A Free SEL Diversity Activity for Grades 2–5

May 8
4 min read

Why This SEL Diversity Activity Works for Grades 2–5

This SEL diversity activity for grades 2–5 arrives when students have settled into their social groups and started to sort the world into familiar and unfamiliar. Kids who seem different often get noticed for their differences first, and their similarities second.

This activity flips that. Not by telling students they should connect across differences, but by showing them that curiosity is the bridge. What Ray discovers when he crosses the street to meet Tarek is what your students will discover too: the things that connect us are often right there on the surface, if we just ask.

( The Activity - Step by Step)

Circle discussion · 20 minutes · whole class · no prep

1 Set It Up (3 mins)

A diverse group of children with their thumbs up. — Will you find an unexpected connection?

Tell the class: "Ray lives across the road from a boy named Tarek, who is Egyptian-Australian. Ray has seen him around but never talked to him.

One afternoon, Ray crosses the street with his soccer ball and says hi. What do you think he finds out?"

Let students guess for a moment.

Then tell them: "Ray finds out Tarek loves soccer, reads adventure books in Arabic, wears a thobe for special prayers, and makes his mum's Egyptian food sound incredible. Two kids who looked completely different from the outside, had almost everything in common."

2 The Question Round (10 mins)

Go around the circle with two questions, and students answer both:

"What is one thing about you that someone might not know just by looking at you?"

"What is one thing you are genuinely curious about from someone else's culture, background, or life?"

No pressure to share anything personal. The second question is the important one. Curiosity is a skill, and naming it out loud teaches students that it’s okay to be curious about people who seem different from them.

3 The Connection (5 mins)

After the circle, ask: "Did anyone find an unexpected connection, something you have in common with someone you didn't expect?"

Let those moments land without commentary. Then close with Ray's realisation from the chapter: "We've been in the same class for two years. How did I not know that?"

Ask students: "Is there someone in this room you have never really talked to? What might you find out if you did?"

4 The Anchor (2 mins)

Each student writes one genuine question they would like to ask someone they don't know well — not a personal question, just a curious one. Collect them anonymously and read a few aloud. These become the class's curiosity wall for the week.

Discussion Questions

Ray's grandma encouraged him to go and introduce himself to Tarek. Is there someone in your life who has pushed you to talk to someone new? What happened?

Tarek explained his thobe, his Arabic books, and his family's food to Ray. Have you ever had to explain something about your own background or family to someone? How did that feel?

Ray and Tarek found out they both loved soccer and books, even though they seemed very different. Has that ever happened to you, finding something in common with someone you expected to be totally different from?

Grandma Leila said the best way to understand someone is to spend time with them. Do you think that's true? What gets in the way of doing that?

Counselor Corner

This SEL diversity activity reveals things other activities may miss. Watch for the student who struggles to answer the curiosity question, not because they aren't curious, but because they have been taught that asking about differences is rude or dangerous. That belief is worth gently unpacking.

Also watch for the student whose "something nobody knows about me" is something significant: a family situation, a cultural identity they keep hidden at school, a language they speak at home but never mention. When students share these things in a safe circle, it is often the first time they have named them at school at all. That moment deserves quiet acknowledgment, not fanfare.

From the Book

This activity draws from Chapter 4 of Radical Ray: Australia's Little Champion for Big Change (Book 1) — Seeing What We Share.

Ray grabs his soccer ball and jogs across the street to where Tarek is reading. Within minutes, they are kicking the ball back and forth, talking about Arabic adventure books, Egyptian food, and soccer tricks.

Ray walks home and tells Grandma Leila, "He likes soccer and books, just like me. And he's funny too."

Grandma Leila smiles. "Sometimes the best way to understand someone is just to spend time with them."

That moment of recognition, two kids discovering they were more similar than different, is what this activity is designed to create in your classroom.

You can find Book 1 on Amazon → meetradicalray.com/books

Coming next Friday — Week 5

Your Inner Guide: The Listening Journal

Ray hears an inner voice that knows what’s right, even when everything outside feels loud and busy. Students meet their own inner guide for the first time.

Say Hello!

Bobbi Chegwyn, author of the Radical Ray series. — Bobbi Chegwyn

Bobbi loves to connect with anyone in Ray's world: teachers, counselors, parents, and kids.

If Ready, Ray, Go! is making a difference in your classroom, she would genuinely love to hear about it. And if you'd like Bobbi to visit your school, in person or via Zoom, she would love that too.

Reach out anytime at admin@meetradicalray.com or find her at meetradicalray.com

Every classroom that meets Ray makes his world a little bigger.