Games to work gender equality in primary

Games in primary school are essential to propose new knowledge and reinforce behaviors. When it comes to working on equality among students, there are various gender equality games for children, with which they can reflect and have a good time.

For children, life is like a huge blank book. This is perhaps one of the best analogies to understand that they will repeat what we teach them as adults, with our words and, mainly, with our actions. Based on this fact, it is worth mentioning that there are many games for elementary school children with which we can gradually build a world that offers equal opportunities for all.

However, adults and young people must also evaluate their attitudes and codes of conduct, to strengthen children’s knowledge. To do it while having fun, there are also cooperative games for adults and many dynamics to encourage respect in adolescents. However, this time, we will focus only on children.

1. The same story, but different

Activities for elementary school children can work on various skills, without them realizing it. This reinforces their knowledge and allows them to acquire new concepts. For example, in this dynamic, the children will have to rethink a known story (it can be one of the typical classic tales of princesses and princes). This allows them to improve their oral expression, organize their ideas and, at the same time, it can be one of the best gender equality activities for primary school, as it helps to see other points of view. 

The story must be told again, but the roles must change. This makes it more fun! If, originally, it is the prince who saves the princess, then now it must be the princess who saves the prince. To make it more attractive, children can be invited to act out the story.

2. Yes or no

This dynamic of gender equality in children is focused on promoting reflection. At first, some phrases are proposed. These will serve as a starting point to discuss and reach conclusions . To develop the dynamic, it is important that the moderator is very objective. In this way, you will help children make their own decisions.

Approach: To carry out the dynamics of equality in children, some white sheets or cards, pens and, if possible, illustrative images are needed. Next, phrases such as the following will be written on the ballots:

• Girls always have to wear a skirt
• Boys and girls are the same
• kids don’t know how to cook
• Girls don’t know how to play soccer.
• Girls can’t protect boys

The children must say Yes or No, depending on their convictions. Afterwards, it will be necessary to reflect and analyze what is what leads them to think like this and establish a discussion forum. This is a good option if you need activities for elementary school children in the classroom.

3. Visitors from space

Among the activities to work on gender stereotypes in primary school, this is one of the simplest and funniest. If done correctly, children can have a lot of fun with it.

Approach: The children who participate in the game are invited to imagine that they come from another planet. Its objective is to make a report about what life on earth is like. They must evaluate the capacities of the genera that make up the human species and describe them. What do they look like? What do they do? What are the differences between them? In all cultures, do the genders do the same things? At the end of the report, there will be a discussion and the children will make proposals to eliminate stereotypes and inequalities. This dynamic can also contribute a lot to activities to work on cultural diversity in children, learning about the ideology of other nations and cultures.

4. Mixed Championship

In sports, it is very common to find gender discrimination. In this sense, an excellent didactic activity on gender equality is to promote sports with mixed teams. The organizer must be careful to select teams with members of both sexes and that are balanced in terms of abilities. It can be classic sports or some kind of gymkhana. At the end of the test, it is important to note that everyone is capable of doing what they want, if they put all their efforts.

5. Housework

It is convenient that, among the gender equality activities in early childhood education, an analysis of domestic tasks is carried out. The intention is to assess whether they are being carried out equitably among all members of the family and what are the reasons that lead them to be carried out by a single person, if that is the case.

Approach : The children are given a sheet with a grid. In it, some tasks are mentioned. They will mark who performs them in their home. Later, they will reflect on the reasons why they carry them out and if they are well distributed. An example is attached:

These are just some game proposals, which, with few resources, can offer good results. Also, we want to mention that it is very convenient to include activities to work on children’s rights in the child. In this way, children will have a comprehensive education, with a view to establishing the foundations of a more equitable society.

Although all these efforts will take a few years to bear fruit, one must be confident that, thanks to them, a more conducive environment can be offered for both girls and boys to develop all their talents, without encountering social and ideological barriers that stop them.. 

Other very effective resources, in addition to gender equality games and activities, are short films. These videos, in a few minutes, deal with various topics in a deep and simple way. Examples of these are: Purl, from Pixar, and Zero, from New South Wales Film. Both are short to work on gender equality and discrimination, which in an entertaining way make clear the damage that negative attitudes can cause. 

To conclude our entry, we want to mention that there are also board games that promote gender equality. For example: The witches of Farrabús, an educational game that, through challenges and adventures, promotes equality.