Grades K-2
Grades 3-5
Writing
Grades 6-8

Appreciating Our Similarities and Differences

Gather students in an activity to help them explore and appreciate their similarities and differences.

Activity Partner
Total time estimate:
30-60 minutes
Activity Objectives
  • Students will work in groups to find similarities between themselves, and discover how sharing things in common can help establish trust and foster new friendships
  • Then, students will consider unique qualities and strengths that set them apart, and how they can celebrate their differences to make everyone feel valued and accepted for who they are


This activity supports the development of the following
social-emotional skills: self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills.

Discover

Divide your class into groups of 4-5 students, and try to group together students who might initially perceive more differences than similarities between themselves. Ask students in each group to think about ways they are alike, and work together to create a list of traits that each group member shares in common with everyone else in the group. For example, perhaps everyone in the group loves eating chocolate, has visited another city, or speaks more than one language.

Give everyone 5-10 minutes to make a list of everything they share in common with their group, and identify as many similarities as they can between themselves. Then, bring them together to discuss what they discovered. You might ask:

  • What does your group share in common with each other? Were you surprised by anything?
  • How do you feel about your group members after discovering these similarities?
  • Did this activity help you feel more comfortable with each other?
  • Imagine you just met a new classmate. How would you try to discover similarities with them? How could you use your similarities to start a conversation or build a friendship with them?

Write down students’ responses on sticky notes and place them on a board or wall visible to the class. Alternatively, use a tool such as Padlet or Google Jamboard to create a digital board that students can add their thoughts and ideas to.

Appreciate

Next, ask students to individually think about 1-3 characteristics about themselves that make them unique or special, and then share their responses with the class. You might ask:

  • What makes you unique or different from your classmates?

  • How can you use these characteristics as strengths to contribute to a team or help others?


Add students’ responses to the physical or digital board from the previous step.

Reflect

Guide students through a post-activity reflection by asking the following questions:

  • How does it feel to belong to a group and share things in common with each other?
  • How does it feel to learn that you have unique qualities that are different from the rest of your classmates?
  • What is a unique quality about a classmate that you appreciate?
  • How can we make sure that everyone feels valued and accepted for who they are?

This activity was created in partnership with Kristin Harrington.

Did you finish this activity? We'd love your input.