Below are the resources, topics, & general overview for my identity unit, which will be my first unit in my year-long Gender Studies class, starting this fall! *Just to note, this is a very rough outline of all possible ideas. I plan to post what resources I do use in the classroom along with details of how I taught lessons and how students responded. Particularly because unearned privilege accompanies many axes of my identity, I am not an expert in many of these areas. Therefore, additional resources, comments, etc. (especially those who are speaking from lived experiences) are greatly appreciated. I'm hoping this will be a space for sharing resources and pedagogical ideas as well as thoughtful, feminist discussion. All too often, teachers keep their brilliant ideas quiet, but if we ever want a high school gender studies course to be the norm and not the exception, we have to begin sharing our stuff! 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: 6 weeks 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: journal response/recipe of identity (pre-assessment) - 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 Discussion Question: Just because we've always done it this way, does that make it right? - 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!) Questions to consider/answer: How do you fix on the matrix? How are your life experiences impacted by your identity? 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 - Sandra Cisnero's "My Name" from House on Mango Street - students write their own? - Willie Perdomo's "Where I'm From" - students write their own using template - VOCAB: axes, intersectionality, emotions (poster of descriptive emotions like here) DAY 5: Discussion - 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? - 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 *Article: "How to Talk With Your Sons About Robin Thicke" (as HW?) *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 DAYS 12 & 13: 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 14 & 15: 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 16 & 17: 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 DAYS 18 & 19: 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 DAYS 20 & 21: 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 22: 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 23: 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 24: Students work on projects - Guided DAYS 25-28: Students work on projects - Independent DAYS 29-30: Students present projects! - As noted, I'll post rubrics, etc. as I complete the unit, but suggestions are welcome!
2 Comments
Sara Glennon
8/27/2014 02:42:35 am
Great ideas, Lindsay! This led me to some resources I was not aware of. Thanks!!!
Reply
Lindsay
8/27/2014 07:31:31 am
Of course! I'm glad you found them useful!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
teacher, feminist, poet, activist, student, runner, sister, daughter, world-changer Archives
June 2018
|