Facing History Q1: Identity

Essential Question

How do we remain true to ourselves as we move in and out of different communities, cultures and contexts?
How does struggle help define who we are?
What is the difference between feeling proud and feeling superior?

Texts

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

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

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

Informational

Escalating U.S. Poverty Rate Sends Shockwaves

This 2010 news segment considers the cause and impact of the rising poverty level in the United States.

NBC Learn

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Subject

History

Economics

Topic

Class

July 7, 2014

Multimedia

I Am Divided

Seventeen-year-old Itrat shares what it’s like to be a Muslim girl in America and explains why she chooses to wear a scarf.

I Learn America

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Religion Immigration Gender & Sexual Identity

December 11, 2014

Teaching Strategies

Close and Critical Reading

Reading Against the Grain

In reading against the grain students analyze the dominant reading of a text and engage in alternative or "resistant" readings. Resistant readings scrutinize the beliefs and attitudes that typically go unexamined in a text, drawing attention to the gaps, silences and contradictions.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RL.6-12.6, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, RI.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

Student Tasks

Do Something

Act Up! Drama for Justice

Students write and perform a skit or monologue that brings awareness to a specific issue addressed in the text.

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

Plan Built By

aeddington

Facing History Q1: Identity

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