Promoting Community & the Common Good

This is a mini-lesson that could stand alone, or as part of a larger unit. It begins with a Writer's Notebook entry on the subject of "autobiography", then moves into the creation and posting via Padlet of student "Writing Territories".

~Created by Andy Porter, 2022 

You will need to scroll down a little bit until you come to a wheel that shows many different aspects of a person’s identity. There are some questions outside of the wheel that you can use to help students start to think about their own identities and cultures. I have used this wheel to help students better understand where their personal biases may be coming from as well. It is also helpful to get students to think about where they are similar to other people, when sometimes it is easier to focus on the differences. 

This website offers tools to help educators, communities, anyone to help build bridges through conversation. It was created by Jonathan Haidt. A team of researchers, educators, and others have continued to add to this site and offer support. 

This power point walks students through webbing out different elements of their identity, writing about some of their most valued elements and imagining what it would be like if one was taken away or became cause for their persecution. 

~Created by Kellie March, 2022

Carl Wilkens stayed in Rwanda when others left during the horrific genocide of 1994. This website contains many resources from Carl and others on community building. 

Based on the international organization and radio broadcast of the same name, this personal essay is designed to allow students to explore and better understand theirs and others statements of belief. The document includes links to a variety of examples as well as the parameters for a personal essay. Designed for the 11-12th grade classroom.