini-Lesson

Inform students about the rising number of antisemitic incidents in the United States and explore the story of one teacher’s response to an antisemitic incident involving high school students in her community.

Photo antisemitism protesters marching over bridge.

Collection

Examine how racialized antisemitism has impacted Jews and Jewish communities over the past few centuries with the resources in this collection.

An issue of the antisemitic propaganda newspaper Der Stürmer (The Attacker) is posted on the sidewalk in Worms, Germany, in 1935. The headline above the case says, ""The Jews Are Our Misfortune.""

Collection

Get resources for addressing troubling antisemitic incidents persisting around the world today with your students.

Students sit around a table working on a big paper activity while receiving feedback from an educator.

Collection

Help students strengthen their civic voices by exploring examples of individuals who are choosing to participate and make their voices heard in their communities.

Collection

Explore the origins and history of prejudice and discrimination against Jews with the resources in this collection.

Lesson

Students explore antisemitic tropes, their troubled history, their evolution and their present manifestation in further depth, and consider the harm that their circulation can cause.

Lesson

Students to reflect on the consequences of allowing antisemitism to go unchallenged for Jews and for wider society, and explore ways in which they and others can challenge antisemitism.

Protestor holding "No Tolerance for Anti-Semitism" sign at demonstration

Unit

This unit is designed to help students in the UK reflect on how antisemitism manifests in contemporary society and what needs to be done to challenge it.

Picture of two uniformed students in a classroom.

More Like This Teaching Resources Learning & Events

Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Listen to #DisruptTexts founder Julia Torres about taking a critical lens to text selection in ELA classrooms.

Three students at table, working on a project

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Issues of equity and education have long existed in our country and continue to manifest today. How can writing and the power of one's voice help us respond to these disparities? Listen to writer and educator, Dr. Clint Smith, where we hear his poetry and reflections on working for justice, equity, and civic agency in our schools.

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Explore approaches to centering student voice, building authentic relationships and cultivating community with Molly Josephs, the creator of This Teenage Life, a youth-driven, story-sharing podcast that started as a school club.

More Like This View Upcoming Events View On-Demand Events

Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools.

— Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY

Search

Search

Stereotypes, Media, and Islamophobia