Playdough Diversity
Playdough is just flour, salt, and water — but it can be a powerful teaching tool!
With a plain, white ball of playdough (plus some paints or markers), adults can introduce a big concept of racial difference and celebrating our differences to children.
Thank you to our partners, Project Rangeet, for sharing this activity, which is being used in schools/classrooms across India — and beyond.
Age Groups: Big Kids, Little Kids
Skills: Appreciating Diversity, communication, Comparison, Curiosity, Expression, Social Emotional
Materials
- Plain, colorless, white play dough
- Colored markers or paints
Instructions
- Here's a ball of white playdough for each child. How does it look, smell, and feel?
- Let's each pick a different color and draw or paint on our balls of playdough.
- Let's talk about our balls again. What has changed? What's the same?
- Let's compare people to our balls of playdough. We may have different skin colors, religions, and abilities, but we are all people — and we're all great just the way we are!
Vocabulary
Culture - the beliefs, customs, and traditions of a group of people
Different - not the same as something else
Diversity - having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.
Race - a group people have been put in based on their history, language, culture, and sometimes physical qualities like skin color and facial features
Religion - an organized system of beliefs with ceremonies and rules used to worship
