"I Am" Me: Talking About Identity

This lesson aims to teach about identity to help students to learn about their own unique identities.

Activity Outline

Goal of Activity
- The goal of this activity is to help students to see how unique they are and also see the uniqueness of their classmates around them.
Time Allotment: ~45 minutes
Learning Objectives
- "Students will reflect on their own identity."
- "Students will actively listen to Looking Like Me, stopping to share describing words and identity terms for the main character."
- "Students will identify words, describing words, and identity terms that describe themselves."
- "Students will discuss the importance of respecting peoples’ identity terms and descriptive words."
Steps of Activity
- Opening (2 minutes)
  - "Begin the lesson by telling students, “Today we’ll be talking about ‘identity’ which is a big word that has to do with who we are, and all the things that make us unique and special. There are lots of different pieces that fit together to make up our identity.”
- Read Aloud (10 minutes)
  - "Tell students that you will be reading a book called Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers. Show students the cover and ask them for any predictions they have about the story."
  - "Have chart paper and markers nearby and write “I am” at the top. Tell students that the main character of this story uses lots of different words that tell us more about his identity, or who he is inside.
  - “Listen for words that talk about the boy, who he is and what he likes. When you hear one of these words, put your thumb up. We’ll write it on this list to learn more about the boy’s identity.”
  - Throughout the story, make sure to pause when "students notice describing words and other identity terms. Write these on chart paper."
- I Am (10 minutes)
  - "Tell students, “That story used ‘I am’ to tell more about the boy’s identity. We want to learn more about your identity. What makes you special and unique? What words tell people about you?”
  - "Brainstorm describing words and identity terms with the students and write these on the board or chart paper for reference."
  - "Show students your example of the “I am” sign, who the sign represents, and read the terms you used."
    - "Note: This is a great opportunity to introduce terms to represent race, culture, religion, ability, LGBTQ families, gender identity, and gender expression."
  - "Tell students that they will each get a sign to tell us all more about their identities and what makes them special. Specify, depending on the students’ ages and abilities, the expectations for writing words or drawing on the signs."
    - "Note: If you have created a sign as an example, show this to the students."
  - "Pass out “I am” signs to students. You may want to have students write in pencil, check with a teacher, and then add color."
- Closure (13 minutes)
  - "Invite students to show their “I am” signs to the class, and to share a part of their identity that feels special to them."
  - "Ask students, “What words or pictures did you use to show your gender identity or gender expression?”
    - "Listen out for stereotypes and address them or note them and make a plan to follow up at another time. For example, if students say, “I drew this ower in pink because I’m a girl” you can say, “That’s a very detailed ower! Do all girls have to like owers and pink?” or “That’s interesting! We’ll talk more about that later.”
  - “Which parts of your identity are you the most proud of?” “How would you feel if someone teased you for those parts of your identity, for being you?”
  - “Who should get to fill out your identity sign, you or someone else? Could I go around and write whatever words or names on your sign that I want?” Follow up with, “That’s right, you know your identity, who you are, what names and words you want to be called. When you call someone a name or tease them, it’s like writing on their sign.”
  - “Do you think our class would be better if all of our signs or all of our identities were the same? Why or why not?”
  - "To finish, tell students, “If all of our signs were the same, it’d be like using only one color to draw with all of the time. We’re lucky to have so many different identities in our class! Turn to the person next to you and give them a compliment about their sign.”

Discussion

I chose this lesson because it is absolutely fantastic. This lesson is what diversity instruction should look like. The text that was chosen for this lesson is a fantastic piece of literature and the discussion that goes along with it really will allow students to see how what makes them different, makes them who they are. It also shows that everyone is defined by so many different things and that one title cannot be enough to define them.

This lesson allows for critical engagement with material because it pushes students to make text-to-self connections about what makes them who they are. This lesson also honors student experience because it gives students the space to be reflective about how the text connects to their own lives and who they are as defined by the people around them.