An extension activity, related to this follow-up discussion, might include a discussion about what forms a community and having students complete a Universe of Obligation chart.²³
Teachers can define “community” with students, noting “Communities are distinguished from groups by the fact that they share a common interest, background, or purpose that gives them a sense of cohesion. Although any collection of people can be called a group, not all groups can be called communities.”²⁴ Further explanation may include, “Throughout history, groups of people have formed communities to increase their chances of survival. They may have shared an interest in providing food for their families, so they joined with others to hunt or farm. Or they may have formed a community to protect themselves from other groups that wanted their resources. Often, people shared a common interest, such as a religion, which gave them a sense of community. Members of a community typically feel a sense of responsibility to one another.”²⁴
As students explore the meaning of community, they will reflect on how their class is a community with a shared purpose in promoting the learning and achievement of all its members.²⁴ The explicit designation of the class as a community can build the sense that students are responsible not only for their own learning, but for nurturing the learning of their classmates as well. Because groups of people come together in a school for a specific purpose—to learn—this gives them a sense of community.
To do this, students engage in a “four corners discussion” to help them express their opinions. How it works:
- The teacher labels the four corners of the room with signs: “Strongly Agree,” “Agree,” “Disagree,” and “Strongly Disagree.”
- Students are given a specific statement to which they respond by standing in the corner that best represents their opinion. Providing some quiet time for students to respond in writing before they have to move reduces the likelihood that they will simply follow a classmate to a particular corner.
- When all students have moved to a corner, ask a representative from each corner to explain their opinion.
- After someone from each corner has explained their opinion, facilitate a discussion among students from all corners, encouraging them to ask each other questions and to challenge each other’s ideas. Inform students that it is perfectly acceptable for their opinions to change as they listen to the arguments presented by their classmates. Tell them that they can switch corners at any time to reflect their revised opinions.
Below are prompts you can use for this activity: (Note: Before students respond to these prompts, remind them that there are no right or wrong answers. They should respond based on their own opinions.)
- Communities should only include people who are friends and who like each other.
- Communities are sometimes made up of people who are not working toward a common goal.
- Members of a community feel responsible to one another.
- Communities are a kind of group. But not all groups are communities.
- Our classroom is a community.
- A community has certain rules about membership. Not everyone can belong; some people must be excluded in order for a community to exist.
Finally, as either a homework assignment or exit ticket, students may complete one final journal reflection answering any of the following questions:
- Write your own definition of community. Based on your definition, write a list of the communities to which you belong.
- Extra credit: Pick two of these communities and answer any of the following questions for each: What do you have in common with other members of the community? What responsibilities or obligations does membership involve? Who is not part of the community? Why?
- “What makes a group a community?”
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The next two lessons can be taught succinctly in order with the lessons outlined above. They can also be taught directly after the identity chart lesson. The identity chart lesson and these next two-- The Bear That Wasn’t and The Danger of a Single Story-- are really the three essential lessons leading up to the investigation of how labels impact Hispanic communities in the United States, in congruence with the shadow of eugenics.
