Afrolatine Biographies Lesson Plan

CSUSB Anthropology Museum Staff and CSUSB students and Faculty

This lesson plan is based on that created for the CSUSB Anthropology Museum’s In|Dignity exhibition by Barbara Lane (San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, ELA/ELD, History Curriculum Coordinator) with support from Liz Ramos (Alta Loma High School), Francine Bettger (Almeria Middle School), and the Region 10 Content, Literacy, Inquiry and Citizenship (CLIC) Program. That content is available online at the In|Dignity website. The content has been adapted for Afróntalo by Museum Director Arianna Huhn. 

In 2021, a team of California State University San Bernardino undergraduate students (Joshua Mondragon, Ana Bautista, and Elise Espinoza) and faculty (Arianna Huhn and Ana Keila Viana Pinezi) set out to document identities, experiences, and communities of Afrolatine Californians as part of the Afróntalo exhibition. 21 volunteers were interviewed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Their words were later condensed into short, narrative biographies by Arianna Huhn and Allyza Roxas. The Afróntalo project additionally commissioned California- based artists, many of whom are Afrolatines themselves, to create original artwork based on interviewee photos. The resultant stories and portraits are paired together and made available for educational use. 

A suggested 3-module learning unit for incorporating the material into 9th - 12th grade classrooms is provided below. 

Materials Needed (choose among the following)

• Access Biographies within 360 tour, in English

• Access Biographies within 360 tour, in Spanish

• Access Biographies 8.5 x 11 sharable digital files / printouts, in English

• Access Biographies 8.5 x 11 sharable digital files / printouts, in Spanish

Engaging with 20 short biographical narratives (developed for the California State University’s Afróntalo exhibition) of Afrolatines living in California provides a way for students to organically understand the diversity of experiences in a single ethnic group. These stories humanize concepts common to History, Social Studies, and Ethnic Studies curriculum, and support students’ intellectual and emotional wellbeing through the promotion of empathy, discouraging bullying, dissolving black/white thinking, and supporting marginalized identities.

The biographies are available in written form in English and in Spanish. There are also select audio clips in the language of the original interview (currently only available for English-language interviews, but others forthcoming). They support curriculum standards by providing points of departure to describe how information is presented, and to identify aspects of text that reveal an author’s point of view. Teachers can also utilize the narratives to distinguish facts, reasoned judgments, and opinions or speculation, and to analyze the relationship between primary and secondary sources on the same topic. Further, students have the opportunity to reflect on a series of events to determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them, and to integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem. These opportunities each support Common Core and History–Social Science Framework Guidelines.

The Afrolatine California Biographies learning unit provides scaffolded activities that support reading comprehension, the writing of personal narratives, and general comparative thinking. It has been designed to utilize an array of effective pedagogical strategies, including Question Formulation, Say-Mean-Matter, Historical Thinking Technique, and Choice Board. Content also aligns with the California History-Social Science Framework, and supports FAIR Education Act compliance.

The unit is recommended for three to five class periods. The focus is working closely with the biographies in order to enhance students’ understanding of the experience of identity, diversity, and marginalization. It is on this foundation that students can build from and move meaningfully into deeper analysis and evaluation of texts, history, and current events throughout the remainder of the school year, and as they progress through their education.

Before you Begin: You are strongly encouraged to preview the biographies before introducing them to your students. The narratives are intended to promote hope and positivity, but some of the content may be difficult for students to process. Some of your students could experience an unexpected emotional reaction. Please prepare your students for these possibilities, and encourage them to utilize available resources – including counselors and other wellness services at their school -- to work through their responses.

The learning objectives for the Afrolatine Biographies curriculum are:

• Understand the significance and use of color to divide, to unite, and to celebrate humanity

• Reflect on how being ignored, hidden, or muted impacts identity and lived experience

• Examine how sharing personal stories can help to soften preconceived notions

• Describe how words can impact self-perceptions and propel life decisions

• Theorize how outward appearances can reveal and conceal what is inside

• Differentiate the individual experiences of different members of a group

• Examine societal expectations, and experiences with self-definition

HISTORY SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARDS / CALIFORNIA STATE STANDARDS

8.12, 10.10, 10.11, 11.2, 11.3, 11.10, 11.11, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 12.8, 12.10

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS

RI.9-10.2, RI.9-10.4, RI.9-10.6, RI.11-12.2, RI.11-12.4, RI.11-12.6

W.9-10.2, W.9-10.3, W.9-10.4, W.9-10.5, W.9-10.6, W.9-10.9, W.11-12.2, W.11-12.3, W.11-12.4, W.11-12.5, W.11-12.6, W.11-12.9

SL.9-10.1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, SL.9-10.4, 4a; SL.11-12.1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, SL.11-12.4, 4a

L.9-10.1, L.9-10.2, L.9-10.3, L.9-10.5; L.11-12.1, L.11-12.2, L.11-12.3, L.11-12.5

CALIFORNIA STATE STANDARDS ELA - LITERACY HISTORY SOCIAL SCIENCES

RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.2, RH.9-10.4, RH.9-10.6, RH.11-12.2, RH.11-12.4, RH.11-12.6

WHST.9-10.2, WHST.9-10.3, WHST.9-10.4, WHST.9-10.5, WHST.9-10.6, WHST.9-10.9, WHST.11-12.2, WHST.11-12.3, WHST.11-12.4, WHST.11-12.5, WHST.11-12.6, WHST.11-12.9

According to Dr. Aida Walqui*, director at WestEd’s Teacher Professional Development Program and Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL), a well scaffolded lesson can be conceptualized in three moments. Within each moment, activities address the varying purposes in a lesson moment.

Using this framework, the Afrolatine Biographies curriculum unit is designed to:

• Prepare students for their experience (Moment 1)

• Assists students as they interact with the narratives (Moment 2), and

• Extend their understanding by applying newly gained knowledge and skills (Moment 3)

Tasks within the framework help students foster optimal learning during each lesson moment.

For students to benefit from this curriculum, educators are encouraged to spend a minimum of three class periods (and ideally five) where they are engaged with the Afrolatine biographies. You should select at least one activity from each moment as a part of your lesson planning.

​* Walqui, A and L van Lier. 2010. Scaffolding the Success of Adolescent English Learners. San Francisco: West Ed.

 C3 Inquiry Arc

The Afrolatine Biographies curriculum structure follows the "Inquiry Arc" suggested by the C3 Framework= for Social Studies State Standards, developed by the National Council for the Social Studies. The primary purpose of the C3 Framework is to provide guidance on concepts, skills, and tools that will help prepare students for college, career, and civic life. The "inquiry arc" is a set of interlocking and mutually reinforcing ideas focused on 1) developing questions and planning inquiries; 2) applying disciplinary concepts and tools; 3) evaluating sources and using evidence; and 4) communicating conclusions and making an informed decision. The C3 aligns with the California History/Social-Science Analysis Skill Standards. The California History/Social-Science Framework also incorporates the C3 language and instructional approaches.

In this section, you will find suggestions for pre-reading activities that are designed to build or connect to students’ prior knowledge. Given the objectives of this module, and your understanding of your students, select those activities that you think will be most effective in preparing students.

Activity 1A: Quickwrite

Select a prompt, use both prompts, or let students choose:

• Describe a time when you felt hurt, frustrated, or marginalized by the actions or non-actions of others. How did you react? How were you able to overcome the situation?

• Describe a time when you felt that you belonged and were truly accepted and understood for who you were/are. What internally made you feel this way? What externally contributed?

Activity 1B: Making Thinking Visible

Think about a time when you felt hurt, frustrated, or marginalized by the actions or non-actions of others. How did you react? How were you able to overcome the situation? OR Think about a time when you felt that you belonged and were truly accepted and understood for who you were/are. What internally made you feel this way? What externally contributed?

Make note of things that you find interesting, important, or insightful. 

When you finish, choose 3 items from your commentary that most stand out for you:

For one, choose a color that you feel best represents or captures the essence of that idea.

For another, choose a symbol that you feel best represents or captures the essence of that idea.

For the last, choose an image that you feel best represents or captures the essence of that idea. ​

If time permits, share your color with a partner or group, and then share the item from your commentary that it represents.  Tell why you choose that color as a representation of that idea.

Repeat the sharing process until every member of the group has shared their color, symbol, and image. You may want to encourage students to organize their ideas using a chart, like this one:

Activity 1C: Question Formulation Technique

The Question Formulation Technique from The Right Question Institute is a pre-reading activity designed to help students learn how to ask questions, participate more effectively, and hold meaningful discussions around an identified topic. The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) is a simple step-by-step, rigorous process that facilitates the asking of many questions. 

Step 1: The Question Focus (QFocus)

The “question focus” or “QFocus” is the stimulus, or springboard, that students will use to ask questions. The QFocus can be a topic, image, phrase, quote, or situation. An effective QFocus should be clear and should provoke and stimulate new lines of thinking. It should not be a question, and it should not suggest the teacher’s biases or preferences. When the teacher reveals the QFocus, they should not comment on it.

QFocus for Afrolatine Biographies might include:

• “Be proud of who you are. Be proud of the skin you’re in. You’re one in a million”.- Amara la Negra

• “ In my country, where I pledged allegiance every day since I was five, to be told when I’m out there trying to pursue my American dream that I was not a traditional American was very hurtful. I will never accept that I am not a traditional anything.” - Zoe Saldana

• “My skin is not a trend, my skin isn’t a hashtag, my skin is not something that you can just, you know, use to make views.” - Monica Veloz

• "If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." - Roberto Clemente

• “History must restore what slavery took away” - Arturo Schomburg

• “You owe it to yourself to figure out who you are, but you don’t owe it to anyone else to explain or defend it” - Soledad O’Brien

• “If we want to see something that’s different, we have to be responsible for creating it” - Tessa Thompson

• “You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear” - Sammy David Jr. 

Step 2. Produce Questions

Students use the QFocus to formulate as many questions as they can, thinking freely, without having to worry about the quality of the questions they are asking. Do not stop to discuss, judge, or answer any questions. Write down every question, exactly as it is stated. Change any statement into a question

Step 3: Prioritizing Questions

Once the questions have been written down, have students choose three questions from the list that represent those that are “most important,” the ones they wish to explore further, or simply the ones they want to address first. This can be done individually, or as a class.

Step 4: Visit the Afrolatine California section of Afrontaló

See Activity 2.C

Activity 1D: Understanding Key Vocabulary

Choose one or more relevant term to explore together, for example:                                               

• Latino / Latina / Latinx

• Latinidad

• Latin America

• Blackness

• Diaspora

• Intersectionality 

• Stereotypes

• Discrimination                                               

Define the term through the lenses of the four disciplinary worlds in the C3 and California History-Social Science Framework:

• What does the word look like historically? (What is the word’s etymology? How has that meaning changed over time?)

• What is the geographical implication for the word? (Does the word look the same everywhere?)

• What is the economic impact of the term? (i.e. What are the financial implications?)

• What is the civic impact of the term? (i.e. What civic action(s) have been taken in the name of this idea?)

There are 20 Afrolatine biography narratives (representing 21 individuals; one narrative features two individuals). Each narrative is approximately 800-1000 words. They can all be accessed by visiting the Afrontalo virtual tour (visit in English, visit in Spanish) - head to the Afrolatine California section (on the right at the juncture), along the rounded wall, or as individual files (English / Spanish)

You might choose to ask individual students or groups of students to focus on particular biographies (no more than four per group is recommended), or allow free choice in selecting a biography or biographies to work with in one or more of the following activities:

Teaching Notes

A Note on Reading Personal Narratives

Of note, unlike most forms of writing the personal narrative is written to tell a story. The author’s personal narratives tell their stories to recount events as they actually happened. When reading personal narratives, it is often helpful to try and identify the author’s purpose in the telling of their story. Major narrative events are often told in chronological order as they unfold from first to last and typically have a beginning middle and end.  Personal narratives seek to engage the reader emotionally in their stories through multiple modalities that may include such rhetorical appeals as ethos, pathos, and logos.

A Note on Reading for Understanding

Researchers identify three common practices found in reading for understanding (Keys to Literacy) First ask students to engage in active, purposeful, reading. Next, have students engage with the text itself instead of just learning the content through other modalities. Finally, reading for understanding asks students to work with the text with active, supportive, purposeful tasks.The narratives are factual stories as they unfolded in the lives of the individual story teller. The stories make clear both the persistence of inequalities and biased normative standards in our communities – often in subtle and unintentional ways – and their impacts on individual lives.

Prepare Your Students

We recommend that you read the following statement to your students before they read the Afrotaline Biographies: “These narratives address heavy topics such as racism, discrimination, abuse, and sexism. The purpose of the exhibit is to learn about people’s experiences but, in doing so, you may feel a range of emotions including sadness, anger, and frustration. Taking some deep breaths and stepping away for a period of time may help. If you experience a strong reaction to the content, please notify your teacher. Counselors are also available, should you wish to talk to a professional about your feelings. Speaking to a counselor can help you make sense of your experiences. You may find yourself feeling upset in the days or weeks following the exhibit, even if you do not experience a negative reaction right away. If you experience discomfort at any time, let your teacher know and he or she will put you in touch with someone who can help.”

Activity 2A: Chunking the Text

Facing History and Ourselves suggests giving students the opportunity to break a difficult text down into more manageable pieces. Students then rewrite these “chunks” in their own words. This can help students to identify key words and ideas, allows them opportunities to experiment with paraphrasing, and makes organizing and synthesizing information more manageable

Have students each select one narrative. For each paragraph of the narrative, they should summarize or paraphrase what is written in a single sentence.

Activity 2B: Say-Mean-Matter

Say-Mean-Matter is a strategy that helps students identify what the text is saying, and make meaning of it by placing it in their own words. Further, students will identify how understanding the theme and diversity of their community is important.

While visiting the exhibition / reading the biographies, each student will select a passage that is particularly impactful, poignant, pithy, or otherwise that speaks to them. Students are asked to:

• Identify the narrative by from which you selected the passage (Say)      

• Paraphrase in your own words what that passage means. Reword the ideas, line by line (Mean)              

• Express your understanding of the significance of the passage. What does it show? How are the ideas relevant? Why is this quote thought-provocative? (Matter)

Activity 2C: Question Formulation Technique

As students visit the online virtual exhibit (visit in English, visit in Spanish), they will use their three prioritized questions from the Question Formulation Technique (Activity 1C) to frame their visit. They will look for possible insights/answers to their questions. After experiencing the exhibit, students collaborate together to compose thoughtful, formal responses to their prioritized questions. Responses can be shared with the class as a whole, or in small groups.

Activity 2D: Word Cloud

As students visit the online virtual exhibit (visit in English, visit in Spanish) or read through a selection of biographies, they will record words, concepts, and ideas that bubble to the surface. Ideally, they will record where they saw the word, concept, or idea. They will keep track – in their head, or on paper – of how common the words, concepts, and ideas are in the content they engage with, then create a word cloud (on paper or using an online generator, individually or as a class). 

After students deliberately engage with the biographies, they extend their understanding of the text by connecting it to other ideas.  They apply what they have learned to multiple situations, through one or more of the following activities:

Activity 3A: Change in Continuity Over Time

Where students have engaged deeply with a single narrative, they can consider what has changed for the person, and what has stayed the same for them over time.

Step 1: T-Chart

Students are asked to consider “What has changed for [Name] and what has stayed the same?” for their focal person. Answers should be organized into a T-chart.

​The teacher can provide a model using one of the narratives that everyone reads together. Here is an example:

Step 2: Bumper Sticker Design

After the T-chart is complete, students design two bumper stickers for the person  - one to represent continuity, and one to represent change.

Activity 3B: Interview a Friend

In this activity, students will use an “interview protocol” (list of questions) to interview a classmate, a friend, a family member, or someone else from the community. Teachers are encouraged to have their students record the interview, and to use the words of the person interviewed to write a short (800 word) narrative similar in style to the Afrolatine Biographies narratives. Story Corps provides a wealth of resources for getting started with classroom interview projects. These materials can be found by directing your browser to https://storycorps.org/discover/education/. 

Activity 3C: Choice Board

Choice Boards provide students with the power to choose “how” to learn a particular subject or concept. This freedom encourages them to be more responsible, accountable and independent in their learning. It also allows them to work on the activities at their own pace. The boards are useful for teachers as it enables them to identify and use student interests and preferences to stimulate active learning and student engagement.

Choice Board Descriptions

• Photo Exhibit: Use Google Slide, Office 365 PPT, Sway, Adobe Spark, or another photo gallery tool to create a photo collage of images from your communities to illustrate a relevant concept

• Lifted Line Poem: Students take short passages from multiple narratives and arrange these lines into a poem. Lines can then be rearranged to shift the mood, tone, or hierarchy of emotions. 

• Infographic: Can be created using the following links Canva, Piktochart, Adobe Spark

• Magazine Cover: Can be created using Adobe Spark, Big Huge Labs, or a Google Draw template

• Sentence Summary: Students write one sentence that summarizes one or more narrative. 

• Collaborative Poster: Students decide on an image that represents a narrative they read, add a quote from the narrative that is important to understanding the image selection, and add an original statement. Each student uses a different color marker to sign the poster, and add 2 or 3 # hashtags to promote inclusivity.

• Funko Pop: Using inspiration from Funko Pop, students complete a graphic organizer where they reflect and identify a theme, community member, create a visual representation and biography summary, connect the narrative to other themes, and identify a personal action plan.

• Personal Narrative: Students will construct a personal narrative summary of their experience connecting to one of the biographies.

Activity 3D: Historical Thinking Skills Comparison

Students will compare and contrast three biographies in relation to a single concept. The concept is placed in the center of a three circle Venn Diagram or other “tool” for comparing and contrasting three items. Each narrative is represented by one of the three circles. Together, the class will recall the three narratives.

​In Pairs, students create Venn Diagrams for different concepts and combinations of narratives.