Early Pride Matters

Step 1: Gather materials.

• This activity does not require any special materials. Consider adding books to your classroom library that address pronouns and gender diversity. Start with those in the Suggested Books section below and share them with the children.

Step 2: Introduce activity.

• This activity will enable the children to explore the concept of gender during their everyday experiences and play.
• Consider reading a book about pronouns and/or gender diversity with the children.
• After the book share, encourage the children to ask questions and develop their own ideas about gender and point out the different ways that people may think about gender.
• NOTE: The children may surprise you with their openness to learning more about gender. Keep in mind that they are still exploring the concept of categories through play, problem-solving and discussion. As they mature, their understanding of categories will become more nuanced. Younger children's understanding of categories such as gender may initially be limited, but preschoolers may be beginning to make gender assumptions based on visible attributes such as the length of a peer's hair or other physical attributes.

Step 3: Engage children in activity.

• After this discussion, model a scenario in which one person shares their gender and asks a peer what their gender is. For example, you might model the following language: “I’m a boy. What are your words?”
• Now engage the children in a discussion about gender or pretend play that gives them opportunities to share and ask questions about gender.
• Invite the children to share other aspects of their identities, such as how they like to dress or the toys they like to play with.
• You can also model conversations that young children might have about gender. For example, you can introduce language such as: “Sometimes, people think I’m a ____.”
• At this point, you might probe a little deeper to uncover early judgments or biases about gender by asking questions such as: “What made you think they are a boy?”
• Encourage the children to notice people and their uniqueness and to allow others to share their gender words in ways that feel comfortable to them.

Adaptations by age

Preschoolers

• By the time they reach preschool age, children have absorbed extensive information about gender from the world around them. During this period, children will begin to describe themselves and the qualities that they feel make them unique. This can include gender.
• To learn about some of the ideas about gender that preschoolers are experiencing, exploring and absorbing during this stage of development, visit our Build Your Knowledge section and click on the Gender Identity and Diversity button.
• When considering how to support the children as they learn about gender identity and diversity, keep the children's individual experiences and understandings in mind.