Gender Studies Curricula (new units/projects each year)
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Year Four
- Unit 1: Identity
- Unit 2: Media
- Unit 3: Gendered Issues
- Unit 4: Feminist History
- Unit 5: Activism
Year Two
- Unit 1: What is feminism?
- Unit 2: I am an Emotional Creature
- Unit 3: Change project
- Unit 4: Literature circles
- Unit 5: Performance poetry
Year Three
- Semester 1: Social issues by axes of identity: immigration, gender, sexual orientation, race, social class, ability; CSPAN Documentary project
- Semester 2: In-depth activism project (including change management plan, data collection, presentation at school's Social Justice Expo)
Year Four
- Semester 1: Feminist Regents-Prep through The Handmaid's Tale
- Semester 2: Make-Your-Own-Unit unit (students design & implement their own professional unit plans)
Curriculum Planning Thoughts & Sample
Outlining the Course (this is a sample for Year 1)
UNIT ONE: Identity
EQ: How does a person's identity impact the way s(he) experiences the world?
Project: "Who Am I?" art piece
UNIT TWO: Media Critique
EQ: How does the media's portrayal of gender impact gender in American society?
Project: Media critique paper (film, song, ad campaign)
UNIT THREE: Gendered Issues
EQ: What is the root cause of gendered issues?
Project: Research paper (Pick an issue, provide data and analysis, pose possible solutions)
Mini Unit: Gendered Violence
EQ: Who is responsible for gendered violence?
Project: Critical analysis of reading OR narrative/poem
Mini Unit: Reproductive Issues
EQ: How should we teach sexual education in high schools?
Project: Debate/Discussion
Mini Unit: Global Issues
EQ: What’s the relationship between societal norms and gendered issues across the globe?
Project: Interactive map (using technology)
Mini Unit: Job Equality/Women in the Workforce
EQ: To what extent does job inequality exist in American society?
Project: Infographic
UNIT FOUR: Studying Activism: The History of Feminism
EQ: What activist strategies have been historically effective?
Project: Research paper (select activist strategy(s) & discuss effects - achievements, legislation)
UNIT FIVE: Implementing Activism
EQ: What is the best way to create social change?
Project: Activist project (Student choice - Examples: socially conscious children's book, educational video, letter writing campaign, civil disobedience, street theater)
EQ: How does a person's identity impact the way s(he) experiences the world?
Project: "Who Am I?" art piece
UNIT TWO: Media Critique
EQ: How does the media's portrayal of gender impact gender in American society?
Project: Media critique paper (film, song, ad campaign)
UNIT THREE: Gendered Issues
EQ: What is the root cause of gendered issues?
Project: Research paper (Pick an issue, provide data and analysis, pose possible solutions)
Mini Unit: Gendered Violence
EQ: Who is responsible for gendered violence?
Project: Critical analysis of reading OR narrative/poem
Mini Unit: Reproductive Issues
EQ: How should we teach sexual education in high schools?
Project: Debate/Discussion
Mini Unit: Global Issues
EQ: What’s the relationship between societal norms and gendered issues across the globe?
Project: Interactive map (using technology)
Mini Unit: Job Equality/Women in the Workforce
EQ: To what extent does job inequality exist in American society?
Project: Infographic
UNIT FOUR: Studying Activism: The History of Feminism
EQ: What activist strategies have been historically effective?
Project: Research paper (select activist strategy(s) & discuss effects - achievements, legislation)
UNIT FIVE: Implementing Activism
EQ: What is the best way to create social change?
Project: Activist project (Student choice - Examples: socially conscious children's book, educational video, letter writing campaign, civil disobedience, street theater)
Unit Structure Option
Below is the format in which I like to structure units. I have used this format when teaching US History and Global units, and it worked beautifully. It's a slightly adapted version of a template my Teachers College Coach, Janice shared with me. (She is phenomenal and made curriculum planning significantly easier to wrap my head around.)
- DAY 1: Hook Lesson (I like to include a personal connection to the students, often using art, thought-provoking images, videos, or relevant current events)
- DAY 2: Review what students already know about topic (I use mind maps, story frames, brainstorming lists, discussions surrounding the essential question/images/popular phrase or song lyric, pre-assessments (like the Adolescent Social Norms Regarding Violence and Gender - go here for similar assessments)
- DAY 3: Overview of content in unit (this could be a timeline, map work, an article, infographics - whatever you use, it's here students construct the overarching idea for the unit)
- DAY 4: Primary Source Texts (quote interpretation/categorization, a speech, poem, song - I like to keep the texts here short so struggling readers are not overwhelmed)
- DAY 5: Discussion (since I'm teaching at an international school, I want to focus these discussions on how to situate the topic of the unit in a global context - e.g. What are society's expectations of men in my home country? - these discussions could be more broad - e.g. How is does our use of language affect society?)
- DAYS 6-?: Case Studies (I have no set amount of case study days - my larger units might have 15 case study days, a shorter one might have 6 - these days focus on one particular subtopic of the unit e.g. Identity Unit Case Studies: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Nationality, Social Class, Sexuality, Ability, Religion, Age)
- DAY 14 (or whatever day this is for you): Discussion: Answer the EQ (in class students apply intersectional analysis & cite textual evidence to answer the EQ orally - I want to provide sentence starters & scaffolding questions and focus on connections to self, text, & world; for homework, students answer the EQ independently, in writing)
- DAY 15: Introduce Project (give directions, show model, provide scaffolding outlines/ sentence starters- my project ideas are: an artistic representation of a student's intersectional identity, media critique, research paper, debate, map creation, infographic, activist project)
- DAY 16 -?: Students Work on Project (no set amount of days here - depends on your project & your students - I like to have the first few days be guided for those who need additional support & then gradually release responsibility as needed)
- DAY 20 (or whatever day this will be): Present Projects (this may need to be more than one day - you could also have a wrap up day following this for reflection or make a current events connection to the unit)
Sample Detailed Curriculum Plan for Year One...
Identity Unit (Unit 1)
Below are the resources, topics, & general overview for my identity unit, which will be my first unit in my year-long Gender Studies class.
*Just to note, this is a proposed curriculum. I am not an expert in many of these areas. Therefore, additional resources/comments are greatly appreciated. Also, I have accumulated these videos, texts, and discussion questions over the last few years from various places - personal conversations, Facebook posts, other teacher sites - so in sharing things I do not intend to claim resources as my own.
*Just to note, this is a proposed curriculum. I am not an expert in many of these areas. Therefore, additional resources/comments are greatly appreciated. Also, I have accumulated these videos, texts, and discussion questions over the last few years from various places - personal conversations, Facebook posts, other teacher sites - so in sharing things I do not intend to claim resources as my own.
Estimated Time of Unit: 8 weeks (I see each class 4x/week)
EQ: How does a person's identity impact the way s(he) experiences the world?
Project: "Who Am I?" art piece & intersectional identity paper
DAY 1: Hook Lesson (possible resources below)
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
DAY 3: Overview of Content in Unit
DAY 4: Primary Source Texts
DAY 5: Discussion/Writing - Identity Across Nations
DAYS 6 & 7: Gender (*Note: I have tentatively scheduled each axis of identity to be 2 days, but this may change due to the amount of resources I find for each topic)
*Slam Poem: "The History of Twerking"
DAYS 8 & 9: Race & Ethnicity (*I'm in need of a variety of resources on various races & ethnicities, please share if you have any!)
DAYS 10 & 11: Nationality & Immigration Status
DAY 12: Writing Activity
DAYS 13 & 14: Class
DAYS 15 & 16: Sexuality
DAYS 17 & 18: Ability & Health
DAY 19: Writing Activity
DAYS 20 & 21: Religion
DAY 22: Age
DAY 23: Family Structure
DAY 24: Discussion - Answer the EQ
DAY 25: Introduce Project - "Who Am I?" art piece & intersectional identity paper
DAY 26: Students work on projects - Guided
DAYS 27-30: Students work on projects - Independent
DAYS 31-32: Students present projects!
EQ: How does a person's identity impact the way s(he) experiences the world?
Project: "Who Am I?" art piece & intersectional identity paper
DAY 1: Hook Lesson (possible resources below)
- Text: If the World Were a Village
- Interactive Site: 100 People
- Site: Hungry Planet Family Food Portraits
- Site: Where Children Sleep (excerpts from the book)
- Map activity: 40 maps that explain the world
- Activity: Name poem (
this document includes several professional & student models - some of which are from Reading, Writing, and Rising Up) - e.g. Sandra Cisnero's "My Name" from House on Mango Street - VOCAB to teach: identity
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
- Mind map: free-associate words for each axis of identity (stereotypes, societal expectations)
- Story frames (I haven't been able to find one, but I'm thinking of creating one): sentences with blanks, story has different meanings depending on words chosen (identify biases, starting point to shift thinking)
- Personal bias lesson (see file at bottom of post, created by 2 AMAZING former colleagues & educators, David Blais and Luke Goodwin under the BISCEP - Bronx Initiates Small Schools Character Education Program - this multi-year collaboration resulted in a Promising Practice in Character Education Award from the Character Education Partnership in Washington DC!)
- Chart: When Is It Okay to Say "Retard?"
- VOCAB: stereotype
DAY 3: Overview of Content in Unit
- Mercator vs. Gall-Peters maps: article & West Wing clip
- Orange is the New Black clips - I haven't chosen any yet, but this show addresses so many aspects of identity and accompanying stereotypes & discrimination
- Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" - full length article & shorter excerpt
- VOCAB: subordinate, dominant, inequality, privilege
- Possible HW: Identity matrix worksheet (I can't find one, but I had a professor with a great worksheet in which students identified whether their identity for each axis was dominant or subordinate in our culture, if anyone has one, I would love to use it!)
DAY 4: Primary Source Texts
- Debrief HW (identity matrix worksheet) & introduce concept of intersectionality
- Text: Eve Ensler's I am an Emotional Creature has a ton of great pieces! Here, I was thinking about using, "What Don't You Like About Being a Girl?" (you can see this one-page poem on p. 16 of her Google books preview) and a more positive, "I am an Emotional Creature," excerpted here
- Willie Perdomo's "Where I'm From" - students write their own using
template ( here's a link to an article with student models!) - VOCAB: axes, intersectionality, emotions (poster of descriptive emotions like here)
DAY 5: Discussion/Writing - Identity Across Nations
- How have my life experiences shaped my values and/or perceptions of others?
- What is the status of women (and religious & racial minorities, members of the LGBTQI community, people with dis/abilities & other oppressed groups) in my home country?
- What language is acceptable (and unacceptable) to use?
- Is each identity monolithic? (i.e. are all middle-class, white, Christian women the same?) Why is it problematic to treat groups as if they were all the same? How do we stop this from happening?
- Are all stereotypes bad? (e.g. "All Asians are smart" or "All Black men are athletic) How are "positive" stereotypes problematic?
- What is subtle, or everyday racism? Why are small "micro-agressions" a big deal?
- Cultural writing prompts created by students: 1. write about something you treasure from your family 2. food poem that ties students to their cultures
- VOCAB: -isms (sexism, racism, classism, ableism, ageism), -phobias (transphobia, homophobia) [*I think this is a problematic suffix & I support alternative terms - like the suggestion for changing the suffix to "misia" meaning hatred]
DAYS 6 & 7: Gender (*Note: I have tentatively scheduled each axis of identity to be 2 days, but this may change due to the amount of resources I find for each topic)
- Define term (gender), categories (male, female, trans) & issues with categories, gender-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
- Text: "Gender v. Sex" from A Guys' Guide to Feminism (weekly excerpts of this book are featured here)
- Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" music video & the response to Miley twerking to it
*Slam Poem: "The History of Twerking"
- Article: "Reporting Around R. Kelly's Child Shows Depth of Trans Ignorance"
- Video: Debi Jackson, Mother of Transgender Child, Gives Moving Speech
- Interview with Janet Mock on "Alicia Mendez Tonight," she asks the interviewer common questions she is asked as a transgendered person
- Article & Videos: "7 young feminist role models you should know"
- Video: #LikeaGirl
DAYS 8 & 9: Race & Ethnicity (*I'm in need of a variety of resources on various races & ethnicities, please share if you have any!)
- Define terms (race & ethnicity), categories & issues with categories (e.g. what if you don't fit into the boxes on the form?), race/ethnicity-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
- Video: Rashid Polo videos store employees following him
- Video: Subconscious racial bias in children
- Video: "Columbusing" by Thomas Hill & Malachi Byrd
- Police Brutality against young black men (this topic will be revisited in our gendered violence mini-unit) - this great lesson was posted on ReThinking Schools & this series of posts on their blog was also helpful
- Infographic: "Is This Justice?" highlights the racism in prison sentences
- Video: MSNBC's "a conversation about race"
DAYS 10 & 11: Nationality & Immigration Status
- Define term (nationality), nationality & migration-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
- Site: Country Comparisons - gives a brief overview of countries compared to other countries
- Text: Martín Espada's "Jorge the Church Janitor Finally Quits"
- Video: Maryam Srouji's poem "Tick, Tock" about life in Gaza
- Video: One Day on Earth is an interesting view of people's lives around the world - the full video is on Netflix
- HW: Oral history - students interview family members & include personal stories about their migration experience (possible text on migration: Krik? Krak!)
DAY 12: Writing Activity
- "For My People" poem (model text: Margaret Walker's "For My People") - students can write about nation, race/ethnicity, or gender (any axis we have reviewed so far)
DAYS 13 & 14: Class
- Define term & related terms (class, socioeconomics status, social class), categories & issues with categories (e.g. large range in "middle-class"), class-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
- Video: Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story (currently on Youtube)
- Video: excerpt from Michael Moore's The Big One, "What is Terrorism?"
- Video: Rethink Homelessness made this video of testimonials
DAYS 15 & 16: Sexuality
- Define term & related terms (sexuality, LGBTQIA, heterosexism, sex positive), categories & issues with categories (e.g. continuum), sexuality-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
- Video/textThomas Hill's "Pray the Gay Away" at Capturing Fire: A Queer Spoken Word Summit and Slam
- Video: Straight People Answer A Question Gay People Have Been Asked for Years
- Video: Love is All You Need? short film, an incredible piece that imagines a world in which being gay is the norm
DAYS 17 & 18: Ability & Health
- Define terms & related terms (ability, dis/ability, temporary) & issues with terms, categories (13 categories under IDEA), specific dis/abilities & health concerns, ability-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
- Video: Call Me Crazy on Netflix gives insight into life with 4 psychiatric disorders
- Article/video: Miss Idaho inspires fellow diabetes patients by wearing insulin pump on her bikini
- Article: "Let's stop saying 'mental illness'!" by David Oaks
- Fact sheet: NAMI's "Criminalization Facts" shows how criminalizing people with psychiatric disorders is problematic
DAY 19: Writing Activity
- Praise poem (model texts: Lucille Clifton's "what the mirror said" and "homage to my hips", Maya Angelou's "Phenomenal Woman", Gary Soto's "Ode to La Tortilla" & a bunch more, including her great student examples)
DAYS 20 & 21: Religion
- Define term & related terms (religion, agnostic, atheist), specific religions & differences within religion (i.e. sects), religion-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
- Text: excerpts from Elaine Pagel's "What Became of God the Mother?" (I use my Feminist Theory reader from college)
- Site: BBC Religions gives an overview of many religions, including atheism
DAY 22: Age
- Define term & related terms (age, ageism, generation), categories & issues with categories (e.g. at what age are you an adult?), age-based issues in US & global society, students share experiences
DAY 23: Family Structure
- Define related terms (nuclear, step families, single parent, extended families), family-based issues in the US & global society (e.g. divorce), students share experiences
- Writing Activity: "Sweet learning" piece (students write about a person who has taught them something - can try to include elements of fiction - student models are here) *She also notes this can be turned into an important person essay - great for college admissions essays!
DAY 24: Discussion - Answer the EQ
- EQ: How does a person's identity impact the way s(he) experiences the world?
- Discuss: multiple oppressions, matrix of domination
- Question: How do your personal experiences connect with larger social and political realities?
- VOCAB: "the personal is political"
- HW: Answer the EQ in writing
DAY 25: Introduce Project - "Who Am I?" art piece & intersectional identity paper
- Communicate expectations (more specific details forthcoming): integrate theory, facts, discussion points into your pieces
- Model: I'll use pieces from several literary journals featuring work from my former students, put together by the wonderful people at Educational Alchemy - they work in several schools throughout the city & are continuing to expand!
DAY 26: Students work on projects - Guided
DAYS 27-30: Students work on projects - Independent
DAYS 31-32: Students present projects!
- As noted, I'll post rubrics, etc. as I complete the unit, but suggestions are welcome!
personal_bias_lesson_blaisgoodwin.pdf | |
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Media Unit (Unit 2)
*I would love to include more guest speakers for this unit - suggestions are welcomed!
Estimated Time of Unit: 6 weeks
EQ: What impact does the media's portrayal of gender have on consumers?
Project: Argumentative paper - critique of media (film, song, or ad campaign)
DAY 1: Hook Lesson - Sexism in Print Media
DAY 3: Primary Source Text
DAY 4: Discussion - Ads Across Nations
DAY 5: Overview of content in MINI UNIT 1: Females in the Media
DAY 6: Statistics
DAY 7: Growing Up
DAY 8: Modeling Industry
DAY 9: Effects of the Media's Obsession with "Beauty"
DAY 10: Females of Color in the Media
DAY 11: Women in Politics
DAY 12: Overview of content in MINI UNIT 2: Males in the Media
DAY 13: Discussion - Masculinity Across Nations
DAY 14: Hip Hop
DAY 15: Violence & Masculinity
DAY 17: "Muscular Men" in Athletics & the Military
DAY 18: Gay Men
DAY 19: Men Who Step Out of the Box
DAY 20: Discussion - Answer the EQ
DAY 21: Introduce Project
DAYS 22-24: Students begin work on projects with guided assistance
DAYS 25-29: Students work on projects independently (as they are able)
DAY 30: Students present their projects!
EQ: What impact does the media's portrayal of gender have on consumers?
Project: Argumentative paper - critique of media (film, song, or ad campaign)
DAY 1: Hook Lesson - Sexism in Print Media
- Images: Various ads depicting various identities (note how some are absent or rare)
- Article & Images: Macho Advertising Promotes Hyper-Masculine Behavior, Study Finds - 100 ads are depicted at the bottom of the article
- Discussion: How are different identities portrayed? Why is this problematic?
- Video: The Upsetting Difference Between Men And Women, According To The World's Biggest Search Engine
- Video: Dove evolution ad - note how "beauty" can be a form of domination
- VOCAB: objectify, dehumanize, masculinities
- DAY 2: Review of what students already know
- Text: Eve Ensler's "Epilogue: Manifesta to Young Women and Girls" - part of I am an Emotional Creature - it is sectioned into 2 lists: "Here's what you will be told" and "Here's what I'm telling you"
- Brainstorm (add to Ensler's list): "Girls will be told..." & "Boys will be told..." (maybe revisit this & add "Here's what we're telling you" by the end of the unit?
- Activity: Inside/Outside the Box - use brainstormed lists to fill in 2 boxes (one for female, one for male), outside each box write student-brainstormed "bad names" we call males or females whose behavior/looks/actions don't fit into the box - *note: many of the negative names males are called are associated with being female
- Discussion: Why is this problematic? Where does this gender binary leave intersex people? Why is it happening? How does it impact children/teens/adults? How do we combat it?
- VOCAB: gender binary, misogyny (From Evan Esar's Comic Dictionary: "A man with a miss-shun in the world. A woman-hater to whom Hades is for ladies.)
DAY 3: Primary Source Text
- Activity: Write-around (in groups, students receive a short text - in 1-2 mins: group writes a comment and/or a question in response to text - passes to next group - repeat process with new text - continue passing)
- Text for activity: various rap lyrics promoting gendered stereotypes (should be short excerpts, I haven't chosen the ones I'll use yet, whatever is popular at the time)
- Text: Vagenda magazine's submissions - Taking the Sexism Out of Headlines
- Video: Gender Roles - Interviews with Kids - discuss the effect of media's messages on kids' ideas of gender roles
DAY 4: Discussion - Ads Across Nations
- Pre-assessment: Thompson and Pleck's Male Norms Scale (MRNS) (p. 39 of this document)
- Video: Killing Us Softly 4 trailer - highlighting ads in the US - full version is currently available here
- Discussion Question: Do media representations of gender vary by country? How?
- Writing: Students free-write feelings/thoughts/experiences relating to gendered messages in the media
- VOCAB: machismo
DAY 5: Overview of content in MINI UNIT 1: Females in the Media
- Video: Miss Representation - a student favorite & currently on Netflix
- Skill: Note-taking (option: provide guided worksheet)
DAY 6: Statistics
- Charts: The Status of Women in the US Media 2014 from Women's Media Center
- Tables & Charts: Gender Inequality in 500 Popular Films research paper from Dr. Stacy Smith et al. at USC
- VOCAB: infographic
DAY 7: Growing Up
- Video: Disney Racism Examples
- Video: Gender & Disney
- Article: "Queering Disney"
- Images: Gender & Toys
- Images: 30 Photos That Challenge the Harmful Stereotypes Toy Companies Sell You
- Video: [What] Girl Hears When You Tell Her She's Pretty
- Video: GoldieBlox's Engineering Ad
- Journal: Students write narrative of personal experience growing up & how it impacted their social constructions of various identities, with focus on the media's influence
- Possible HW: article - "How to Talk to Little Girls"
DAY 8: Modeling Industry
- Video: America the Beautiful - documentary currently on Hulu Plus
DAY 9: Effects of the Media's Obsession with "Beauty"
- Statistics: ANAD's Eating Disorder Statistics
- Video: "Shrinking Women" - a slam poem by Lily Myers
- Text: Helene Cixous quote: ›“Men have committed the greatest crime against women…they have led them to hate women.”
- Video: "Pretty" - a slam poem by Katie Makki
- Statistics: Highlights of the ASAPS 2013 Statistics on Cosmetic Surgery
- Video: Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" - followed by this article which discuss issues with this video (e.g. still focused on standard of beauty, mostly white women used)
- Possible HW: Jezebel article "Seeing Body Diversity Makes Us More Comfortable With Diverse Bodies"
DAY 10: Females of Color in the Media
- Discussion: Are all races and ethnicities represented in US media? How does this impact racial constructions of gender?
- Video: Dark Girls - this documentary is currently on Netflix & my to-watch list before summer ends
DAY 11: Women in Politics
- Political Cartoons: Hillary Clinton (many more out there, but this site has some good ones to generate discussion)
- Political Cartoons: Sarah Palin (many more out there...)
- Discussion: Which aspects of the candidate and/or candidate's platform were the focus of these editorial cartoons? How does that differ from how men are represented in political cartoons? What does this tell us about US media's opinions towards different identities?
- Political Cartoons of Men: Obama & McCain
- Images: Beyoncé Voters puts a different spin on women in politics
DAY 12: Overview of content in MINI UNIT 2: Males in the Media
- Interactive Lecture: Introduce Connell’s concept of the “Hierarchy of Masculinities," mentioned here as part of one teacher's media education unit
- VOCAB: hegemony, complicit, marginalize
DAY 13: Discussion - Masculinity Across Nations
- What does it mean to be a "real" man in your home country? How does that compare with the messages you've received in the US? Is there more than one type of "real" man? What is your definition of a "real" man?
- Journal: Students write about experiences with messages of masculinity
DAY 14: Hip Hop
- Video: Byron Hurt's Beyond Beats and Rhymes - I use clip 1 & 2 from Youtube
- Discussion: Why can’t we just smile at each other? Can men cry? In front of their boys? In front of females? Why does the culture of violence exist? Where/when/how did it start? Why does it still exist? (Are black men giving the white producers what they want, or is it genuine? How does hip-hop treat females? How can we change all of this? What may happen to us if we try to change things?
DAY 15: Violence & Masculinity
- Video: Jackson Katz's Tough Guise - I've used this clip on images of masculinity & this one which includes statistics - I also made a guided worksheet for these clips - (see bottom of this post)
- Images: Guns in movies replaced with thumbs-up
- Video: Teen Boy's Anti-Woman Tirade before shooting several women in Isla Vista
- Articles: Feministing collected several feminist reflections on the Isla Vista shooting
- Infographics: Breaking the Prison Cycle Through Education
- Research report: African American Policy Forum issued this great text bringing an intersectional analysis to the school-to-prison pipeline
- VOCAB: school-to-prison pipeline
DAY 17: "Muscular Men" in Athletics & the Military
- Guest speaker: James Whitworth, former soldier, current doctoral student studying kinesiology & PTSD at Teachers College Columbia
- Images: If 'Real Men' Posed in Underwear Ads - contrasts muscular male models with more "average" looking men
DAY 18: Gay Men
- Video: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's "Same Love" music video
- Text: "Same Love" lyrics - close reading & discussion of 2nd verse in particular - focusing on socially "normed" oppression of gay men & the LGBTQI community
- Video: Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends - hilariously sarcastic video in support of gay marriage
DAY 19: Men Who Step Out of the Box
- Discussion: How does society treat men who step out of the box? What about men who ally themselves with the feminist cause?
- Video: Feminist Teacher, Ileana Jimenez's male students made this amazing video about why they are feminists
- Article: 28 Famous Men Who Prove You Don't Need To Be A Woman To Be A Feminist
- Text: Elie Wiesel quote - "We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
- Discussion: How does it feel to step in & stop injustice? Why do you think so many people remain bystanders? (we will revisit this topic in the gendered violence unit)
- VOCAB: feminism, ally, bystander intervention, neutral
- Possible HW: "Staring at Janae's Legs" by Hugo Schwyzer - part of an anthology called Men Speak Out (I have the 2007 version, but a new version came out last year)
DAY 20: Discussion - Answer the EQ
- EQ: What impact does the media's portrayal of gender have on its consumers?
- Additional Question: Do media representations of gender affect people who do not directly consume gendered messages?
- HW: Students answer EQ in writing
DAY 21: Introduce Project
- Give clear expectations: Task - students write an argumentative paper, a critique of media (a film, song, or ad campaign) OPTIONS: 1. Focus on one (movie/ad/cartoon/song) & analyze all identities 2. Focus on one axis of identity & give several examples of how that group is portrayed 3. Relate representation issues & relate it to your life (I think this can be included in the other 2, as part of analysis)
- Models: I have one for a song critique & a film critique, but they are hard copies, so I'm going to try to find them & upload them a bit later
- Task: I'll attach a file to the bottom of this post of what I used for the film critique assignment (I want to broaden it this year to various types of media)
- Graphic Organizer: (at the bottom of this post) - this is an organizer I used 2 years ago for students to take notes while watching the film (I wanted them to connect each important piece of the movie should to an axis of identity, a theorist, and/or a vocabulary term)
- Scaffolding: I'm also attaching a file to the bottom of this post that shows the scaffolding I used for struggling writers working on the film critique
- Rubric: I'm attaching a file to the bottom of this post of what I used to use, but I'll be updating it to align it to my new school & generally improve it
- Reference Sheet: Based on the order I plan to teach things this year, we will not have gotten into feminist theory yet, but I attached a "cheat sheet" (bottom of this post) that I made for my students last year to help with their analysis
DAYS 22-24: Students begin work on projects with guided assistance
DAYS 25-29: Students work on projects independently (as they are able)
DAY 30: Students present their projects!
tough_guise_documentary_notes.docx | |
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film_critique_paper_task_.docx | |
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gws_film_critique_note-taking_wkst.docx | |
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film_critique_essay_outline.docx | |
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gws_film_critique_essay_rubric.docx | |
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film_critique_best_reference_sheet.docx | |
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Gendered Issues Unit (Unit 3)
*Suggestions for change, additions, guest speakers, and/or CBO (community-based organization) partnerships are welcome!
**This unit is a larger unit that encompasses the following mini units: 1) Gendered Violence, 2) Reproductive Issues, 3) Global Issues, 4) Job Equality
Estimated Time of Unit: 8 weeks
EQ: What is the root cause(s) of gendered issues? (taking suggestions for a better EQ)
Project: Analytical research paper on one gendered issue (including statistics on the issue, a gendered analysis of the issue, and possible solutions)
DAY 1: Hook Lesson (I posted these under last unit's violence & masculinity lesson, but I think they might be better here)
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
DAY 3: Overview of content in unit
DAY 4: Texts - Poetry
DAY 5: Discussion - Gendered Issues Across the Globe
MINI UNIT: Gendered Violence
DAYS 6 & 7: Abusive relationships
DAY 8: Rape Culture
DAYS 9 & 10: Sexual Assault
DAY 11: What is Healthy Sexuality?
DAY 12: Bystander Intervention & Dismantling Rape Culture
DAY 13: Street Harassment, Stalking
DAY 14: Police Brutality against Young People of Color
DAY 15: Mini Project - Narrative/Poem
DAY 16: Read-Around (students share pieces)
MINI UNIT - Reproduction
DAY 17: Sex Education
DAY 18: Taboos of Female Sexuality
DAYS 19-20: Motherhood
DAYS 21-22: Vagina Monologues
DAYS 23 & 24: Mini Project - Sex Ed Curriculum Proposals
MINI UNIT - Global Issues (general global issue resources here & here)
DAY 25: Female Education
DAY 26: Human Trafficking
DAY 27: Marriage
DAY 28: Female Genital Mutilation
DAY 29: Gendercide
DAY 30: Voluntourism
DAY 31: Militarism
DAY 32: Mini Project - Infographics
DAY 33: Mini Project - Infographics
MINI UNIT - Job Equity
DAY 34: Pay Gap
DAY 35: Gendered Jobs
DAY 36: Migrant Workers
DAY 37: Mini Project - Historical Fiction Writing - Life of a Worker
DAY 38: Discussion - Answer the EQ
DAY 39: Introduce Unit Project - Analytical research paper on one gendered issue
DAYS 40-42: Students work on project with guidance
DAYS 43-45: Students work on project independently
DAY 46: Students present projects
EQ: What is the root cause(s) of gendered issues? (taking suggestions for a better EQ)
Project: Analytical research paper on one gendered issue (including statistics on the issue, a gendered analysis of the issue, and possible solutions)
DAY 1: Hook Lesson (I posted these under last unit's violence & masculinity lesson, but I think they might be better here)
- Video: Teen Boy's Anti-Woman Tirade before shooting several women in Isla Vista
- Discussion: What are your initial reactions to this video? How would you explain his rant from a sociological standpoint?
- Articles: Feministing collected several feminist reflections on the Isla Vista shooting
- Text: Collection of #YesAllWomen Tweets & the issue with #NotAllMen
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
- Mind map: students brainstorm anything they know (or think they know) about gendered violence - free associate terms/ideas/images
- Images: PSAs, street graffiti highlighting gendered issues (black men in prison,
- Pre-assessment(s): all are located in this document - Adolescent Social Norms Regarding Violence and Gender (p. 18), Intervention in Dating Violence (p. 22), Attitudes Toward Rape Victim Scale (p. 23)
- Class Poll: I'm not sure how I feel about this - I've seen some curricula ask students to raise their hands if they know anyone that has been sexually assaulted - many of my students have claimed sexual assault is not an issue for their community, so this would eradicate that thought, but I also don't want people to feel uncomfortable - although, it could make survivors feel less alone
DAY 3: Overview of content in unit
- Infographics of issues: Equal Power - Lasting Piece Video, School-to-Prison pipeline, sexual assault, abortion, maternity leave/minimum wage, human trafficking, maternal mortality, workplace culture by gender
- VOCAB: infographic, perpetrate, maternal mortality
DAY 4: Texts - Poetry
- Activity ideas: Gallery Walk/Stations/Write Around/Collaborative Annotating (this one will be longer)
- Texts: Willie Perdomo's "Forty-One Bullets Off Broadway" (featured in this article), Suheir Hammad's "What I Will" (video and text), Rutgers University slam team's "Rape Poem To End All Rape Poems", Shailja Patel's "Swore I'd Never Wear Clothes I Couldn't Run or Fight In" (find it in her INCREDIBLE book, Migritude & featured in the transcript of this podcast)
- Discussion: What is the common thread(s) in these poems?
DAY 5: Discussion - Gendered Issues Across the Globe
- Questions: What gendered issues are present in your country? How are they addressed (or not addressed) by the media and society? What misconceptions do others have of gendered issues in your country? Which countries do you perceive to have the most gender equality, which do you perceive to have the least? Why do you think this?
- Map: Global Gender Gap Index 2013 - to supplement discussion
MINI UNIT: Gendered Violence
DAYS 6 & 7: Abusive relationships
- Interactive lecture/stations: 5 types of violence - see powerpoint & worksheet I've used in the past at the bottom of this post
- Text: Eve Ensler's "Dear Rihanna" (found in I am an Emotional Creature, which I HIGHLY recommend purchasing, also posted here)
- Video: "Funny Valentine", Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (currently on Hulu)
- Video: Abusive Relationships: Why Victims Return
- VOCAB: cycle of violence, "victim-blaming"
DAY 8: Rape Culture
- Text: "What Is Rape Culture" article highlights many important topics
- Video: VCU's slam team's "Bois Will Be Boys"
- Video: Jeremy Loveday's poem, "Masks Off - A Challenge to Men"
- Video: Middle school ban on tight pants targets female students
- Text: Feministing's "This is How You Teach Rape Culture to 12-Year-Olds"
- Text: excerpts from "Purely Rape" and "Toward a Performance Model of Sex" (chapters in an amazing book called Yes Means Yes)
- VOCAB: rape, rape culture
DAYS 9 & 10: Sexual Assault
- Images: Project Unbreakable's photos of survivors quoting attackers
- Video/text: "What I Want My Words to Do to You" trailer (& writing prompt)
- Text: Audre Lorde quote - "Rape is not aggressive sexuality, it is sexualized aggression."
- Text: The Power Of The Peer Group In Preventing Campus Rape
- Video: this clip from the Daily Show addresses the double standard of sexual assault on college campuses
- Image: When Should You Blame a Woman For Her Own Rape chart
- Text: xojane's article, "The Myth of the Teenage Temptress"
- Video: The Invisible War about rape in the US military (currently on Netflix)
- VOCAB: accountability, consent
- Possible HW: "Am I A Perpetrator?" questionnaire
DAY 11: What is Healthy Sexuality?
- Video: Brown Students Ask for Consent
- Text: "An overview on healthy sexuality and sexual violence prevention" features a list of characteristics of healthy sexuality
- Video: "4 Ways We're Actually Teaching Kids Consent Doesn't Matter" - an excellent video made by a parent educator
- Text: "10 Tips for Talking About Sexual Violence with Your Sons"
- Question: How has our concept of healthy relationships/sexuality been affected by how we were raised by our parents/media/society?
DAY 12: Bystander Intervention & Dismantling Rape Culture
- Text: "Yes Your Friend May Be a Rapist" article
- Scenarios: Step Up has scenarios involving many topics including sexual assault, paired with questions, action steps, & resources
- Video: What Would You Do? clip - man tries to take drunken woman home
- Discussion: Is this video an accurate portrayal of what happens?
DAY 13: Street Harassment, Stalking
- Text: "My Short Skirt" (another Eve Ensler piece from I am an Emotional Creature & posted here)
- Video: "Oppressed Majority" shows men what life can be like for women (issues with the film e.g. it's white-centric are addressed in this article)
- Video: Stop Street Harassment Now (the comments below the video are problematic)
- Video: "Woman's Secret Video Recordings Let Street Harassers Embarrass Themselves"
- Discussion: How did other axes of identity enter into this conversation? Why? Is it problematic to "compliment" a woman on the street? Has anyone witnessed this personally? (students share if comfortable - note gender differences)
- Article: "NYC transgender woman dies after attack"
- Video: Stalker trailer (a new TV series)
- Discussion: How do you know when or if the verbal attacks will escalate to stalking and/or violence? Who is responsible for street harassment,
DAY 14: Police Brutality against Young People of Color
- Images: last words of black men killed by police
- Video: NYC Protest "I Can't Breathe"
- ReThinking Schools' Lesson: The Murder of Sean Bell
- Article: "What Black Parents Tell Their Sons About the Police"
- Articles: these articles highlight the omission of Black women from police brutality narratives (1 & 2)
- Articles: showcasing how much less other countries' police forces use their weapons (England & Wales and Iceland)
- Lessons: resources on "Teaching About Trayvon" from Rethinking School's blog
- Video: Democracy Now interview, "Not Acceptable in a Civilized Society" discusses police response to young protesters in Ferguson, MO
DAY 15: Mini Project - Narrative/Poem
- Write: an analysis of gendered violence (include personal experience, intersectional analysis, factual evidence, effects of media, key vocabulary terms)
- Who/what is responsible for gendered violence? What is gendered violence? Why is this term [gendered violence] used over others (e.g. violence against women)? What needs to happen to end gendered violence in our communities?
DAY 16: Read-Around (students share pieces)
- See post on Reading, Writing, and Rising Up for Linda Christensen's procedure for Read-Arounds
- Post-assessment (whichever pre-assessment you gave at the start of the unit): from this document - Adolescent Social Norms Regarding Violence and Gender (p. 18), Intervention in Dating Violence (p. 22), and/or Attitudes Toward Rape Victim Scale (p. 23)
MINI UNIT - Reproduction
DAY 17: Sex Education
- Text: "Things I Heard About Sex" (from Ensler's I Am an Emotional Creature)
- Facts & statistics: The Truth About Abstinence Only Programs
- Text: excerpts from "Real Sex Ed" in Yes Means Yes (a must-buy!)
- Resources: Sex, Etc. is a sex ed site created for teens by teens & SIECUS published "Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education" for grades K-12
- Discussion: How is sex education taught (or not taught) in your home countries? What makes sense to include in comprehensive sex education? How does the way you were/are taught sex education impact your sexual & mental health? (values, self-esteem, happiness, decision-making)
- VOCAB: sex positive, abstinence
- Possible HW: "This is What Sex-Positive Parenting Really Looks Like"
DAY 18: Taboos of Female Sexuality
- Discussion: Why is female sexuality (pleasure, menstruation, masturbation, etc.) a taboo subject? Why are women's breasts sexualized, but men's are not?
- Video: First Moon Party ad
- Article: What If We Admitted To Children That Sex Is Primarily About Pleasure?
- Text: Ryan Gosling quote in reference to rating of Blue Valentine, "The [Motion Picture Association of America] is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario which is both complicit and complex."
- Text: excerpt from Victoria Woodhull's "The Elixir of Life" discussing women's degradation of prostitutes while wanting more freedom (found in Feminist Theory: A Reader)
DAYS 19-20: Motherhood
- Map: birth rate by country
- Video: "Try Not Having Kids" Parody
- Ad Campaigns: NYC's "Think Being a Teen Parent Won't Cost You?" posters (featured at the top of this article) & backlash vs. new infographic campaign
- Discussion: What cultural/gendered messages do you receive about motherhood? How do you feel about this? What are your thoughts about NYC's teen pregnancy campaigns? How would you address teen pregnancy?
- Video: excerpts from The Business of Being Born - currently on YouTube and Netflix
- Map: Maternity Leave Policies Around the World
- Map: World Abortion Laws
- Map/Charts: WHO's Maternal Mortality Ratio
- Video: No Woman, No Cry about maternal mortality (currently on Netflix & my to watch list - see beginning here)
- Facts: Amnesty International's report, "The Total Abortion Ban in Nicaragua"
- Timeline: "Never Again: Death, Politics, and Abortion"
- Text: excerpts from The Girls Who Went Away (I've used pgs. 45-53 in the past)
- Video/Text: The Magdalene Sisters trailer & article on same topic - these articles give a feminist analysis to the mass grave recently discovered in Ireland (1 & 2)
- VOCAB: maternal mortality, maternity, paternity
- Possible HW: "Dads" chapter of A Guy's Guide to Feminism - includes a table of various countries' paid paternity leave - also this maternity leave chart used at the start of the unit
DAYS 21-22: Vagina Monologues
- Text: excerpts from Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues (volunteers perform)
- Video: The Vagina Monologues - interviews & the making of the book
- Write: Students write their own monologues (on topic of reproduction)
- Activity: Read-Around (see Reading, Writing, and Rising Up post for details)
DAYS 23 & 24: Mini Project - Sex Ed Curriculum Proposals
- Guiding Questions: Why is sex education a contentious issue? What does the research say about the effects of abstinence-only education? What is comprehensive sex education? What does it look like? What are the benefits of teaching comprehensive sex education? How does your proposed curriculum address the socioemotional health of students?
MINI UNIT - Global Issues (general global issue resources here & here)
DAY 25: Female Education
- Text: Half the Sky (pgs. 180-183)
- Video: Girl Rising trailer
- Video: Malala Yousafzai on The Daily Show
- Text: excerpts from I am Malala
- Facts: PBS article, "Education is the ladder out of poverty for girls"
- Text: I wrote a research paper in college, entitled, "Women: The Solution to Global Poverty" which I've used as a model for writing research papers, but it also has facts & statistics - see the PDF at the bottom of this post
- VOCAB: "feminization of poverty"
DAY 26: Human Trafficking
- Video: Girls Are Not for Sale
- Video: Half the Sky (2nd half of episode 2 - currently on Netflix)
- Text: Girls Like Us (I haven't read this yet, but fellow feminist teacher, Ileana Jiménez recommends it -it's written by Rachel Lloyd, the founder of GEMS)
DAY 27: Marriage
- Text: Russian Authorities Forced to Allow A Same-Sex Wedding
- Map: World Map of Gay Rights
- Site: Dowry Calculator - a sarcastic look at a long-standing tradition
- Text: Gayle Rubin quote, ›“…Marriage is not established between a man and a woman, but between two groups of men…”
- In need of resources for: child brides, sati...
DAY 28: Female Genital Mutilation
- Text: "Five Cows and a Calf" from Eve Ensler's I am an Emotional Creature
- Guest speaker: an amazing friend of mine whose mother works to prevent FGM of young girls
- VOCAB: female genital mutilation
DAY 29: Gendercide
- It's a Girl - a documentary currently on Netflix (I've yet to watch it)
- VOCAB: gendercide, infanticide, feticide
DAY 30: Voluntourism
DAY 31: Militarism
- Discussion: What are the gendered causes and effects of militarization?
- Text: these articles indicate the glorification of violence in Israel "When bombs receive applause" article, "Terrifying Tweets of Pre-Army Israeli Teens",
- Cartoon: "What if Mahmoud was named Jonah?"
- Text: feminist analysis of Israel/Palestine - "Ending Zionism Is a Feminist Issue", "Can Palestinian Men Be Victims?", "A Feminist Perspective on Israeli Aggression" (this last piece was written by an incredible mentor of mine, Simona Sharoni who is a vast source of knowledge on this issue)
- Text: "50 Israeli Reservists Refuse to Serve in Gaza War"
- Text: "Gaza fighting prompts spike in demand for soldier sperm donations" reflects one of the many social effects of militarism
- Text: excerpts from "For veterans, the war comes home" about the effects of PTSD on soldiers, and "The Uncounted" about the impact on veterans' families
- VOCAB: militarization
DAY 32: Mini Project - Infographics
- Models: "the Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces", "Count the Kids", revisit infographics from Day 3 of this unit
- VOCAB: statistics (from Esar's Comic Dictionary - The only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions.)
- Students begin working in groups on infographic about a global gender issue (by hand or with the use of technology)
DAY 33: Mini Project - Infographics
- Students work in groups to finish infographics
- Student groups present infographics
MINI UNIT - Job Equity
DAY 34: Pay Gap
- Text: "How to Attack the Gender Wage Gap?", "How to Close the Gender Wage Gap in Just Seven Easy* Steps"
- Video/Text: "President Obama Signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act"
- Powerpoint: I'm attaching the powerpoint file at the bottom of this post (it includes information on the pay gap as well as several other gender issues)
- VOCAB: equity, legislation
- Possible HW: "Jobs" and "Underclass/Poverty" in The Guys Guide to Feminism
DAY 35: Gendered Jobs
- Text: excerpt from Sisterhood, Interrupted (paragraph at end of p. 7 - top of p. 8)
- Theory: Mary Daly's 4 Methods of Patriarchy: 1) Erase women (millions burned at stake as witches) 2) Reversal (Adam gives birth to Eve) 3) False polarization (male-defined ‘feminism’ set up against male-defined ‘sexism’ in patriarchal media) 4) Divide & conquer (token women in patriarchal professions)
- Text: Sherry Ortner quote, “…most kindergarten teachers are female; most university professors are male...the high chefs are almost always men.”
- Discussion: How has the role of women in leadership roles (politics, CEOs...) changed (or not changed) over time? Did you feel there were/are strong female role models for young girls? Who? Is the US ready for a female president? Why/How do you know?
- VOCAB: glass ceiling
- Possible HW: "Pepsi CEO's Mother Had A Brutally Honest Reaction To Her Daughter’s New Job"
DAY 36: Migrant Workers
- Text: "When Sexual Autonomy Isn't Enough" from Yes Means Yes
- Video: "Nanny Diaries: Taking advantage of foreign workers"
- Text: "Immigrant mothers: living with a heart divided"
- Video/Text: "Chinese workforce at a crossroads"
- Video: Undocumented vs. Illegal: How Much Do Words Matter?
- Text: Martín Espada's "Jorge the Church Janitor" & Espada's rejection letter to Nike (excerpts in Reading, Writing, and Rising Up and towards the end of this article)
- Brainstorm: Students make list of more "invisible workers"
DAY 37: Mini Project - Historical Fiction Writing - Life of a Worker
- Question: To what extent does job equality exist in US society? (by gender? by race? by nationality/citizenship?)
- Write: students write fictional narrative/poem about a migrant and/or female worker (talk about their lives, their identities, historical & societal effects on them...)
DAY 38: Discussion - Answer the EQ
- EQ: What is the root cause(s) of gendered issues? (again, this is changeable)
- Guiding Questions: Why is "gendered issues" an effective term? How can we solve these issues?
- HW: Answer the EQ in writing
DAY 39: Introduce Unit Project - Analytical research paper on one gendered issue
- Task: include statistics, a gendered analysis of the issue, and possible solutions
- Models: two of my wonderful former students' argumentative essays are listed below (due to schedule constraints, we didn't have time to make final edits)
- Rubric: previously used version attached at the bottom of this post (I'll most likely be updating this)
DAYS 40-42: Students work on project with guidance
DAYS 43-45: Students work on project independently
DAY 46: Students present projects
gendered_violence_pp_.pptx | |
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Studying Activism/Feminist History Unit (Unit 4)
This unit and the next (and final unit) go together. This unit touches on the history of the feminist movement with a focus on activist strategies that have been effective (or haven't). The next unit will focus more on the students actually being activists and creating a social change project. We will study several strategies in that unit as well, as they will serve as models and idea-generators for the students as they think about what they want to do for a final project.
Estimated Time of Unit: 5 weeks
EQ: What activist strategies have been historically effective?
Project: Analytical research paper on one activist strategy (used over several movements) OR one movement (detailing the variety of activist strategies used) - discuss what achievements the group demanded and what was accomplished (e.g. legislation)
DAY 1: Hook Lesson
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
DAY 3: Overview of content in unit
DAY 4: Primary Sources
DAY 5: Discussion - "Herstory"
DAY 6: "First Wave"
DAYS 7-9: Film - Iron Jawed Angels
DAY 10: "Second Wave"
DAY 11: "Third Wave"
DAY 12: Social Media & Feminism
DAY 13: Discussion - Answer the Essential Question
DAY 14: Introduce Project - Analytical Research Paper
DAYS 15-17: Students work on project - conducting additional research
DAY 18: Students work on project - outlining ideas
DAYS 19-21: Students work on project - write paper
DAY 22: Students work on project - Works Cited page
DAY 23: Students work on project - edits
DAY 24: Students present projects
EQ: What activist strategies have been historically effective?
Project: Analytical research paper on one activist strategy (used over several movements) OR one movement (detailing the variety of activist strategies used) - discuss what achievements the group demanded and what was accomplished (e.g. legislation)
DAY 1: Hook Lesson
- Activity: Brainstorm a list of important, historical men, do the same for women
- Discussion: Which list is longer? Why? What does this mean (about history, about how texts/curricula are formed)?
- Video: Makers: Women Who Make America - I've used parts of the first episode, but there are currently 3 & a second season is coming out at the end of September!
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
- Activity: mind map or word web (with the word "feminism" or "feminist" or unit title)
- Video: "This is What a Feminist Looks Like"
- Activity: using images of historically important women, students complete a gallery walk or write-around (what do you know/see/think you know about this person) - some women I've used: Sonia Sotomayor, Angela Davis, Malala Yousafzai, Helen Keller, Rebecca Walker, Alice Paul, bell hooks, Sojourner Truth, Sacagawea, Marie Curie, Audre Lorde, Elizabeth I, Felisa Rincon de Gautier, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Mother Theresa, Serena Williams, Mary Wollstonecraft- but I'd love suggestions for more (particularly women of underrepresented backgrounds)
- VOCAB: feminism, philosopher
DAY 3: Overview of content in unit
- Timeline of important feminist events: groups paraphrase excerpts & assemble in chronological order as a class (I haven't made a list of events to use yet)
- Discussion: Students rate each achievement (by largest impact/lasting effect) - share out & discuss why certain events were chosen (are there similarities?)
- VOCAB: suffrage, amendment
- Possible HW: excerpt from Sisterhood, Interrupted (p. 15-16) - discusses legislation & waves (the author notes it is not all inclusive)
DAY 4: Primary Sources
- Speech: Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?"
- Quotes: "8 Sexist Quotes by Powerful People" - highlights the modern barriers to women's equality
- Statistics: charts, graphs, tables from Social Inequality in a Global Age (I have an older version)
DAY 5: Discussion - "Herstory"
- Questions: How is history traditionally taught? How does the word "history" reflect gendered values of what is important? How is this problematic? What larger impacts does such instruction (or lack of instruction) have on our society? How does the language we use (e.g. word choice) impact the [perceived] value of individuals?
- Text: there's a Gender Inequality Ranking in The Guys' Guide to Feminism - similar to this chart
- Possible HW: I may split up the HW from Day 3 & use the waves section for tonight's assignment
DAY 6: "First Wave"
- Discussion: What do you think about the analogy of waves used to describe the women's movement? How might this be problematic? Is there a better analogy?
- Text: Declaration of Sentiments (excerpts)
- Activity: Collaborative annotating (this page explains the process & includes an image as well as possible adaptations)
- VOCAB: inalienable, monopoly
DAYS 7-9: Film - Iron Jawed Angels
- Video: students watch film, looking for examples of inequality, activist strategies, & accomplishments (encourage them to create an organizer in their notebook that makes sense to them to help - model 1-2 examples) - the organizer I've used is attached to the bottom of this post (on the 1st page is a HW assignment I had them do on Margaret Sanger)
- Discussion: this site has several discussion questions & also clarifies historical accuracies and exaggerations
- Extension Activities: this document has a bunch of ideas if you have time to go further into this topic
- VOCAB: suffrage (DOES NOT mean to suffer), legislation
DAY 10: "Second Wave"
- Texts: excerpts from my college feminist theory textbook including ostracized groups who offer critiques of this wave - I like to use: Betty Freidan, Redstockings Manifesto, Pauli Murray, RADICALESBIANS, Combahee River Collective
- Text: Equal Rights Amendment (the map on the linked page is nice too)
- Photos: protest of Miss America Pageant (1 & 2), Ms. magazine cover, headlines & images from Stonewall riots
- Activity: stations or jigsaw
- Discussion: How would you describe the 2nd wave? Why was the title "Ms." important? What do the critics of the 2nd wave say? Have we fixed the issues of the 2nd wave? Why hasn't the ERA been ratified yet? Have you ever learned about any of these events? Why?
- VOCAB: riot, ratify
DAY 11: "Third Wave"
- Texts: more excerpts from my feminist theory textbook - Audre Lorde, bell hooks
- Video: slam poems from J. F. Seary and Patricia Smith (first video on the link showcasing 12 Black female poets)
- Images: "reclaimed" words used in magazine & book titles, SlutWalks
- Image: inclusive gender bathrooms
- Discussion: How does this "wave" differ from the last one? How do you feel about "reclaiming" words? How might this be problematic? Why do we divide bathrooms by gender? Why is there an opposition to gender neutral bathrooms?
- VOCAB: reclaim, gender binary
DAY 12: Social Media & Feminism
- Videos: HS students declare themselves feminists, so does this guy, Beyoncé uses the term in her VMA performance
- Video: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED Talk, "We should all be feminists"
- Discussion: Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why? Why do people reject the term feminist? How does the mainstream media portray feminism (or does it)? What does the future look like for feminism?
DAY 13: Discussion - Answer the Essential Question
- EQ: What activist strategies have been historically effective?
- Guiding questions: How will we know when gender equality has been achieved? Are women in the US equal to men? Why is it important to study women's history (& Black history, LGBTQI history, all identities' histories)? Should we rename the term "history"? Why have women been historically excluded from political roles? How is women's involvement in politics limited by gendered societal expectations? How has the oppression of women led to unintended (or maybe intended) consequences for the nation as a whole?
- HW: students answer the EQ in writing
DAY 14: Introduce Project - Analytical Research Paper
- TASK: Choose one activist strategy (used over several movements) OR one movement (detailing the variety of activist strategies used) - discuss what achievements the group demanded and what was accomplished (e.g. legislation)
- Models - I have no student models for this project yet, as this is the first year I'll be assigning this project
DAYS 15-17: Students work on project - conducting additional research
- Powerpoint: I created one (see file at the bottom of this post) to help students cite sources - I will be revising this one for sure, but just for an idea, I'll post it)
- Guided notes: I usually create an organizer for their notes, but modeling examples & having students create their own would be even better!
DAY 18: Students work on project - outlining ideas
DAYS 19-21: Students work on project - write paper
DAY 22: Students work on project - Works Cited page
DAY 23: Students work on project - edits
DAY 24: Students present projects
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Implementing Activism Unit (Unit 5)
This last unit will require students to use everything they've learned in the course to complete a final project with the goal of changing one or more gendered issues in their communities. In addition to creating the final project, students must also implement the activist strategy. (For example, if they write a socially conscious children's book, they must then read it to a group of children.) Students must be able to explain why they chose a particular gendered issue by citing research conducted in the community as well as general data and statistics on the topic. They must also speak to their chosen activist strategy by citing examples of its success (or its limited/incorrect use) in the past. One of the major texts I draw on for this unit is Revolutionizing Education by Julio Cammarota and Michelle Fine.
Estimated Time of Unit: 5 weeks
EQ: What is the best way to create social change?
Project: Participatory Action Research (PAR) project
DAY 1: Hook Lesson
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
DAY 3: Overview of content in unit
DAY 4: Text - excerpts from from Revolutionizing Education
DAY 5: Discussion - in project groups (group work should continue)
DAY 6: Activist Strategy - Music Videos
DAY 7: Activist Strategy - Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
DAY 8: Activist Strategy - Social Media
DAY 9: Activist Strategy - Civil Disobedience
DAY 10: Activist Strategy - Legislation
DAY 11: Activist Strategy - Arts
DAY 12: Educate
DAY 13: Create a product
DAY 14: Discussion - in project groups (group work should continue)
DAY 15: Introduce Project Expectations
DAYS 16-22: Students work on projects in groups
DAY 23: Implement project
DAY 24: Discussion - Whole Class
EQ: What is the best way to create social change?
Project: Participatory Action Research (PAR) project
DAY 1: Hook Lesson
- Texts: Socially conscious children's books (I like: A is for Activist, Jacob's New Dress, The Paper Bag Princess, When Kayla Was Kyle, If the World Were a Village)
DAY 2: Review of what students already know
- Activity: write-around brainstorm - in groups, students pass large papers/posters around the class, spending about 2 minutes writing their group's answers to the question at the top of each paper/poster & then passing to the next group
- Questions: 1) What are the issues that directly affect our communities? 2) How can we conduct research in our communities? (i.e. What methods can we use to figure out what's important to the people in our communities?) 3) What activist strategies would be most effective in creating change in our communities?
DAY 3: Overview of content in unit
- Guest speaker(s): PAR panel (I don't have anyone for this, but it would very cool to get academics and HS students)
- HW: What is participatory action research?
DAY 4: Text - excerpts from from Revolutionizing Education
- Quotes: divided into sections - What is it?/Theorists/Methods of data collection (see file at the bottom of this post)
- Model: short explanations of each possible research method (students ask questions as needed) - observation journal, survey, interview, archival research, focus group, opinion poll, cold call, mapping
- Note: If you have more time, you can do case studies of research/data collection strategies as well as each of the activist strategy days. I know I won't have that much time.
DAY 5: Discussion - in project groups (group work should continue)
- Tasks: create decision-making norms, select research methods, create problem tree
DAY 6: Activist Strategy - Music Videos
- Models: Shakira's "Waka Waka", Beyoncé's "Move Your Body", Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's "Same Love"
- Group work: students to take notes on activist strategy presented & begin work on research materials (e.g. creating surveys or interview questions)
DAY 7: Activist Strategy - Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
- Models: It Gets Better, KONI2012, "You Don't Say", "Dekh Le" (an Indian PSA), 40 Powerful Social Issue Ads, Tough Day (on homelessness), Feminist HS Boys' video
- Group work: students to take notes on activist strategy presented & continue work on research materials (e.g. creating surveys or interview questions)
DAY 8: Activist Strategy - Social Media
- Models: hashtags - #YesAllWomen, #IStandwithGaza (including celebrities - see 1 & 2), #BringBackourGirls, #JusticeforTrayvon, #Ferguson, #ALSIceBucketChallenge
- Text: "Hashtag activism" article
- Group work: students continue research work
DAY 9: Activist Strategy - Civil Disobedience
- Models: The Square (about the Egyptian Revolution, currently on Netflix), burning passbooks in South Africa, India's Salt March, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Irish Hunger Strike 1981, "No-No Boys", Occupy Wall Street, student walkout (this one is in protest of anti-immigrant bill HR4437), Boycott Israel, Boycott/Rebrand Abercrombie, die-in
- Group work: students continue research work
DAY 10: Activist Strategy - Legislation
- Models: Amnesty International letter writing campaign, Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act (HR3583) (Malala interview here), Planned Parenthood petitions
- Group work: students continue research work
DAY 11: Activist Strategy - Arts
- Models: poetry, political cartoon, theater of the oppressed, street art, quilt
- Guest Speaker: Bonita Jackson - the extremely talented writer, director, & sole performer of Fleeting Dreams from a Nightmare's Reality (she does traveling performances, invite her to your school!)
DAY 12: Educate
- Models: read children's book to younger students (see examples in Day 1), tabling/handouts, poster campaign (& response article to ensuring the message is a good one), student blog, documentary, Youtube video, Take Back the Night (in addition to education, it empowers survivors)
- Group work: students continue research work
DAY 13: Create a product
- Models: shoes, sports equipment, sweatshop-free clothes, disaster-relief oragami, women-made jewelry, real-proportioned doll, health awareness products (also discuss how it's problematic), urination accessory, comedic news, socially conscious media (TV show/movie/ad campaign)
- Group work: students continue research work
DAY 14: Discussion - in project groups (group work should continue)
- Task: select an activist strategy, make a plan to implement it, assign group roles
- Guiding Questions: [EQ:] What is the best way to create social change? (i.e. What is the most effective method of activism?)
DAY 15: Introduce Project Expectations
- Models: several (variations) highlighted in Revolutionizing Education book, sample sections of research report provided (in the book) - 1) introduction of problem & significance 2) methods/assessment tools 3) substantiative analysis 4) analysis of the process 5) politics of implementation 6) appendix (assessment tools)
DAYS 16-22: Students work on projects in groups
- Daily: group presents to class & gets feedback
DAY 23: Implement project
DAY 24: Discussion - Whole Class
- Groups: present research reports & share research experience
- Individually: students write reflection on PAR project
participatory_action_research_quotes.docx | |
File Size: | 144 kb |
File Type: | docx |
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