Resources for Conversations with Students about Bias and Stereotypes as Connected to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Resources compiled by Jayne Sohn

Although in many ways COVID-19 has created a more global sense of community and understanding, it can also create circumstances where children are led to believe certain stereotypes and biases about others.  Below you will find a list of resources that could be helpful in conversations that will no doubt emerge with students as related to the global health crisis. 

Our hope is that as we move to creating new ways to share information and teach our children, we are also mindful of the inherent humanity that must continue to be honored in the process.

SOURCES FOR STUDENTS (YOUNGER AND OLDER)

• NPR: Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus

• NEWSELA: Your most urgent questions about the new coronavirus

• NEWSELA: Misguided virus fears said to be hitting Asian American businesses

• SCIENCE NEWS FOR STUDENTS: Explainer: What is a coronavirus?

LESSONS

• FACING HISTORY - CORONAVIRUS: PROTECT YOURSELF AND STAND AGAINST RACISM

•  LESSON from MORNINGSIDE CENTER: Coronavirus: Fostering Empathy in an Interconnected World

•  LESSON from MORNINGSIDE CENTER: What We Don’t Know Frightens Us: The Coronavirus & Scapegoating

•  LESSON from MORNINGSIDE CENTER: Coronavirus: Countering Biased Responses

•  NY TIMES: Dangerous Numbers? Teaching About Data and Statistics Using the Coronavirus Outbreak

FOR OLDER STUDENTS: BIAS AND THE CORONAVIRUS 

• Coronavirus Racism Infected My High School

•  TEEN VOGUE: As Coronavirus Spreads, So Does Anti-Chinese Racism

•  CNN: What's spreading faster than coronavirus in the US? Racist assaults and ignorant attacks against Asians

• NY TIMES: ‘Are You Sick?’ For Asian-Americans, a Sneeze Brings Suspicion

• NPR: When Xenophobia Spreads Like A Virus