Cheryl A. Canino
How do we help students tell the story of who they are? What definitions of female are they bringing when they come to school? How have they processed these images or definitions? As observers of students, what definitions and/or biases do we bring and use to judge them in our classrooms? Are we objective? At the end of the day, what is the “correct” point of view to project to a classroom of diverse students? Is there an ideal or standard of womanhood that we should inform our students about? This unit aims to provide a framework for exploring the fluid construct of female (gender) and its intersectionality as an instructional strategy supporting ELA discussion and comprehension skills. The unit will utilize a foundational text as a launchpad for a shared literary experience and development academic discussions involving small and whole groups. Applying asset pedagogies, students are expected to communicate about the text/concept of gender that is reflective of a nonwhite cultural point of view. The goal of the unit is to maximize student capital by maximizing how students interact with the text while minimizing student costs by mandating scripted language before discussion protocols are learned.
Keywords: Gender, Critical Race Theory, Latinx/Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), Discussion Literature Analysis, Woman, Identity
(Developed for English Language Arts, grades 7-8, and may be used collaboratively and for high school grades; recommended for English, grade 9)
