Language+Arts

Lesson Ideas...

1. Define IDENTITY -collage on Who am I?

2. Book Study- My Name is Not Alexander by Jennifer Fosberry Elmer by David McKee A Color of HIs Own by Leo Lionni Angelou, Maya I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Dickens, Charles Great Expectations Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man Gardner, John Grendel Gibbon, Kaye Ellen Foster Gordon, Mary Final Payments Guest, Judith Ordinary People Hamilton, Virginia Bluish Hebert, Ernest The Dogs of March Hemingway, Ernest A Farewell to Arms Hesse, Karen Phoenix Rising Hoffman, Eva Lost in Translation Kincaid, Jamaica Lucy Kingston, Maxine Hong No Name Woman Knowles, John A Separate Peace Malamud, Bernard The Tenants Mason, Bobbie Ann In Country Morrison, Toni The Bluest Eye Mukherjee, Bharati Jasmine Potok, Chaim My Name is Asher Smith Santiago, Esmerelda Almost a Woman Shaw, George Bernard Pygmalion Silko ,Leslie Marmon Ceremony Tan, Amy The Joy Luck Club “Identity” by Julio Noboa Polanco “Fishcheeks” by Amy Tan “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker 3. What's your story? A creative writing project in which students designed a 3 dimensional object reflecting all of their heritages along with a story of how it came to be.
 * Picture Books**
 * Novels**
 * Other**

4. The student will write a personal narrative describing an autobiographical incident that was significant in the formation of their personal identity. The student will give background information about him/herself prior to the incident, describe the incident and explain clearly how the event shaped who he/she is today. The student will also describe the influential factors involved in the incident (i.e. societal, familial, geographical, etc.) and how this impacted the student’s life afterward. The personal narrative should be two- three pages long.

5. Who am I? Portfolio


 * Curriculum Map **


 * Day 1 and 2: Introductory Activity: Collage**

Essential Questions: Who are you? Where did you come from?

Skills: Students will begin to think about what represents them. Students will recognize that the things they choose are open to interpretation. Students will write a 1-2 page reflection of their collage- why they chose the objects to represent themselves and how it explains who they are.

Standards: CC.8.W.7 Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.CC.8.SL.5 Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

Assessments: 1-2 page reflection. Questionnaire (handout)- What three words would you chose to best describe yourself? What three words would your family and friends use to describe you? How accurate are other’s descriptions of you? What three words do you want to use to describe yourself 10 years from now?

Suggested Activities: Group discussions to develop a sense of who they are as an individual. Independent work to allow multiple avenues of exploration on the topic.

Materials/Resources: Magazines, glue, newspapers, computer, pencils, crayons, markers, paint.


 * Day 3: What is Identity?**

Essential Questions: Who am I? What defines me? How do I define others? How am I open to interpretation? How does the way I define myself affect how I see others?

Skills: Students will begin to develop a deeper meaning of who they are as individuals and how to identify identity. Students will produce a biopoem on themselves and present it to the class.

Standards: 8W10CC.8.W.10 Range of Writing: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. CC.8.SL.1 Comprehension and Collaboration: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Assessments: Biopoem

Suggested Activities: Students brainstorm to develop ideas for their biopoem.

Materials/Resources: Biopoem worksheet, biopoem template.

[|**http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/strategies/biopoem-connecting-identity-p**]


 * Day 4 and Day 5: Heritage**

Essential Questions: What are the elements of life that define culture? Where did you come from?

Skills: Students will use a template that encourages exploration of their cultural heritage. Students will practice reading aloud their poems through oral presentations. Students will make a 3-dimentional-object reflection all of their heritages. Students will write a story of how their heritage came to be.

Standards: 8W3.eCC.8.W.3.e Text Types and Purposes: Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. CC.8.SL.1 Comprehension and Collaboration: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.CC.8.SL.5 Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

Assessments: Rubric for poem, 3-dimentional-object and story.

Suggested Activities: Read aloud poem “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon. Complete “I Am From” Poem Template. Share poems with the class. Students will interview a family member about personal and cultural heritage.

Materials/Resources: Copies of “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon, “I Am From” poem template,

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 * Day 6 and Day 7: Book Study**

Essential Questions: How can we relate //identity// from picture books and novels to our experiences? How can we apply our prior knowledge to analyze the elements of a characters identity?

Skills: Students will gain knowledge by defining the concepts of identity, stereotypes, and discrimination. Students will apply this knowledge by identifying examples of these concepts in stories and real life. Students will practice analysis by identifying elements of characters’ identity; by looking at stereotypes and why people hold them; and by speculating on what some of the causes of discrimination are. Students will practice working collaboratively as a class to discuss texts. Students will practice summarizing using a variety of writing strategies. Texts-to-self, text-to-work, text-to-text.

Standards: CC.8.R.L.10 Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. CC.8.R.I.2 Key Ideas and Details: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text. CC.8.R.I.3 Key Ideas and Details: Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events. CC.8.R.I.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.

Assessments: Students will make a Wiki or Prezi comparing the books to each other and to their own life experiences.

Suggested Activities: Students will work collaboratively as a class to discuss texts. Students will produce material that compares and contrasts their life experiences to the characters in the book.

Materials/Resources: //I Can Hear the Sun// by Patricia Polacco, //The Secret Footprints// by Julia Alvarez, //The Woman Who Outshone the Sun// from a poem by Alejandro Cruz Martinez, paper, markers, computers

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[|http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/using-picture-books-explore-952.html?tab=4#tabs]


 * Day 8: How do others define our Identity?**

Essential Questions: What is the relationship between the individual and society? How do we identify with labels we are given by others?

Skills: Students will explore the relationship between the individual and society by looking at how their own identities are influenced by others. Students will be able to recognize how their own identity has been defined by others.

Standards: CC.8.R.I.3 Key Ideas and Details: Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, idea, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

Assessments: Various prompts to guide students’ writing.

Suggested Activities: Independent work to fill out handouts. Read aloud.

Materials/Resources: //The Bear That Wasn’t// by Frank Tashlin//,// Various prompts to help with writing, Excerpt from //Farwell to Manzanar// by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, storyboard, Identity Chart,

[|**http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/lessons/identity-community-lesson-3**]


 * Day 9: Personal Narrative**

Essential Questions: Has there been an experience in your life that has shaped your identity today?

Skills: -Students will write a personal narrative describing an autobiographical incident that was significant in the formation of their personal identity. The student will give background information about him/herself prior to the incident, describe the incident and explain clearly how the event shaped who he/she is today. The student will also describe the influential factors involved in the incident (i.e. societal, familial, geographical, etc.) and how this impacted the student’s life afterward. The personal narrative should be 2 to 3 pages long.

Standards: CC.8.W.1.d Text Types and Purposes: Establish and maintain a formal style.CC.8.W.3 Text Types and Purposes: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Assessments: Rubric for personal narrative.

Suggested Activities: Students will think critically to develop an autobiographical incident that was significant in the formation of their personal identity.

Materials/Resources: Prior writings and works to help them develop a narrative.


 * Day 10: Walk through of all Projects**

Essential Questions: What have you learning about identity? Was your perception of who you are different from now then from the beginning of the unit?

Skills: Students will reflect on the unit. Students will fill out a reflection on the unit. Students will evaluate fellow classmates work-has this unit changed the way they look at students in their class?

Standards: 8SL1.cCC.8.SL.1.c Comprehension and Collaboration: Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.

Assessments: Reflection. Evaluation of classmates work.

Suggested Activities: Class discussion to reflect on the unit. Walk-through to present the projects.

Materials/Resources: All projects displayed and ready for reflection.


 * If necessary include What Aspects of Our Identities Do We Show to Others? Lesson. []


 * Varied activities
 * Differentiated instruction
 * Varied assessments
 * Objectives