Exploring Social Justice Through Art History (6-8)

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Subject

Arts

Topic

Religion Ability Class Immigration Gender & Sexual Identity Bullying & Bias

Essential Question

1. What effect does injustice have on people and groups?
2. What is a just society? What additional progress has to happen for everyone to live in a just society?
3. How do bias and prejudice undermine equal rights?
4. How do different parts of our identities combine to make us who we are?
5. How are our identities today shaped by society?

Texts

Multimedia

Ben DeSoto 'Understanding Poverty' exhibit

In this video, photojournalist Ben DeSoto discusses "Understanding Poverty," an exhibit featuring images of people and communities affected by poverty and homelessness.

Ben Tecumseh DeSoto

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Subject

Economics

Topic

Class

July 2, 2014

Informational

Always Running

In this excerpt from his memoir, Rodriguez provides a stirring recollection from his adolescence: the first time he experienced racism as a result of being an immigrant in America. As he says, the experience "stays with [him] like a foul odor."

Luis J. Rodriguez

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Class Immigration

July 2, 2014

Literature

Shoulders

In this poem, the speaker sees a man carrying his son across the street and is struck by the tenderness the man displays for the child. The speaker realizes that humanity must cloak itself in this same caring nature.

Naomi Shihab Nye

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Subject

Civics

Topic

Bullying & Bias

July 2, 2014

Literature

We Live By What We See at Night

In this poem, the speaker addresses his father, recalling for him the lush Puerto Rican landscape that he grew up in. Now, this green can be seen only in his father's dreams.

Martin Espada

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Subject

Geography

Topic

Immigration

July 3, 2014

Literature

What If There Were No Black People?

In this poem, the speaker explores how our culture would be lacking—in people, in music, in movements, in contributions—without contributions of African Americans.

Sean Mauricette (aka SUBLIMINAL)

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Subject

History

July 3, 2014

Literature

Sure You Can Ask Me a Personal Question

In this poem, the speaker--who is Native American--responds to a series of unspoken discriminatory questions. The reader can deduce the missing questions based on the speaker's responses.

Diane Burns

Grade Level

6-8

July 3, 2014

Literature

The Misfits

In this excerpt, the reader meets two characters from The Misfits: Addie, a girl who is exceptionally tall and smart for a middle schooler and Joe, who is creative and feminine in a way that makes his peers nervous.

James Howe

Grade Level

3-5 6-8 9-12

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity

July 3, 2014

Literature

Foul Line—1987

In this poem, a black woman carefully analyzes her interaction with a white waitress, whose actions, although civil, are smoldering with superiority.

Colleen McElroy

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity

July 5, 2014

Literature

Esperanza Rising

After her father's death, Esperanza and her mother are left with few options and forced to flee to America. The immigration officers are only the first obstacle they must face. Beyond them, the Great Depression and an uncertain future awaits.

Pam Muñoz Ryan

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Subject

Geography

Topic

Immigration Gender & Sexual Identity

July 7, 2014

Multimedia

Gend-o-meter

In this video, young people reflect on society's rules for what males and females can and cannot do.

Debra Chasnoff

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity

July 8, 2014

Multimedia

Knock Knock

Until Daniel Beaty was 3 years old, his father would "knock knock" on his door every morning. This performance explores the shaping of personal identity in an incarcerated parent's absence.

Daniel Beaty

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Class Gender & Sexual Identity

October 30, 2014

Literature

Becoming Joey

This poem, told by a third-person omniscient narrator, paints a picture of José, an immigrant student who carries the burden of being from the “borderlands.”

Paul C. Gorski

Grade Level

6-8

Topic

Class

October 29, 2015

Informational

Hijas Americanas: Beauty, Body Image, and Growing Up Latina

Rosie Molinary describes how she felt as a Latina teenager in the United States, caught between disparate and unrealistic beauty standards.

Rosie Molinary

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity

December 30, 2015

Informational

The Power of Language

In this essay, the author identifies vague terminology used by the United States government during World War II to describe their actions toward Japanese Americans and outlines terms that would more appropriately describe the government's actions.

Learning for Justice Staff

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Subject

Civics

History

April 28, 2016

Literature

i will be chosen

i will be chosen is an anthem for all middle schoolers who knows what it feels like to be left out. Now, they’ll know what it feels like to be included and to win, in more ways than one.

ramesh kathanadhi

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Bullying & Bias

July 9, 2014

Literature

La Linea

In their trek from Mexico to the U.S. border, this young group is reminded that dangers lurk beneath them and hang over their heads every day and every night.

Ann Jaramillo

Grade Level

3-5 6-8

Topic

Immigration

July 7, 2014

Informational

Disability Etiquette

In this article, Disability Rights and Resources outlines appropriate behavior, conversational cues, and common courtesies to internalize and enact when spending time with a person with a disability.

Disability Rights and Resources

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Ability

July 2, 2014

Multimedia

StoryCorps: Living with Dyslexia

“I always lived in fear that someone would discover that I couldn't keep up.”

Sean Plasse and Blanche Podhajski

Grade Level

6-8

Topic

Ability

July 8, 2014

Multimedia

StoryCorps: They Changed My Name

“By the time I was in the second grade, everyone was calling me Raymond.”

Ramon "Chunky" Sanchez

Grade Level

6-8

July 8, 2014

Teaching Strategies

Word Work

Illustrated Vocabulary

In this visual strategy, students divide vocabulary words into parts and draw illustrations to represent the separate meaning of each part.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

L.6-12.4, L.6-12.6

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

Text Graffiti

This strategy exposes students to multiple short pieces of a text before they read it in its entirety. Students read selected quotes out of context and comment on both the selection and the comments of other students. The activity ends with students reflecting on their reactions to and predictions about the text.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RI.6-12.1

July 19, 2014

Close and Critical Reading

Window or Mirror?

This task helps students consider if the text is a window or a mirror through practicing literacy skills and using technology.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RL.6-12.3, RL.6-12.7, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, RI.6-12.3, RI.6-12.7

April 18, 2016

Community Inquiry

What Would They Say

A discussion strategy that asks students to infer how a particular author or character from a text would respond to questions and scenarios. Students must defend their conclusions using evidence from the text.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RI.6-12.1, SL.6-12.1, SL.6-12.3, SL.6-12.4, SL.6-12.6

July 13, 2014

Student Tasks

Do Something

Be the Change...

Students identify and investigate a community problem and propose a solution. They then plan and implement action directed at solving the problem.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Community Arts Showcase

Students produce original art that conveys an anti-bias or social justice message then work with school staff to plan a public showcase of their work.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Consuming and Creating Political Art

Students examine the history of political art. They then create their own murals, political cartoons or posters, demonstrating an understanding of social justice issues.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Inventing a Better World

Students invent a product or process that solves a social problem discussed in the central text.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Listen Up! PSA for Change

Students produce digital media to raise awareness and encourage change related to an anti-bias theme.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Plan Built By

Ms.ShelbyArtEd

Exploring Social Justice Through Art History (6-8)

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