The Bushwick School for Social Justice



HALA 9th Grade Advisory

Unit 1: IDENTITY (and Building Group Dynamics)

Advisory Background:

The format that might be helpful for advisory is greeting, share/check-in, activity and news and announcements. This is an attempt to create more structure in advisory and help us better know our students.

The following sections make up advisory:

⇨ The purpose of the greeting is to make sure that each day we acknowledge one another. The greeting is one way to briefly help us not only learn names but also really greet each other.

⇨ The purpose of share/check-in is to get the students talking and expressing themselves around pertinent topics. This can be done as a go around or in journals and then you can popcorn for a few responses. It is designed to allow students space to be heard. If students choose to "PASS," they must write their response to the question in their Advisory Journal.

⇨ The purpose of activity is to get students moving around mentally and physically. The activities are often "fun" and again allow students space to share who they are in non-traditional ways. It also is a time for readings, or activities that get students to think about the given theme or topic.

⇨ The purpose of news and announcements section is to get information out to students about school wide events and also about events happening in advisory. It is a good time to get students to share about things happening outside of school, birthdays, anniversaries etc.

Lesson Overview: _________________________________________

Identity Part I.

Lesson #l: Introduction to Advisory

Lesson #2: Who Are We? (Part l)

Lesson #3: Who Are We? (Part ll)

Lesson #4: How Can We Work as a Team?

Lesson #5: Do We Really Know Ourselves in this Advisory? (Part l)

Lesson #6: Do We Really Know Ourselves in this Advisory? (Part ll)

Lesson #7 : Who Am l?

Lesson #8: “I Am” Poem

Lesson # 9: Personal Playlist Project Due 10/7/11

Identity Part II. (incorporates Bullying curriculum)

Lesson #10: Voice and Identity

Lesson # 11: Introduction to Bullying/Student Survey/Statistics

Lesson # 12: Real Life Bullying Reflections (recommended that you do all scenarios)

Lesson # 13: Name calling in Our School

Lesson # 14: Video—“Bullied” or “Stop Bullying… Take a Stand”

Lesson # 14: Don’t Just Stand By

Lesson # 15: Role Playing/S.A.F.E. Skit Project (due November 4th or 7th; assembly)

Lesson #16: Banner Project No assembly, due Friday 11/18

Lesson # 17: Letter to Myself Due 11/22

Culminating Projects:

• Personal Playlist

• Bullying Skit

• Banner Project

• Letter to Myself

Lesson # 1: Introduction to Advisory

Guiding Question: What is Advisory?

This lesson is at the teacher’s discretion. You may want to read the Background on Identity and choose a few ice breakers from the Advisory Toolbox.

Lesson #2: Who Are We? (Part l)

Guiding Question: Who are the students in this advisory?

Materials Needed:

Index Cards for each student

Copies of Lesson #l Handout student interviews for each student.

Greeting: Name Matching Exercise

Explain to students that the first two advisory/lessons for this year will be focused on making students part of the advisory by doing activities that allow students to get to know each other better.

On an index card, ask each student to write ONE WORD that begins with the first letter (or sound) of their first name that reflects something about themselves (ex: Luis -laughing, Selena -serious). In a circle, ask everyone to show their card and say their name, the word and the connection they have to the word they chose (why they put this word down). Collect all cards, they will be redistributed for use in Lesson 3, where students will use the back of the card.

Extension: Ask everyone to toss their card into the circle. Keeping time, ask for a volunteer to see how fast they can return the correct card to the person who wrote it. Do this a number of times to see if successive advisees can beat the previous time.

Sharing Question:

In a circle, go around and elicit a brief response from each student about the following question:

What is one thing you liked or disliked about your summer?

Activity: 60-Second interviews

Use the attached interview sheet and pair students up by having them count off (if you have 20, then count to l0 two times. lf there are an odd number of students, the teacher can be part of the exercise. Ask each pair to choose one question that interests both of them. Have them interview each other: and jot down their partner's name and something they want to remember that their partner said. Give pairs 60 seconds and then have them each find a new partner. Do this a few times. Afterwards, ask each student to say one new thing that they learned about their advisory team members.

News and Announcements:

Announce relevant school announcements & also ask students if they have any personal announcements (a birth in the family, a winning game, etc).

60-Second Interview Sheet

Lesson #1 Handout

Your Name:

Directions: With your partner, choose a question that looks interesting to both of you, (does not have to be the same question). Interview each other and jot down their partner's name and something you want to remember that your partner said. When you finish (or when your 60-seconds are up), find a new partner and interview your new partner. Switch and do it again. When this activity is over, you will have to say something you learned about your advisory!

Describe your family. What is something funny, weird, unusual or special about one person in your family?

Partner's Name:

What's-one place you would like to visit in your lifetime? Why do you want to go there?

Partner's Name:

What's your favorite TV show and why do you like to watch this show?

Partner's Name:

lf you had to eat the same meal everyday for a month, what would it be?

Partner’s Name:

What's one thing you would like to change about your neighborhood that would make it a better place to live?

Partner's Name:

What worries you the most about the world you live in today?

Partner's Name:

Name one thing you could teach someone how to make or how to do.

Partner's Name:

What's your favorite holiday of the year? What makes this holiday your favorite?

Partner's Name:

Lesson #3: Who Are We (Part II)

Guiding Question: Who are the students in this advisory?

Materials Needed:

Copies of Lesson #3 Handout: What do we have in common? for each student.

Blank copy paper or Index Cards for each student

Markers/Crayons/Colored Pencils

Greeting: Name, Hobby, Motion Chant

Going around the circle, each person says their name and one of their hobbies and does a motion that represents that hobby.

The rest of the group then repeats the name, hobby and motion 3 times.

Sharing Question: What do we have in common?

Give each student the Lesson #3 Handout: What Do We Hove in Common? Then pair students by asking them to count off to a certain number, then repeat and have students with the same number work together (if you have 20 students, ask students to count off to l0 twice. lf there are an odd number of students, include yourself in the exercise). Ask each pair to write down all the similarities they can think of (physical characteristics, family stuff, things they both do, possessions they both own, etc) on the attached sheet. Then ask students to pair up two more times, repeating the process. At the end of the activity ask, "What surprised you about what you discovered you had in common with someone else? How many similarities did you find the first time? The last time? Did it get easier for anyone? Why might that be?"

Point out that if we are having trouble working together in advisory during the year, it's especially important to remember what we have in common.

Activity: Personal Identity Cards

Redistribute index cards to each student along with pens/markers. Ask them to create an ID card on the back of the index cards from the previous day. On their ID card they can self-identify using various descriptors: country of origin, race and ethnicity, gender, favorite colors, seasons, music groups, sports stars, products, etc. (It's best if the teacher can prepare his/her own beforehand as a model). Students can use words or drawings. Afterwards, ask each student to share their card with the rest of the class. Then make a collage of the cards on your wall.

News and Announcements

Announce relevant school announcements & also ask students if they have any personal announcements (a birth in the family, a winning game, etc).

Alternative:

Mandala (uses symbols instead of words) as alternative to creating a personal identity card (with words)

Have prompts—they move if it applies to them (i.e. “I have someone to talk to when I’m angry”) Truly you, step forward if…

What Do We Have in Common?

Lesson #3 Handout

Your Name:________________________________________________________

|Partner #1’s Name: |Partner #2’s Name: |Partner #3’s Name: |

|WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON: |WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON: |WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON: |

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|Physical characteristics: |Physical characteristics: |Physical characteristics: |

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|Family stuff: |Family stuff: |Family stuff: |

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|Activities: |Activities: |Activities: |

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|Possessions: |Possessions: |Possessions: |

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|Other: |Other: |Other: |

Lesson #4: How Can We Work as a Team?

Guiding Question: What attitudes/behaviors do we need to practice in order to work together successfully as a group in advisory?

Materials Needed:

Chart Paper/Chalkboard

Zoom! Re-Zoom! or Comic Strip Chaos from Toolbox

Greeting: Hammer or a Nail

Explain that this activity is meant as an exercise in abstract thinking. "Use your imagination. Think of yourself in non-concrete terms." Ask students which of the two choices best describes them. Give them time to think, and then ask them to raise their hands to indicate their choice. "Who is a hammer? Who is a nail" Then have them ask others near them why they feel like a hammer or a nail and give them about a minute to discuss their choice.

Use your “teacher’s discretion” when deciding how many prompts to use. In one session probably no more than six to ten of these should be done. If the class is very small, students might be asked to walk to one area of the room (nails over here; hammers over there) and talk about why they feel the way they do.

o Hammer or nail

o Basketball or Hoop

o Child or old man

o Jeans or a suit

o Egg white or egg yolk

o Sun or moon

o Cube or ball

o Present or future

o Yes or no

o Mountain or valley

o Physical or mental

o Pencil or ball point pen

o Teacher or student

o Question or answer

o Black or white

o Leaf or wind

o Pencil or eraser

o Tortoise or hare

o City or country

o Dictionary or novel

o Pen or pencil

o Cat or mouse

o TV or Radio

Sharing/Discussion/Pre-Activity Question:

• On the board/chart paper create two columns (one labeled "Behaviors/Attitudes We Need to Work Together", the other labeled "Behaviors/Attitudes We Already Have").

• Ask students "What attitudes/behaviors do you think we need to practice in order to work together successfully as a group? Write these in the first column on board/chart Paper-Students may say, "good listening" "trust" "cooperation" "patience" "thinking about the whole group rather than just the individual".

• Ask students which behaviors/attitudes they've already seen each other demonstrate so far in advisory and when/how they've seen this. Write these in the second column on the board/chart paper.

• Explain to students that the activity we are going to do today will be a further opportunity for us to see how we can practice these attitudes/behaviors as well as which ones we might want to continue to work on.

Activity: Comic Strip Chaos (from Toolbox) or Zoom! or Re-Zoom!

Debriefing/Processing:

l. What did you notice about yourself and your group as you worked on this puzzle/ problem? What feelings came up from you during the exercise? How can feelings affect our ability to work as a group? How did you deal with these feelings? Are some ways of dealing with feelings as a group member more effective than others? (For example,

getting visibly frustrated is a turn off to the rest of the group. It might be more effective to take a few deep breaths and count to l0).

2. What attitudes and behaviors helped you solve the puzzle/problem? What did these look like? (Refer back to list from the sharing question and check off those behaviors/attitudes that students practiced. Add others, if needed)

3. What attitudes and behaviors were obstacles to solving the puzzle/problem? List these as well on the board under Attitudes/behaviors that are obstacles to working together effectively.

Explain to students that there will be lots of different ways we'll be working together as a group this year, and that we want to work together effectively as much as possible, so we'll want to practice those positive behaviors and try to avoid the behaviors/attitudes that are obstacles to working together as a group. Keep the list up in the room as a reminder throughout the year.

News and Announcements:

Announce relevant school announcements & also ask students if they have any personal announcements (a birth in the family, a winning game, etc).

Alternatives:

Figure out a path without speaking—must help each other out without speaking; line up by bday without speaking, line up by height w/out speaking, human knot, step on a sheet and try to flip it over without speaking, put together a story without talking (each student has a square and they have to put it in chronological order)/comic strip, human checkerboard

Lesson #5: Do we really know ourselves in this advisory? (Part I)

Guiding question: Do we really know ourselves in this advisory?? (The next two lessons will be the final getting to know/getting comfortable in advisory activities)

Materials:

Index cards for each student

Markers/Pens/Colored Pencils

Greeting:

For this greeting it will be about how well we know one another in ways other than our names!! This is the "observation game."

Line up your students in two lines facing each other. if there is an odd number of students, and then teacher can play with the unmatched student.

Give the students exactly 30 seconds to look at the person with whom they're paired and to study everything about that person. Then the students in one line turn around and close their eyes while the students in the other line change something about themselves. For example, says Buck, one person may take off an earring, switch shoes, or put their hair behind an ear. (It should be something significant enough!!)Then the kids in the other line turn around and try to name what has changed. Switch roles and play the game again.

Share/Check-In:

What is one part of your personality that you like? (Are you friendly, a good listener, loyal, fun, spontaneous etc.)

Activity: SYMBOLIC INTRODUCTIONS

Pair up students and explain that this activity will give them an opportunity to share some things that maybe they haven’t shared yet with others in the class. Pass out index cards or small pieces of paper. Each student will get one minute to talk freely about themselves, almost like a “stream of consciousness.” This monologue should reveal their personality traits, family, pets, their interests, important events in their life, or anything they would like other people to know about them. Encourage students to get a little personal. While the student is talking for the allocated time the other takes notes on the back of the card or piece of paper. After the minute is up, each pair get no more than five minutes to discuss what information the note-taker will use to draw one symbol that represents the other student. This symbol must be one image or picture but may contain several elements, such as a medieval crest, however must be one unified design (not several disjointed images or pictures). After the five minutes is up, the teacher will collect the cards or small pieces of paper. The pairs will switch partners and repeat the exercise, at the end the teacher will collect the remaining cards or small pieces of paper. Then, the teacher will reveal each symbol and the class can try to guess who the symbol represents. One rule: if you drew the symbol then you cannot give away the correct answer! If the class is stumped, you may provide clues from the notes on the back of the card.

Extension: After all the symbols have been revealed, give back the cards to the students who the cards represent. Instruct everybody with a similar symbol to form a small group. You may be surprised at how many similarities there are in your group.

News and Announcements:

Announce relevant school announcements & also ask students if they have any personal announcements (a birth in the family, a winning game, etc).

Lesson #6: Do We Really Know Ourselves in this Advisory? (Part II)

Guiding Question: Do we really know ourselves in this advisory??

Materials:

Loose leaf paper

Greeting: Show Me

l. Ask each participant to take a blank 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper and boldly place "I AM ..." as the heading. Then give students one minute to complete the statement in five different ways. For example:

I AM...

- new in my job

- a father of twins

- living in the country

- feeling a bit silly

- a pretty good cook

Then have them go around and introduce themselves to the group.

Share: What's one good thing so far about this new school year?

Activity:

Break your advisory into groups of 4 or 5 students. Then you will model the activity. Facilitator writes some facts on the board. Example:

purple

l6 months

Japan

Participants try to find the question that matches each fact. Give students a minute to write down questions in their groups and then have them begin to share them with the whole class. Do not respond to the questions yet, simply write them down on the board next to each fact. Now give each group a minute or two to come to agreement as to what the "right" question is for each fact. Have them place a star next to each question and now you can see if any group was able to guess correctly. (At this point you can give the students the "answers!")

purple - What's your favorite color? What color is your car? What color are your toenails? What color is your bedroom painted?

16 months - How long have you lived in this city? How old is your child? How long have you been married?

Japan - Where were you born? Where hove you worked? Where are you going on vacation? Where would you like to go on vacation?

When participants have discovered all of the questions you can ask for another volunteer to be the facilitator and choose three words for themselves and repeat as above.

News and announcements:

Announce relevant school announcements & also ask students if they have any personal announcements (a birth in the family, a winning game, etc).

Lesson #7: Who Am l?

Guiding Question: What is identity? What makes up my identity?

Materials Needed:

Chart paper/chalkboard

Loose leaf or plain paper for Identity Map

Greeting: Have students greet each other with first and last names. Have them turn to their right and to their left and say, "Good Afternoon!" lf they do not remember the person's first AND last name, they can ask!

Sharing/Discussion/Pre-Activity Question: Explain to the students that in this lesson, they are going to define and reflect on their own identity. Write "identity" on the board and ask the students to brainstorm its meanings. Dictionaries have defined identity as "the collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognized or known," or as “the set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group."

Activity: Ask each student to draw a circle in middle of the page with your name in it and rays coming out. This will be their Identity Map which depicts all the components that make up their own identity, including the varied roles they play. Show students how to create their maps by putting a circle on the board and writing "Me" in the center. Then, draw lines out from the circle and write words such as "loyal", “artist", "daughter," etc…

Debriefing/Processing: Divide the class into small groups and ask students to share their maps with each other. Ask them to discuss the following questions:

. What 3 words would you choose to best describe yourself?

. Why do those words accurately describe you?

. What 3 words would your family or friends use to describe you?

. How accurate are other's descriptions of you?

. What 3 words do you want to describe yourself as 10 years from now?

Ask a few volunteers to share their insights from their small group discussions.

News and Announcements:

Alert students of our Personal Playlist Project. Explain they will be exploring how songs they listen to can reflect their identity. They will be creating a 10 track CD that reflects their identity map. They will design an album cover and a booklet with song lists and rationales for how each song reflects a piece of their identity. At the culmination of the project, we will have a “launch” party in which your advisor will have compiled a CD of the one song that each student identifies with the most. The students will share out why that one song was the most important to them.

Lesson #8: I Am Poem

Guiding Questions: Who am I as an individual? How does where I’m from shape who I am?

Background: “Who am I?” is a question on the minds of many adolescents. This activity helps students clarify important elements of their identity. When “I Am From” poems are shared they can help build peer relationships and foster a cohesive classroom community.  These poems get beyond aspects of identity that are often more obvious and familiar (such as ethnicity, gender and age), by focusing on other factors that shape our identities such as experiences, relationships, hopes and interests. “I Am” Poems provide a structure for students to think more critically about an individual’s traits, experiences and character.

Materials:

Self created model of “I AM” Poem or “I am From” Poem

Handout with the template for writing each poem

Greeting:

Go around the circle and have students respond with one or two words to the prompt, “I am from”

Pre-Activity:

Read your version of the poem out loud. Get a reaction from the students. Ask them what this poem says about the author. Don’t tell them until after the discussion that it was written by you!

Activity:

Tell students they will be creating their own “I am From” poems. Hand out template. Give students paper and markers. After they have created their poems, display them across the room. Have students try to guess which poem belongs to each student. Can extend this to another day and have students do a coffee shop style reading of each of their poems. Could even be slam poetry?

These poems may be performed at our first assembly, recruit students now!

Closing:

Going around in a circle, what is one new thing you have learned about one of your classmates?

Remind students that we will soon be embarking on an exciting project called the “Personal Playlist” which will require students to select and choose 10 songs that represent them. Encourage them to start thinking about songs that represent who they are, not just songs that they like.

Where I'm From

by George Ella Lyons

I am from clothespins,

from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.

I am from the dirt under the black porch.

(Black, glistening

it tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush,

the Dutch elm

whose long gone limbs I remember

as if they were my own.

I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,

from Imogene and Alafair.

I'm from the know-it-alls

and the pass-it-ons,

from perk up and pipe down.

I'm from He restoreth my soul

with a cottonball lamb

and ten verses I can say myself.

I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,

fried corn and strong coffee.

From the finger my grandfather lost

to the auger

the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box

spilling old pictures,

a sift of lost faces

to drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments-

snapped before I budded-

leaf-fall from the family tree

Or

“I Am”

I am an album

I wonder if I will only be a one hit wonder

I hear critics telling me what is wrong

I want to make a difference

I am an album

I pretend that those critics do not matter

I feel scratched

I touch minds around the world

I worry the “in” crowd won’t listen to me

I am an album

I understand my artist

I say what I feel in my soul

I dream to be world wide

I try to please everybody

I hope to be a best seller

I am an album

Handout: A Template for “Where I’m From” Poem

I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.

I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).

I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail)

I am from _______ (family tradition) and _______ (family trait), from _______ (name of family member) and _______ (another family name) and _______ (family name).

I am from the _______ (description of family tendency) and _______ (another one).

From _______ (something you were told as a child) and _______ (another).

I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.

I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (two food items representing your family).

From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).

I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).

Handout: A Template for “I Am” Poem

TITLE

I am (two special characteristics you have)

I wonder ( something you are curious about)

I hear ( an imaginary sound)

I see ( an imaginary sight)

I want (an actual desire)

I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)

I pretend (something you pretend to do)

I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)

I touch (an imaginary touch)

I worry (something that really bothers you)

I cry (something that makes you very sad)

I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)

I understand(something you know is true)

I say (something you believe)

I dream (something you dream about)

I try (something you make an effort about)

I hope (something you hope for)

 I am ( the first line of the poem repeated)

Lesson #9: Personal Playlist Project

Guiding Question: What songs reflect my identity?

Materials:

Craft Supplies

Ipod dock or computer with speakers

Blank paper “booklet” for album design or go to this website for templates:



Cd jewel cases optional

Identity Map from Lesson # 8

Personal Playlist Project handout

Greeting: What is your favorite song? Why?

Activity:

Discussion: Does your favorite song reflect any of the traits you chose in your identity map?

Hand out Personal Playlist Project. Explain they will be exploring how songs they listen to can reflect their identity. They will be creating a 10 track CD that reflects their identity map. They will design an album cover and a booklet with song lists and rationales for how each song reflects a piece of their identity. At the culmination of the project, we will have a “launch” party in which your advisor will have compiled a CD of the one song that each student identifies with the most. The students will share out why that one song was the most important to them.

Advisors might want to have one song that they feel represents them ready to share with the class both audibly and in printed out lyrics to use as a springboard for discussion and as an example.

Handout: Personal Playlist Project

Name: _______________________________________

Personal Playlist Project

Background: In the recent weeks, we have been discovering who we are as individuals and what experiences have shaped our identity. In this project, you will be exploring how songs can have a major influence on your identity. Your task will be to create a ten track CD of songs that reflect your identity. You will design an album cover and create a booklet that lists the songs you chose and their meaning in relation to your identity. You will also choose which one song reflects your identity the most. Your advisory will compile a CD that contains one song per student, as well as the song that your advisor identifies with. We will have a launch party in which each song will be played and each individual will explain how the song represents a portion of their identity.

Tasks:

1. Look at your I Am poem and your identity map. What words did you choose to map out and represent your identity?

2. Choose ten songs that reflect your identity and explain why each song was chosen.

| | | | |

| |SONG TITLE |ARTIST |RATIONALE |

| | | | |

|SONG #1 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #2 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #3 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #4 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #5 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #6 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #7 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #8 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #9 | | | |

| | | | |

|SONG #10 | | | |

3. Which of the above ten songs most closely reflects your identity? Why?

4. On a blank sheet of paper, neatly write out the lyrics to the song that you most identify with. You will be reading the lyrics out loud at the launch party. If the song contains expletives, use the CLEAN version of the song.

5. What is the title of your album going to be?

6. Create a sketch for the cover of your album

to the right.(

7. When you are ready, your advisor will give you a booklet. On the cover, draw your album cover.

8. On the inside of the booklet, you will be inserting the title and artist of each song and your rationale for choosing each song. Bonus points if you include lyrics!

9. Creating a compilation CD cover

a. The compilation CD will be divided into a square per individual in advisory. Throughout the project, this will be passed around the room. You will decorate your square however you like. This will be come our advisory’s CD.

10. LAUNCH PARTY!!!

a. Your advisor will have compiled a CD composed of the one song that each individual identifies with the most. When your song comes on, you will read the lyrics and explain why you chose that song. Everyone will be given a copy of the advisory CD. We will brainstorm a title for the album together.

This may be a great starting point for a later project where we establish a class name/banner!

Lesson # 10: Voice and Identity

Guiding Question: How does personal experience shape identity?

Materials:

Copies of Lesson #10 Handout Silence by Tu-Uyen Nguyen

Greeting:

“What does silence mean to you?” Have all students respond or if they pass, to write their response in their journal.

Sharing/Discussion/Pre-Activity Question: Remind the students that in the previous class we spoke about identity and what characteristics make up our identities. Ask the students the following questions:

• How do you see yourself? How do others see you? Do others see you the same way you see yourself?

• Are you unsure of any of the characteristics of your identity? lf yes, what are they, and why are you unsure?

• How do you express your self-identity and why?

• Why do we need to express our self-identities?

• How does our self-expression affect how others see us?

Remind students that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions.

Bring out the idea that an individual's identity can be affected and shaped by:

• Social characteristics (age, race, gender, etc.)

• Where a person lives

• The conditions a person lives in (socioeconomic status, etc.)

• A person's religious beliefs

• A person's position on social issues

Students should see how such beliefs, characteristics, and conditions can affect how the individual identifies himself/herself and how others perceive him/her. Students should also come to understand that one's identity is not simply self-constructed, but is also shaped or imposed upon by others, including families, friends, classmates, society, and other social influences.

Activity: Silence, by Tu-Uyen Nguyen

Distribute the Lesson #10 Handout Silence by Tu-Uyen Nguyen and read the poem aloud. Ask students to begin marking the poem. Have them underline or star words, passages, lines, quotations, or anything they find interesting directly on the poem or in their journals. Have them write down any emotional responses, questions, insights, personal connections or intellectual reactions directly on their poems or in their journals. Ask students to consider the issues of identity and self-expression addressed in the earlier class discussion.

You might want to have them set up pages in their journal like this:

|LEFT SIDE: |RIGHT SIDE: |

| | |

|Words, passages, line, quotations, or anything they find |Emotional responses, questions, insights, personal connections or|

|interesting |intellectual reactions |

Debriefing/Processing:

Ask students to paraphrase the poem - to express in their own words, the poem's plain prose meaning. Students should consider how the author sees herself.

• Did her self-perception change by the end of the poem?

• How did her personal experiences shape her identity?

• How do these experiences affect with whom or with which group(s) she identified?

• How did others see her? What external factors impacted the author's identity?

Also, ask the students to explore the author's use of imagery. How do the images relate to the theme of identity? How does the imagery enhance the poem? Does it add emotional color or associations to the plain sense? Is the poet's use of imagery consistent? What is the consistent or inconsistent use of imagery important?

News/Announcements:

Alternatives:

The Bear That Wasn’t story

Eye of the Beholder film

[pic]

Lesson #11: Life Map/Artifact Project

Guiding Questions: What are the events and influences that make each of us who we are? What can we learn about each other from the things we think are important?

Overview: Students will consider the various factors that influence their current identity. They will begin by creating a Life-Map of events that they consider pivotal in their lives. Then, they will create exhibits of artifacts that represent their past- either the events on their timelines or other important influences and events. Students will get a chance to tour each others’ exhibits and learn about each other through the artifacts.

Final Product: All students will create a Life-Map and then an exhibit of 4-5 personal artifacts along with an index card of 2-4 sentences explaining each item.

Note: Project can be shortened to include just Lifemap or just Museum.

Project Day-by-Day

Part 1 (1-2 Days)

Activity: Create a Graphic Life-Map

Distribute Graphic Images Handout to students and/or distribute markers and paper. Have them work in pairs to see how many life events or milestones (e.g. graduating, having a baby, etc) they can match with corresponding graphics or have them draw these major events or milestones. After students have matched several images, have students share the different major life events they came up with.

Next, distribute the Graphic Life Map Planning sheet. Instruct students to come up with at least 5 major personal life events which they can match to corresponding images. For each event, Rank it on an emotional scale, with -10 being the worst and 10 being the best.

Students then complete their Graphic Life-Maps by cutting out the images, placing them on a piece of construction paper or drawing them, and labeling them on a timeline. The most positive events go higher, and negative events go lower. In total, the lifemap will be 5-10 graphics or drawings, each labeled (e.g. Sister’s birth, 2002; or Broken ankle playing soccer, age 11), in a line graph going from left to right and with happier events higher up on the page.

Closing: Students present their life maps, with each student picking one event and briefly explaining the accompanying image and emotion.

Part 2 (1 Day):

Check In: As students enter the room, Advisor Models the personal history museum, showing off 3-5 items that tell students something about you or your past. Accompany each item with an index card that briefly explains what the item is and its significance (For example, “This is Mr. Yellin’s passport, which is stamped every time he enters a new country. It documents all of the places he has been.)

After students see the exhibit, ask: What did you learn about your advisor from this exhibit that you did not know before? How did you learn it?

Introduce project: Tell students they will create a similar exhibit about their own lives. Distribute Project Description and explain that their exhibit must contain 4-5 artifacts (Only 2 photographs per person) which can be anything at all- clothing, trophies, books, foods, etc.

Instruct students to take out their life-maps and other identity activities to help to start brainstorming ideas for what they might bring in. Distribute 5 index cards to each student and tell them to start thinking of what items they might be able to bring in tomorrow. Once students begin to think of their items, instruct them to write a short (2-4 sentence) caption on the index card explaining the item.

Wrap Up: Some students may be struggling to think of what they could bring in. Go around the room and have students list some items that they have thought of to help stimulate ideas amongst the class. Check in to make sure students have 4-5 artifacts to bring in.

Part 3 (1 Day):

Check-In: What is your most personally valued possession? Why? Did you include it in your museum? Why or why not?

Give students a few minutes to set up their exhibits with their caption cards. While they set up, distribute Museum Walk Handout

Museum Tour: Students walk around to each other’s tables and look at exhibits. As they do, students complete Museum Walk Handout, in which they write down four of the artifacts that they found most interesting as well as what those artifacts told them about their classmates.

Wrap-Up Whip-Around: Each student chooses one artifact from a classmate and explains 1) Why they found it most interesting and 2) What it told them about the classmate whose artifact it is

Closing Discussion: If there is time, ask: Do you think that a collection of items is a good way of representing yourself to others? Why or why not? What others ways of representing yourself might be better for you?

Four Accompanying Handouts: Museum Walk sheet, Project Description, Life Map Graphics, Life Map Planning Sheet (for Planning Sheet, e-mail Ms. Patel for the PDF file)

News and Announcements: For homework ask the students to find out the meaning or story of how they got their name. They can ask their parents or guardians or look it up on several websites such as:





Life Map Graphics

[pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic]

Personal History Museum

Your Task: Create a display of 4-5 artifacts with accompanying descriptions that help teach your classmates about who you are, where you come from, what is important to you, and what factors and events have had the greatest impact on who you are today. You will have time in class today to plan what artifacts you might want to bring tomorrow and to set up a short caption for each artifact. Tomorrow, you will bring in your artifacts and display them in a museum exhibit for your classmates.

Artifacts can be anything. Some ideas include:

- Photographs (only 2 per exhibit please!)

- Diplomas

- Books

- Clothing

- Meaningful gifts

- Vacation souvenirs

- Family heirlooms

Each artifact will be accompanied by a 2-4 sentence “Caption” on an index card. This will tell your classmates what the item is, and a brief explanation of why you chose it. Both the artifacts and the index cards are due in Advisory tomorrow.

Good Luck!

Name:____________________

Museum Walk Handout

Directions: Walk around the room and get a good look at every artifact brought in by your classmates. Walk around every exhibit once before writing anything down. After you see each exhibit, go back through and find the four artifacts that are more intriguing to you- maybe because they are similar to yours, maybe because they are strange to you, or maybe for a reason you cannot explain. For each of those four, list them below and explain what it tells you about that classmate.

1) Exhibit (Classmate’s Name): ___________________________

Description of Artifact:

What does it show you about the person?

2) Exhibit: ___________________________

Description of Artifact:

What does it show you about the person?

3) Exhibit: ___________________________

Description of Artifact:

What does it show you about the person?

4) Exhibit: ___________________________

Description of Artifact:

What does it show you about the person?

Lesson # 12: Advisory Banner Project

Guiding Question: How can we identify ourselves as one unified class made up of several individuals?

Materials:

Personal ID cards from Lesson #3

Banner/roll of bulletin board paper

Markers, colored pencils, construction paper, any other media that can be attached to banner paper

Greeting: The Story of Your Name

What's in a name? More than we often realize. This is an interesting, novel way for people to introduce themselves to others, especially in ethnically diverse group. Ask participants to turn to a partner and explain what your name means (if anything) and where it comes from. Most people reveal a surprising amount of interesting information about where their name comes from and what it means. Optional: Ask each person to introduce his/her partner to the larger group and to explain what his/her name means and where it comes from. Optional: The activity can be extended into revealing the background behind other names e.g., Nicknames, Pets, Alter-ego or "fantasy name," Names of children or what would you name your children if you have them?

Activity:

Display all the personal ID cards from Lesson #3. If students want to revise them, they may. Start off with a discussion about the student’s personal ID cards. Ask: “What similarities and differences can you see amongst these cards, amongst us as individuals?” If you want, create a list or use a graphic organizer. You may want to organize the cards in a way that groups similar sets of cards. Explain that our new goal is to create a group/class name or identity that reflects the class as a community and everyone must contribute in some way. This may be a combination of our personal IDs or a whole new design. Brainstorm different advisory names that can represent all the individuals in the class. Make a list of potential class names. Have students defend and provide rationale for why they are proposing a particular group name. Vote on a class name, if necessary. It must be something that everyone is comfortable with. Ask for students to suggest how this name can be presented on a banner. How can all students be represented in one design with a class name? (One suggestion is to place the individual ID cards around the border of the banner and draw the name of the class large in the center.) Be creative!

You might want to refer to any group agreements/rules that you as a group have agreed to. You may also want to include: class color(s), motto, song, mascot.

NOTE: This activity will likely take a few days and will be presented at a grade-wide assembly.

Lesson # 13: Letter to Myself

Guiding Question: How can we set goals for the school year that ensure our success?

Materials:

Handouts

Sharing Question: One goal (besides passing all my classes) that I want to set for myself this year is_______________________________. (Can be social, emotional or academic.)

Activity:

Students will write a letter to themselves outlining at least 3 goals that they want to achieve for the school year. Advisors will read these letters and conference with students individually to help them achieve their goals. It’s a good idea to photocopy the letter to keep one for the teacher and one for the student and to refer back to it often. Some advisors actually mail this letter out to the student, others attach it into their journals where they can see it regularly. You may want to debrief the process and have students share out one of their goals with the class.

Extension:

If time permits, students can create a collage that represents these goals by cutting out pictures from magazines and newspapers.

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