Week of May 25th, 2020

Intro: In these lessons, you will discover that the identity of the United States is the product of interactions between many different groups, or communities, and many different types of people. Thus, the choices people make about their identities, and the way they live with others, all contribute to the national narrative as well as to the national identity. You will also discover that, because people with so many different backgrounds have contributed to the identity of the United States, the ways that people think about the United States often vary and sometimes conflict with one another. That tension itself might be part of how one defines American identity.

Do First: National Identity

In this activity you will watch a short video and use a report on the changing demographics of the United States to identify evidence about the Identity of the United States. You will then be asked to answer a set of questions based on the information.

Do Next: What Does It Mean to, “Be American”?

For this activity you will read the article and HIGHLIGHT 3 sentences. Then make comments (ctrl + alt + m) about them writing a few sentences explaining why YOU chose that quote—what it means to you, reminded you of, etc. You may have connected it to something that happened in your own life, to a film or book you’ve seen or read, or to something that happened in history or is happening in current events.

Newsela: No longer breakfast of champions: Millennials say cereal is too much work

Upcoming Deadlines: All Due 5/29

• National Identity
• What Does It Mean to, “Be American”?
• Newsela: No longer breakfast of champions: Millennials say cereal is too much work

Week of May 18th, 2020

Intro: For this lesson consider the impact of both family legacies and the broader sweep of history on your identity. As journalist Maria Hinojosa stated in the first lesson of this unit, we all have stories of how we got "here": individual stories, family stories. For better or for worse, we owe at least part of who we are to the choices our families and other important people in our lives have made, as well as the choices made by even older generations. These choices create for each of us a kind of legacy that influences our identities, our circumstances, and, in turn, the choices we make. Yet all of these choices, including the ones we make today, are made within a larger historical context. When we consider the legacies we have received from our individual families, we might also find personal connections to the history of our communities, our nation, and the world. Either way, this examination can bring us to a deeper understanding of who we are.

Learning Target: You will learn to what extent you inherit or receive your identity? How do the legacies of older generations influence your identity?

• Do First: “Explore Identity and Legacy”

In this activity, you will analyze one of four readings in which individuals describe objects, places, and other personal items that represent important parts of their identities and their personal histories. You will use these readings as a springboard for reflecting on the things in your life that have meaning because of the way they represent your personal or family histories.

Choice: Read one of the following readings and answer the questions:

1. What Are You?
2. The Wooden Shoes
3. Black Belt
4. A Strength of My Neighborhood

Questions: Explore Identity and Legacy

• Do Next: “Connect to History”

In this lesson Identity and Names, you will consider the extent to which your name represents your identity. In this activity, you will read how one man learned more about the history behind his family name, and how that history connected him to his family's legacy in the United States. You will answer a series of questions and consider the history or your family name.

• Extension Activity: Object Memories
• Newsela: Teens Are Missing Out on Real-World Socializing

Upcoming Deadlines:

• Explore Identity and Legacy
• Identity and Names
• Extension activity: Object Memories

Newsela: Teens Are Missing Out on Real-World Socializing

Week of May 11th, 2020

Throughout our lives, people attach labels to us, and those labels reflect and affect how others think about our identities as well as how we think about ourselves. Labels are not always negative; they can reflect positive characteristics, set useful expectations, and provide meaningful goals in our lives. Often, however, the labels that we use to describe each other are the result of unfounded assumptions and stereotypes. We regularly apply labels to people whom we barely know or have never even met, and the same is done to us. Thus, for good or for bad, labels represent an influence on our identity that is often beyond our control.

Learning Target: To provide you with the opportunity to explore some of the ways we use labels to identify each other and to consider the ways that those labels affect how others think about us, how we behave, and how we think about ourselves.

Do First: Reflect on How We Use Labels, Assumptions, and Stereotypes

• Analyze the cartoon in the document called “Street Calculus” that is in your SS Google Classroom and answer the questions.

Next: Analyze a Satire of Stereotypes

• Watch the video and answer the questions linked in the document titled What Type of Asian Are You? (In your SS Google Classroom) For this assignment it is VERY IMPORTANT that you read the directions before watching the video.
• Extension Reading: Still Me Inside (If you finish the above work, please read this article and respond to the question at the bottom)

Upcoming Deadlines:

• “Street Calculus”: Analyze and answer questions Due 5/15
• What Type of Asian Are You?: Watch and answer questions Due 5/15
• Still Me Inside (Extension Reading) Due 5/15
• Cnn 10 for Wed 5/13. Reflection for the Wednesday video is Due 5/15

Week of May 4th, 2020

Consider the relationship between names and identity

According to American author Ralph Ellison, “It is through our names that we first place ourselves in the world. Our names, being the gift of others, must be made our own.”Indeed, when we meet someone new, our name is usually the first piece of information about ourselves that we share. It is often one of the first markers of our identity that others learn. In this lesson, we use names to introduce the concept of identity and the idea that each of our identities is the product of the relationship between the individual and society.

For these lessons you will then broaden your exploration of identity and consider the other factors that influence who you are as an individual. You will consider the parts of your identity that are given to you as well as the parts that you choose.

Do First: Consider the Relationship between Names and Identity

• In this activity, you will read through a list of famous people who have changed their names. You will answer questions that will help you consider what choices these individuals were making about their identities when they changed their names. Choosing Names is the title of the document and is in your SS Google Classroom.

Next: On-Line Search Identity Chart

• There are many types of things that help determine a person's identity. Examples might include:

1. Religious/spiritual affiliation
2. Culture, race, or ethnicity
3. Appearance/style
4. Language or nationality
5. Hobbies/interests
6. Gender
7. Sexual orientation

Using this document, On-Line Search Identity Chart (found in your SS Google Classroom) I would like for you to create a mock online-search results page for yourself. This document will show what you would like to see in the results if you did an online search for yourself. The “results” could include websites, images, videos, shopping profiles or reviews, and other types of pages or links.

Upcoming Deadlines:

• Choosing Names Due 5/8
• On-Line Search Identity Chart Due 5/8
• Newsela: Football fan lost his sight but not love for the game; he became a player.