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What is Prejudice? Lessons for Kids from Super Monsters

Updated: Dec 17


Grade Level: K-2
Duration of video: 5 minutes, 28 seconds
Themes: Respect, challenging prejudice, empathy, being an upstander, including others, words that heal




Video Source: Netflix Jr. on YouTube. Embedded under YouTube’s Standard License. All rights and ownership belong to the original creators.


Description:


In this Super Monsters episode, the young monsters make unkind, prejudiced jokes about ogres without realizing how hurtful their words can be. When their beloved friend Luigi reveals he is actually an ogre, they learn an important lesson about respecting others and challenging assumptions.

This lesson extends the movie by teaching students 10 concrete upstander steps they can use whenever they witness prejudice (or any unkind behavior), and students will practice these steps through role-playing activities.


Lesson Plan:


🎯 OBJECTIVES (SWBAT):

  • Identify unkind or prejudiced words and behavior in the video.

  • Describe how prejudice makes someone feel.

  • Name the 10 Upstander Steps.

  • Demonstrate an Upstander Step in role-play.

  • Use kind, supportive language in role-play and practice using it in real-life situations.


🧰 MATERIALS:

📋 LESSON FLOW


  1. WARM-UP (3-5 minutes):

    • Ask: “Have you ever seen someone left out or treated unfairly?”

    • Write the word “Prejudice” on the board.

    • Say: This word says, “prejudice.” Let’s say that together. Prejudice is: “Being unkind to someone because they are different or because other people said mean things about them.”

      Ask students to give examples of prejudice.

    Ask students: How does it feel if someone is treated with prejudice?

    • Keep discussion short, positive, and inclusive.

  2. WATCH THE VIDEO: What is Prejudice? Lessons for Kids from Super Monsters (5:28)


  3. POST-VIDEO DISCUSSION (5 minutes)

    • What did the Super Monsters say about Ogres that was not true and not kind (prejudice)?

    • If the Super Monsters thought they never met an Ogre, how did they know what Ogres were like?

    • Who was very hurt and sad when the Super Monsters said these mean things about Ogres?

    • Did the Super Monsters love Luigi?

    • Did the Super Monsters know at the beginning that Luigi was an Ogre?

    • If you were in the video and some Super Monsters started saying mean things about Ogres, what could you say to stop them?

    • What could some of the Super Monsters have done to stop the hurtful (prejudiced) talk?

    • Why did the Super Monsters feel bad at the end of the video? What did they realize?

    • Did the Super Monsters’ apology help Luigi feel better?

    • What do you think the Super Monsters learned?

    • How will the Super Monsters be kinder now?


  4. INTRODUCE THE WORD “UPSTANDER:”

    • Point to the anchor chart with the 10 Upstander Steps that you wrote (based on the Teacher’s Sheet 1: 10 Upstander Steps at the end of this lesson).

      • Say:

        “Today, we will learn how to be an UPSTANDER” (point to that word on the title of the anchor chart).

      • Say:

        “An upstander is someone who sees prejudice or unkindness and goes and helps the person who is feeling sad.”


  5. INTRODUCE UPSTANDER STEPS (5 minutes):

    1. Teacher points to the large anchor chart with the 10 Upstander Steps from Teacher’s Sheet 1: 10 Upstander Steps that the teacher prepared before the lesson. Go over these upstander steps:

      1. Don’t listen to or spread mean stories.

      2. Don’t laugh, make fun, or make it worse.

      3. Help someone leave the mean situation.

      4. Be kind to the person who was hurt.

      5. Notice and remember what happened so you can tell a grown-up.

      6. Ask if they want help telling a grown-up.

      7. Invite them to play or hang out.

      8. Walk or sit with them.

      9. Remind them it’s not their fault

      10. If online, help them show a grown-up.

    2. Go through each step, giving examples and having students repeat the steps aloud.


  6. TEACHER-LED ROLE-PLAY (10–15 minutes):

    With the role play cards you cut out from Teacher’s Sheet 2: Role Play Card Scenes, tell students: 

    “I will pick one card with a prejudice or an unkind situation. I will ask 3 students to come and act it out. The upstander needs to stand up for the person who was hurt using the upstander skill I give you.”

    • Teacher picks one Role-Play Scene Card.

    • Invite 3 students to the front: Aggressor, Target, Upstander.

      • TEACHER’S NOTE: Choose quiet students (builds empowerment) to be the aggressor and loud students to be the target (builds empathy).

    • Teacher reads the scene aloud and guides students on what to say/do.

    • Upstander practices the step on the card.

    • After acting, discuss briefly:

      • “What did the Upstander do?”

      • “How did the Target feel?”

    • Repeat with a new card and 3 new students.

    • If doing role plays for all 10 situations in one day is a lot, you can spread the role plays over several days.  


  7. REFLECTION  & CLASSROOM POSTER (2–3 minutes): 

    • Ask: “Which Upstander Step will you practice this week?”

    • Reinforce that anyone can help someone being treated unfairly.

    • Remember: After the lesson, hang up the anchor chart page with the 10 Upstander Steps on the wall of the classroom and refer to them throughout the week.


  8. SELF-ESTEEM SHIELD (1 minute): 

    Say: It is never okay for someone to say something prejudiced or unkind to you. If that happens, you need to tell an adult. It’s important that you ALSO put up a shield inside of you and say to yourself:

    “Their mean behavior is about them. Not about me.”

    • Have students repeat the above sentence three times out loud as a class. Encourage them to use this skill during their lives.









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All materials on this website are available for educational use under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Educators may download and share the content with attribution, for non-commercial use and instructional purposes, and without modification. Embedding any materials within any website-whether educational, institutional, public, or private-is prohibited without prior written consent of Balanced Learning Resources. Unauthorized embedding or redistribution may violate copyright and licensing terms.


©  2025-2026
All materials on this website are available for educational use under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Educators may download and share the content with attribution, for non-commercial use and instructional purposes, and without modification. Embedding any materials within any website-whether educational, institutional, public, or private-is prohibited without prior written consent of Balanced Learning Resources. Unauthorized embedding or redistribution may violate copyright and licensing terms.

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