Sarah Thompson No Title
Developed by Sarah Thompson
Wright Brothers Middle School (DPS)
English/Language Arts
Grade Level: 8th
Introduction
The subject of identity permeated Muse Machine’s Advanced Teacher Training Seminar in 2018. This theme provided inspiration for all the participants but was particularly evident in the lesson plan of Sarah Thompson from Wright Brothers Middle School in Dayton. She challenged her students to understand the power of photographs and the stories they tell about a person’s identity, be they true or false. Things are not always what they seem, an axiom which middle-schoolers wrestle with both personally and academically. Students seem have taken to heart the idea that they have more in common with each other than they expected because of this creative lesson.
Click here to view/download this lesson plan as a PDFInspiration
I took inspiration from a variety of sessions at the Advanced Teacher Training Seminar that focused on the idea of identity, particularly the themes appearing in Three Tall Women and The Iceman Cometh. I also was inspired by the session with Michelle V. Agins, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer from the New York Times, and how she overcame obstacles and strife in her life to reach her ultimate dreams. All pieces had the idea of telling your story and what story you want to be told about your life. This will be reflected in the student-generated “river stories,” an activity adapted from Summer Institute 2016.
Overview
Summary
In this lesson, students will open with a bell ringer of a picture of a stereotyped person in society, inspired by photographer Joel Pares. They will be asked to identify an adjective to describe these images, and then their true identities will be revealed. Next, students will complete a river story and, finally, partner to share their stories with one other person, a group of four and with the whole group.
Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2.b Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3.a Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3.b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Objectives/Outcomes
Written response to the bell ringer images
Students will participate in a quick discussion about the images.
Students will see a model of the teacher’s river story.
Students will create their own identity stories using the river story model.
Students will practice listening strategies of each other’s story, and in turn, share their partner’s story with the whole group.
Teaching Approach
bell ringer, table discussion, whole group discussion, teacher modeling, small group work, partner storytelling, whole group sharing/presentation
Assessment
- Informal check for bell work
- On task points for creating river stories
- Oral presentation points of river stories
Lesson Preparation
Teacher Needs
Joel Pares photograph collection, “Judging America”:
-Daily slides
-Sample river story
-Directions for river story (adapted to suit the needs of the students)
Helpful Hints
This lesson was one of a series about identity, in which students had read some short stories, shared culture and identity circles, and listened to the Ted Talk about the dangers of the single story by novelist Chimamanda Adichie. Students were also told upfront they would be sharing their stories, and it was okay to be honest and genuine, but if events were too private, to not share them or generalize the event on their rivers.
Student Needs
Prior Knowledge
Through the identity unit, a sense of community is built in the class with a variety of activities including discussions of implicit bias, culture, identity, short story readings, journal prompts, a bio poem, and identity inventories. Students are expected to understand that their story is unique, their own, and truthful, and that there is always a way to change the story.
Student Voice
This lesson lends itself to student voice by allowing the students to, in a very raw form, share their own voices in their own stories. The river story allows students to share what they want, and how their own story is told. When students are asked to share their partner’s story, they have to take on a classmate’s voice, and are only graded for the actual sharing.
Vocabulary
identity, culture, bio, bias, implicit bias, stereotype, culture, belonging, narrative, oral storytelling, labels
Evidence/Assessment of Outcomes
Students will present evidence of learning about identity, culture, and telling your own story, as well as demonstrate listening skills, by presenting their partner’s river story to the whole group.
Students, at the end of the larger unit, will also complete a reflection about the identity unit and what they gained from it.
Enduring Understandings
Students should take away a sense of self, identity, an idea of what their story has been and what it can be, the universal theme of coming of age and belonging, which will be explored in upcoming literature selections, and a connection to their peers. Students will understand that they have more in common than they do different, and that every story is worth telling. This will also build into their first major writing assignment, the personal narrative, which will serve as one piece of several for a larger multi-genre unit culminating in the spring quarter.
Learning Plan
Prompt
Look at (selected) images by Joel Pares. Describe these three individuals. What do they look like? What do they do? What is their story? How does society perceive them?
Hooks
Show students the photography collection from Joel Pares, revealing the true identities of the subjects. Have students discuss why they wrote what they did, share out their thoughts, and answer guiding questions in the discussion such as, “Why did you label them the way you did? What do looks say about a person? What stereotypes are known about these particular people? What labels would others give you?”
Essential Questions
What is identity? Who defines a story? What is the true story? How will you tell your story?
Resources
Short story by Sherman Alexie, “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”
Ted Talk by novelist Chimamanda Adichie, “The Dangers of the Single Story”
Teacher and Student Performance Tasks
Final Review
Evidence of learning will be informally measured in the presentation of the story and formally measured in the reflection that follows the activities. Students will be asked to respond to what they learned, what identity is, why your own personal story is important and answer what defines who you are. While these responses are subjective in nature, they are an integral part of building classroom community and having students build awareness of their own identity, culture, sense of belonging, and self-worth.
Lesson Reflection
Students will answer a series of guided reflection questions rating the identity unit as a whole and asking for feedback on the value of the river story.
After having taught the lesson, it was noted from student observations that they needed more examples and guidance of how they could use their 13 – 15 years of experience and turn it into more of a story. Students also reflected on how the unit made them feel that they could discuss any topic in the classroom.
One student, who wears a hijab, reflected that she always feels she must be extra nice and sweet because she fears others will think she is angry and a terrorist.
Another student who is originally from an African country, shared in her reflection that people always assume she learned English in America and wasn’t up to date on American pop culture, when in fact, she spoke English as a first language and knew quite a good deal about pop culture in the US.
These reflections were used to shape the theme of later units in the year, including a unit on feminism and toxic masculinity, social injustice, and storytelling.