Why do we have cultural recognition months? The U.S. calendar of holidays includes months like National Hispanic Heritage Month and National Women's History Month in recognition of groups that have been historically underrepresented in the U.S. This lesson explores why and how we put these spotlights on specific months. 

In this lesson, youth become aware and gain empathy for the discrimination people experience because of their race, age, gender, and other reasons. The group discusses ways to be inclusive. A Mix it Up Day changes our familiar boundaries and helps us connect to new people.

This lesson explores the language of disability and the importance of asking people about themselves with curiosity rather than treating disabilities as taboo. We learn to use people-first language. 

One of the keys to unlocking cultural competence is reading diverse books with characters and locations that represent a variety of cultures. In this activity, young people define and discuss the value of representation. They do an audit of a book collection to identify representation and gaps. As a goal, they seek to fill gaps in representation by adding books to the collection.

Looking around the room, we may see many skin colors and tones. These differences occur all over the world. In this lesson we use the terminology of race and ethnicity and look at data to identify the makeup of our community or state. Young people may take action to promote representation of the groups that are under-represented in the community.

The key to cultural competence is learning about cultures around the world. The book Children Like Me sparks curiosity about different cultures. Youth make a simple keychain to represent the different cultures they can learn about with the key that helps them open doors.