Crew activity takes place in 30 minutes schedule. The unit will be taught three times per week
.
Essential questions
: What is Identity? Who are you in relation to others? What or who influences identity
Introductory Activity
:
Who am I? Who am I in relation to others
?
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Students will sit in a circle.
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One of the crew leaders/teachers will hold a card that reads, “Who am I? Who are you?”
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The other crew teacher will hold a card that reads, “How do you identify yourself in relation to others?”
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Students will pass the talking ball and be able to summarize the definition of what identity is and how they identify themselves in relation to others.
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Students will be given a hand trace to put their personal identities on. (five things)-students have an option to draw, write, or cut photos to make a collage of their identity.
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When they complete the activity, crew leaders/teachers will ask students to share their personal identity work.
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The teacher or peers are allowed to ask clarifying questions: what makes up your identity? How is your identity made up: of your relationship with other people, with your community, with your school? How do you think that this influences your behavior, interaction and involvement with your peers? Teachers? Family? Working in groups? Sports?
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Teachers will explain and give the definition of identity: our identity is comprised of a combination of experiences and both internal and external circumstances that help to shape our identity. Identity is made of what we feel, where we come from, and how we identify ourselves in relation to others.
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Teachers will inform students that they we will be reading and discussing literature related to the formation or development of identity during Crew.
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At the end of the unit, students will go back to their first creation of how they identify themselves and reflect on their discovery or growth of their own identity through reading and discussion of identity. Students will share what they have learned about their own identity
Sample Unit Plans
Week One:
Name/Nombres by Julia Alvarez
Day one
:
Greeting: pass the talking stick, say hello (using different languages), and state their name, nickname, how they want to be addressed and share one important or interesting fact about their name or self. Example: “Selam, My name is Ms. Andom and I am from East Africa.” Alex will say, “Hello, I am Ms. Novak and I am an artist” -15 minutes
Introductory activity
Hold the word identity written on an index card. Inform students that there are many ways we identify ourselves: where we are from, our gender, name, race, etc. Today we are going to use a print of our hands and palms to identify ourselves. Give construction paper (choose a color) and direct students to trace their hands and cut it out: 10 minutes
Clean up and closure-5 minutes
Day two
:
Sit in circle, greet, and state name and pass their handprints. Remind students that today we will write five different ways we identify ourselves in our handprint. Show them my example: I am African, I am a mother, I like to travel, I am a teacher, and I am vegetarian- 5-minutes
Students will write or draw their personal identity on each finger and in the palm of their hand. Students will be given an option to personalize their work. For example, they can use pictures or cut out items from magazines-20 minutes.
When students finish 4, Crew leaders will ask students to share their personal identity of their finished product:
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What makes your identity?
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How is your identity defined in relation to other people?
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How does this influence your participation, involvement, or your socialization in the school community?
Closure: 5 minutes
Students will write in response in their journals: their discussion of identity, and their experience of creating their own identity, using five examples.
Day three:
Sit in a circle and greet each other. State one thing they put in their work yesterday that identifies them-10 minutes
Teachers will explain that our identity is comprised of many things, including who we are in relation to others. In addition, the teacher will inform students that we are going to read multiple literary works related to the idea of identity. We will have a discussion and write a reaction or a response to the texts we read as well as the discussions.-15 minutes
Students will display the hand print collages on the classroom bulletin board-5 minutes
Week two
Essential Equations
What relation does a name have to a person’s identity?
What is the main idea of the text, “Name/Nombres?”
What was the central theme of the text? What was the author’s purpose?
Lesson objective
Students will be able to understand that a name is closely connected to how a person identifies him/her self.
Students will be able to identify the main idea of the text.
Students will be able to identify the theme of the text.
Day 1
:
Students and teachers will sit in a circle and greet each other-5 minutes
Activity
Read aloud “
Name/Nombres
” by Julia Alvarez-15 minutes
What is the main idea of the text? Discussion
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5 minutes
Closure
Journal writing: write a reaction to the story- 5 Minutes
Day 2
Students and teachers will sit in a circle and share how they got their names-5 minutes
Review the main idea of the book, “Name/Nombers” by Julia Alvarez
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3 minutes
Share what the relationship was between Julia’s name and her identity? Provide evidence from the text to their responses.
Closure
Journal writing: why is a name important? Do you have a connection to this story? How does her reaction to her name make you feel?-10 minutes
Share journal response -5 minutes
Day 3
Sit and greet
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5 minutes
Identify the author’s purpose and the messages learned
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25 minutes
Teachers will explain that the author may have a different purpose for writing, for example, to entertain readers, to express an idea or feeling, to explain or to provide information or to persuade. Students will be able to identify the author’s purpose and provide evidence.
After a brief discussion and sharing regarding Julia Alvarez’s purpose for writing her story, students will use the following graphic organizer to demonstrate that they can identify the author’s purpose and the message (lesson learned)-
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What is the problem in the text?
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How is the problem solved?
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What message does Julia Alvarez learn?
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What message can we learn from the story?
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