Ready, Set, Respect! - A toolkit for elementary educators

Ready, Set, Respect! was developed to help elementary educators ensure that all students feel safe and respected and develop respectful attitudes and behaviors. The GLSEN resource provides a set of tools to help educators prepare themselves for teaching about respect to students at the elementary school level. The 68-page toolkit was developed to help educators address issues raised in GLSEN's newest research on elementary schools, Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the United States. The study, based on national surveys of 1,056 elementary school students in 3rd to 6th grade and 1,099 elementary school teachers of K-6th grade, examines students' and teachers' experiences with biased remarks and bullying, and their attitudes about gender expression and family diversity.

Among other easy-to-use tools, Ready, Set, Respect! contains lesson plans that focus on name-calling, bullying and bias, LGBT-inclusive family diversity and gender roles and diversity. The plans are designed for teachers to use as either standalone lessons or to integrate into existing curriculum content or school-wide anti-bullying programs.

Ready, Set, Respect! was developed in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) that serves elementary and middle school principals in the United States, Canada, and overseas and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children.

GLSEN and GROUNDSPARK Partner to Prepare Elementary Educators

GLSEN is proud to share a wonderful resource that users of Ready, Set Respect! will find helpful as they prepare to implement any of the toolkit's "Respectful Learning Plans." Our partners at Groundspark are providing a free stream of the educator training version of their pioneering documentary film, It's Elementary-Talking About Gay Issues in School.

This 37 minute version of the highly acclaimed film has been used in countless school communities to help illustrate how all students are impacted by anti-LGBT bias and how all adults have the responsibility and ability to do something about it. It's Elementary takes the viewer into K-8 classrooms to see examples of excellent teachers using the kind of developmentally-appropriate inclusive strategies described in Ready, Set, Respect! and providing exemplary lessons on topics related to the three themes covered in the toolkit (gender roles and diversity; name-calling, bullying, and bias; and family diversity).

Click here to access the free stream. Once you stream the film as a preview, you will also be given a special discount code enabling you to purchase the film on DVD at a 50% discount. The training version of the film comes bundled on a two DVD set with the original full-length version, the remarkable follow-up documentary It's Still Elementary (that includes an interview with GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings) and a guide that provides additional educator support.