Unit Overview: Read more about the unit and find all unit materials here on the Fishtank website

In this unit, students explore the concept of identity and what makes a person who they are. By reading the texts Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes and My Name is María Isabel by Alma Flor Ada, students explore some of the different aspects of a person's identity and how they should treat people who have different identities. In Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel, students see the importance of getting to know a person and not making judgments about a person based on aspects of their identity or their actions. In My Name is María Isabel, students learn about the importance of respecting and valuing people's names. Throughout the unit, students also have multiple opportunities to reflect on their own identities and learn about their classmates' identities. Based on Social Justice Standards: The Learning for Justice Anti-bias Framework (Learning for Justice), the unit strives to help students develop a positive self-identity while also affirming the dignity of other people to set the foundation for further units that explore diversity, justice, and action. 

This unit sets a strong foundation for reading, writing, and academic discourse. Through daily reading, discourse, and writing, students dive deep into characters and study how authors develop characters. Students learn that characters are nuanced and that character traits, feelings, and motivations directly influence a character's actions.  Students also learn how to prepare for class discussions, determining which evidence best supports a particular idea and how to elaborate on that evidence. By writing daily in response to the Target Task question, students begin to build their writing fluency, seeing the power of writing as a tool for understanding what they are reading. Using both core texts as a guide, students end this unit with a narrative writing project, writing about an experience that shaped who they were.