The Power of Belonging
Students discuss the first half of Bethany Morrow’s short story “As You Were” and create character maps as a way of exploring the character of Ebony’s identity and sense of belonging in her school community.
Finding One's Voice
Through continued reflection on the short story “As You Were,” students consider the factors that impact power and agency in moments of decision-making and explore the possibilities and limitations of justice and reconciliation.
Brave Girl Rising: A Refugee Story
Created in partnership with Girl Rising, this lesson invites students to engage with the story of a young refugee and to consider the power of storytelling to spark empathy.
Reflecting on the Danger of Silence
Students use Clint Smith’s talk “The Danger of Silence” to create “blackout poems” that express their ideas for how they can use their voices to empower themselves and others.
Summative Assessment: Agency and Action in the World Today
Create a culminating experience for your students where they identify and explain an example of individual or collective agency in the world today that inspires them.
What Is “Normal”?
Through quote and poetry analysis, students will consider the ways in which our desire to fit in can impact our identities and the choices we make.
How Do Others See Me?
Students will define key concepts and discuss the impact that labels, assumptions, and stereotypes have on their identity development.
Feeling Seen: A Matter of Perspective
Students will engage in perspective-taking activities to consider what it means to belong and how experiences and interactions with others can shape our identities.
Finding Belonging in the World
“Students create “pearls of wisdom” and consider the value of forming relationships that help us feel seen and secure in our sense of belonging.
Making Myself Proud
Students will read and analyze a poem that focuses on what it means to practice celebrating identity, both by loving who you are and by imagining who you can be.
Being Seen: Becoming Who You Want to Be Assessment Ideas
Create a culminating experience for your students that helps them draw new connections between the concepts and ideas presented in this text set, themselves, and the world today.