Now that the students have met each other, it is a good chance to begin the process of understanding each others’ cultures a little more deeply. How you describe yourself –your personal identity – makes a big difference in how you present yourself to the world. In this lesson, students will:
Understand the complexities of their own personal identities
Understand the diversity of identities that makes up their own society (US, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Palestine)
Gain an understanding of the similarities and differences in the diversity that makes up their partner classroom’s society
Description
Students will explore the levels of identity that they personally feel make them who they are. Students will then create group presentations about their national identities, and attempt to describe the complexity and diversity of what it means to be a member of their society/nation. Students will exchange these presentations with their partner classroom. Students will gain an understanding of the similarities and differences between their own identities and the identities of their classmates, and also the similarities and differences between their national identity and that of their partner classmates.
Materials
Computer with internet access
MS Word or PowerPoint
Email access to send publications and participate in forums (not needed for every student, but at least one teacher, student, or administrator address is needed for each school group)
Suggested Procedure
Opening:
Explain to students that when we describe ourselves, we usually use more than one characteristic, noun, or adjective. Since people are complex, one word cannot sum up who we are. Our identities come from all the various influences on our lives. No one element – nationality, place of birth, religion, gender – defines us completely. As human beings, we’re remarkably complex. Our societies, therefore, are also remarkably complex, with people from different backgrounds, classes, sexes, religions, language groups, and etc. While we tend to accept this diversity as a fact of life in our own societies, sometimes we forget that it exists in other societies as well. We tend to lump people in other societies as one “type” of people, because we don’t know about them. This is called stereotyping, and it can lead to a lot of problems. To show that we respect each other, we need to try to understand each other.
In this lesson we’re going to explore our identities – as individuals, as members of this country, and as citizens of the world. Brainstorm/Writing Prompt:
Brainstorm with students about identity – what things, beliefs, or experiences make up our identities? Have students brainstorm all the themes they can think of together as a class. Suggested themes: religion, nationality, ethnicity, language, gender, age, economic background, social background, family, political affiliation, taste in music, hobbies, interests, etc. (See worksheet below)
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Write on the blackboard the question “Who Am I?” Ask students to make a list, independently, of adjectives and nouns that they feel describe them as individuals. For example, I am: American, Israeli, female, Jewish, an immigrant, a Democrat, young, a cook, a daughter, a dog-owner (and many many other things!). Ask them to take the themes discussed as a class into consideration, and to feel free to add things that may have been missed.
Creating Presentations:
Students split up into small groups. They will create a PowerPoint (or Word, if PowerPoint is unavailable) presentation on what it means to be a member of their nation (i.e., what it means to be American, Afghan, Tajikistani, Palestinian, or Bangladeshi)
Ask students to pick five major themes of national identity from all of the themes of identity they’ve already discussed. Which themes are most important for being a member of a nation as a whole? Each theme the students choose should take up at least one slide in the presentation.
For each theme the students pick, they should attempt to describe the diversity in their nation through a photo collage with a brief description. What images represent all the various aspects of these themes best?
Example: If students decide that “place of birth” is an important theme in defining their national identity in the US, a photo collage of that theme might include pictures of or flags from all the various states, cities, or countries they were born in. They would then write a brief explanation of why they chose the photos they did, and what those photos mean to them and to the theme. Suggested Follow-Up:
After completing their presentations, students might want to complete a K-W-L chart. A sheet of paper is divided into three sections, labeled K, W, and L. The “K” stands for “Know” – ask students what they think they already know about their partner students. The “W” stands for “Want” – ask students what they still want to know about the identity of their partner students. This may help both students and teachers define their questions for the forum. After taking part in the forum, students should fill out the “L” section – for what they have “Learned” about their partner students and national identity in their partner country. All groups should complete and submit their presentations by Friday, October 20th.
Teachers should email the presentations to their partners, AND the RI-SOL representative so they can be posted on the website. Presentations should be sent no later than Friday, September 22nd, 2006.
“Identity” forum will be held Monday, October 23rd – Friday, October 27th
This is an opportunity for your students to ask questions about their partner schools’ findings and presentations. Please have your students go online to your partner country’s website (see addresses below) and view their partner’s presentation before they enter the forum.
You can find the forum through the online country website: www.connect-afghanistan.org www.connect-tajikistan.org www.connect-bangladesh.org www.connect-middleeast.org
October 2006 Lesson
Who am I? Identity
Grades 6-12
2-3 Class Periods
Objectives
Now that the students have met each other, it is a good chance to begin the process of understanding each others’ cultures a little more deeply. How you describe yourself –your personal identity – makes a big difference in how you present yourself to the world. In this lesson, students will:Description
Students will explore the levels of identity that they personally feel make them who they are. Students will then create group presentations about their national identities, and attempt to describe the complexity and diversity of what it means to be a member of their society/nation. Students will exchange these presentations with their partner classroom. Students will gain an understanding of the similarities and differences between their own identities and the identities of their classmates, and also the similarities and differences between their national identity and that of their partner classmates.Materials
Suggested Procedure
Opening:Explain to students that when we describe ourselves, we usually use more than one characteristic, noun, or adjective. Since people are complex, one word cannot sum up who we are. Our identities come from all the various influences on our lives. No one element – nationality, place of birth, religion, gender – defines us completely. As human beings, we’re remarkably complex. Our societies, therefore, are also remarkably complex, with people from different backgrounds, classes, sexes, religions, language groups, and etc. While we tend to accept this diversity as a fact of life in our own societies, sometimes we forget that it exists in other societies as well. We tend to lump people in other societies as one “type” of people, because we don’t know about them. This is called stereotyping, and it can lead to a lot of problems. To show that we respect each other, we need to try to understand each other.
In this lesson we’re going to explore our identities – as individuals, as members of this country, and as citizens of the world.
Brainstorm/Writing Prompt:
- Brainstorm with students about identity – what things, beliefs, or experiences make up our identities? Have students brainstorm all the themes they can think of together as a class. Suggested themes: religion, nationality, ethnicity, language, gender, age, economic background, social background, family, political affiliation, taste in music, hobbies, interests, etc. (See worksheet below)
>Creating Presentations:
- Students split up into small groups. They will create a PowerPoint (or Word, if PowerPoint is unavailable) presentation on what it means to be a member of their nation (i.e., what it means to be American, Afghan, Tajikistani, Palestinian, or Bangladeshi)
- Ask students to pick five major themes of national identity from all of the themes of identity they’ve already discussed. Which themes are most important for being a member of a nation as a whole? Each theme the students choose should take up at least one slide in the presentation.
- For each theme the students pick, they should attempt to describe the diversity in their nation through a photo collage with a brief description. What images represent all the various aspects of these themes best?
Example: If students decide that “place of birth” is an important theme in defining their national identity in the US, a photo collage of that theme might include pictures of or flags from all the various states, cities, or countries they were born in. They would then write a brief explanation of why they chose the photos they did, and what those photos mean to them and to the theme.Suggested Follow-Up:
After completing their presentations, students might want to complete a K-W-L chart. A sheet of paper is divided into three sections, labeled K, W, and L. The “K” stands for “Know” – ask students what they think they already know about their partner students. The “W” stands for “Want” – ask students what they still want to know about the identity of their partner students. This may help both students and teachers define their questions for the forum. After taking part in the forum, students should fill out the “L” section – for what they have “Learned” about their partner students and national identity in their partner country.
All groups should complete and submit their presentations by Friday, October 20th.
Teachers should email the presentations to their partners, AND the RI-SOL representative so they can be posted on the website. Presentations should be sent no later than Friday, September 22nd, 2006.
“Identity” forum will be held Monday, October 23rd – Friday, October 27th
This is an opportunity for your students to ask questions about their partner schools’ findings and presentations. Please have your students go online to your partner country’s website (see addresses below) and view their partner’s presentation before they enter the forum.
You can find the forum through the online country website:
www.connect-afghanistan.org
www.connect-tajikistan.org
www.connect-bangladesh.org
www.connect-middleeast.org