Back to School: Building Community for Connection and Learning
These back-to-school activities and teacher resources will help you lay a foundation for a reflective and caring community at the start of the school year.
Power, Agency, and Voice
Designed for students in grades 11-12, this text set includes lesson plans and multi-genre texts for a 1–2 week unit exploring the essential question, "How do I empower myself to speak up and take action on behalf of myself and others?”
Transcending Single Stories
Students reflect on how stereotypes and "single stories" influence our identities, how we view others, and the choices we make.
Understanding Identity
Students consider the question "Who am I?" and identify social and cultural factors that shape identity by reading a short story and creating personal identity charts.
When Differences Matter
Students consider what happens when one aspect of our identity is privileged above others by society.
Step 2: We and They
Students work collaboratively to create illustrated children’s stories that explore issues of conformity and belonging.
Analyzing “Aha” Moments
Students identify pivotal moments when a central character learns something important about themselves, others, and their real or fictional world.
Teaching Black History Month (UK)
On-Demand
Virtual
This one-hour webinar explored how we should engage with Black History Month in a way that acknowledges and celebrates black British history as British history.
Blending In and Standing Out
Students use an excerpt from Sarfraz Manzoor memoir to reflect on identity, belonging, and wanting to feel invisible.
Analyzing Assumptions
Using visual imagery, students identify assumptions in a text and in the real world, consider the consequences of those assumptions, and build awareness of their impact on individuals and the community.