Lesson 2

Introduction to Identities

Lesson 2 Introduction to Identities

Name: ________________________ Subject: Social Justice Grade: 12 Date: ________________

Rationale
▪ Introduce identities as a fluid composite of multiple identities shaped by context

Instructional Objective(s)
▪ Students understand the difference between
o Personal identities include an individual’s name, unique characteristics, history, personality, and other traits that make one
different from others
o Social identity includes affinities one has with other people, values, and norms that one accepts, and the ways one has
learned to behave in social settings
▪ Students practice group participation guidelines, Google Classrooms, and Blogger (from Lesson 1)
▪ Students establish the foundation to communicate constructively through the idea of strategic questions
▪ Students engage with their Learning Partner over text-based asynchronous forums

Preparation
Teacher Students

▪ Complete Exploration of the Google Classroom (or LMS) and

Blogger (From Lesson 1)

▪ Curate and prepare Introduction to Identities Gallery Walk.

The artefacts should leverage multimedia (primary) sources
to facilitate student exploration of the concept of identity
construction (see Material & Resources for ideas)
▪ Prepare Gallery Guide (prompts and questions) for the
selected artefacts that help students focus on identifying key
themes observed; exploring how identity is defined and/or the
role of society in the construction of identity
▪ Set up Gallery Walk Stations
o For digital media stations: upload digital media on
laptops and place at different locations within the
classroom room. For audio and audio-visual stations
consider providing headphones.
o For traditional media stations: prepare station materials
▪ Group students (4-5 students from the same classroom) and
create a rotation schedule
Stations should be spread out to consider for the flow of students

▪ Pair students one from each classroom (Learning Partners)

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Introduction to Identities

Teacher Students

▪ Set up Learning Partners using Individual Assignment

functionality in Google Classrooms.
▪ Coordinate with Co-Teacher to ensure that Learning Partners
are available for online forum discussion

▪ Ensure access to devices, and internet connectivity for

classroom
▪ Ensure access to a working projector

Lesson Activities
Teacher Students

Revisit Participation Guidelines

▪ Project Participation Guidelines and Ground rules established ▪ Share concerns or changes on Participation Guidelines and
in Lesson 1 Ground rules
o Ask students to revisit, clarify, and revise
▪ Record any updates directly on Google Doc “Rules for
Engagement”

Define Identities - Gallery Walk

▪ Introduce students to the concept of a Gallery Walk: its goals
and how it will work
▪ Manage Gallery Walk
▪ Gallery Walk Debrief: as a class ask students to articulate the
conclusions they drew about the construction of identity.
Sample guiding questions may include:
▪ Using the Gallery Guide, walk through the gallery noting
individual and group ideas
▪ Actively Participate in the Gallery Walk and the Gallery Walk
Debrief

▪ What is the relationship between social

construction and identity?
▪ What is the individual’s capacity to
independently construct oneself?
▪ What identity characteristics are socially
constructed, and which are independently
constructed?

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Introduction to Identities

Teacher Students

Self-Reflection - Personal Identity

▪ Ask students to reflect on how they perceive their identities ▪ Write and post blog
by considering
▪ Who am I?
▪ How do my personal experiences and
circumstances (e.g., age, sex, sexual orientation,
gender identity, ethnicity, family, socioeconomic
status) affect my perceptions?

Introduction to Strategic Questions

▪ Prepare students for their engagement with their Learning ▪ Engage in role play
Partner by introducing the idea of strategic questioning
▪ Role play different scenarios

Engage with Learning Partner (Text-based Forums)

▪ Share Learning Partner assignments ▪ Post and respond to “What’s In a Name” activity
▪ Coordinate with teacher from Learning Partner Classroom to ▪ At least 2 sets of exchanges with Learning Partner via the
ensure that Learning Partners have access to the Google forum
Classroom ▪ Explore profile and blog posts of Learning Partner
▪ Prepare students for their first interaction with their Learning
Partners. For the first interaction, the Learning Partners will
“talk” via the Google Classroom asynchronous online
discussions boards through the Assignment functionality.
o This interaction will be guided through the “What’s In a
Name” activity.

▪ In “What’s In a Name” students share the story

behind how they acquired their name, the
meaning of their name, and attempt to connect
it with their personal identity.
▪ Share aspects such as geographical origin,
language, meaning, spelling and people who
influences the name decision.

o Each student shares their post on the activity. Then

reviews their Learning Partner post and respond to it. At
least 2 sets exchanges per post that use strategic
questioning techniques
▪ Encourage students to explore Learning Partner blog posts
and student profile (including profile picture)

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Introduction to Identities

Teacher Students

Self-Reflection – Forming Relationships

▪ Ask students reflect on the impact of forming relationships ▪ Write and post blog
when limited to asynchronous online forum discussions (text-
based communication

What I know about my Learning Partner.

What are the implications of getting to
know someone only through online forum
discussion and profiles

Assessment and Evaluation

▪ Students participate during class discussions, online engagement, and planned activities
▪ Students demonstrate strategic questioning in getting to know Learning Partner
▪ Students demonstrate understanding of the difference between personal and social identities
▪ Students may peer-assess or self-assess blog postings based on the criteria defined in Lesson 1

Materials and Resources (including organisational and/or behavioural management strategies)

▪ Device, projector, and internet access for the teacher
▪ Devices and internet access for students
▪ Headphones (for Gallery Walk Station)
▪ Sticky Notes (for Gallery Walk Station)
▪ Gallery Walk artefacts
o Some Gallery Walk Artefact Ideas:

Movies & Mini-Film Series

▪ The Matrix (1999): to demonstrate the difficulty in unpacking one’s socialisation. Subversive Social Justice
▪ Who, Me, Biased? — Series of takes a closer look at the unfair effects of our subconscious by looking at the term
Implicit Bias. (https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pov-biased-lpclips/who-me-biased/#.W2SnDdJKjZs)
▪ Confronting Racist Objects — This series features stories about reconciling, reclaiming and reinterpreting racist
objects (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/09/us/confronting-racist-objects.html)
Ted Talks & Interviews
▪ (Ted Talks) The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Adichie
(https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en)
▪ (TEDxEuston) Change the narrative to a dialogue by Nancy Kacungira
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN03uiVK4eE)
▪ (Ted Talks) The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown (https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability)
▪ Geneva Gay video on identity construction (https://vimeo.com/71925737)
Podcasts
▪ This American Life, Episode 469: Hiding in Plain Sight (lhttps://www.thisamericanlife.org/469/hiding-in-plain-sight)
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Introduction to Identities

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▪ HSBC “Different Points of View” Campaign (https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/400820435556160860/?lp=true)
Songs
▪ American Idiot by Green Day
▪ One by U2
▪ Half Breed by Cher
▪ Stupid Girls by P!nk
Art
▪ The Jungle (La Jungla) by Wifredo Lam (https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/wifredo-lam-the-jungle-1943
▪ Runaways by Glenn Ligon (https://www.artsy.net/artwork/glenn-ligon-runaways)
Readings (Papers, Novels)
▪ McIntosh, P. (2007). White privilege and male privilege. Race, Ethnicity and Gender: Selected Readings, 377-385.
▪ Choy, W. (1995). The Jade Peony. Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd. (link
▪ Coupland, D. (2011). Player One. Toronto: Windmill Books. (S)
▪ Wagamese, R. (1997). A quality of light. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. (S)

▪ Suggested Reading/Review for Teacher

o Strategic Questioning Manual: http://www.gettysburg.edu/dotAsset/6b2841ef-2185-4924-888f-bbe0349338ca.pdf
o Putting together a Gallery Walks:
o https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/gallery-walk
o http://cepe.cofc.edu/documents/Gallery%20Walk.pdf
o More Ideas for Gallery Walk Artefacts: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/activity1.html

Adaptations
In a Flipped Classroom format, a 100% online Gallery Walk may be set up, with students taking their tour prior to coming to class and
providing responses to predefined questions and prompts through the comments/discussion forums. This will leave more time for the
in-class Gallery Walk debrief and discussions. For setting up a 100% online Gallery Walk you can set up the artefacts using Google
Classroom Individual Assignments or Blogger. Some alternate online applications designed for richer experiences that can be quickly
incorporated in the Google Classroom platform:

▪ VoiceThread. VoiceThread is a web-based application that allows you to place collections of media like images, videos, documents,
and presentations at the centre of an asynchronous conversation. A VoiceThread allows people to have conversations and to make
comments using any mix of text, a microphone, a webcam, a telephone, or uploaded audio. For more information visit:
https://voicethread.com
▪ Lino it. Lino It is a web application that provides an online canvas where teachers and students can post online stickies, pictures,
videos, and attachments. You can also share your online canvas by sharing its URL. Sharing the URL would allow others to post
stickies as well. For more information visit: http://en.linoit.com/

Reflection
▪ Facilitation Notes: Some students may be reluctant to share their experiences and thoughts. Having teachers share their stories
first and demonstrating vulnerability and honesty may help students feel more comfortable doing the same

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