Interdisciplinary survey of people of African descent that draws on the overlapping approaches of history, literature, anthropology, legal studies, media studies, performance, linguistics, and creative writing. This course connects the experiences of African-Americans and of other American minorities, focusing on social, political, and cultural histories, and on linguistic patterns.

In this lesson, students begin by examining the ways their sense of identity might be affected by social pressures associated with different spaces. By watching clips from RUMBLE, students then discover how musicians Robbie Robertson, Stevie Salas, and Taboo have negotiated their Native identities, and compare these musician's journeys with those of earlier Native Americans.

Signed on May 6th, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first law to explicitly limit immigration based on race. This lesson is designed to go further in exploring the causes and effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act through analysis of primary and secondary sources. The purpose is to showcase the conditions in the US that led to a rise in xenophobia, and in turn, race-based policies that defined the Chinese American and Asian American experience in the United States. The lesson will also have students engage in critical thinking through research and a class discussion comparing and contrasting the Chinese Exclusion Act and current immigration policies or proposed immigration policies.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 5.1, 6.4, 7.5, 8.7, 8.8, HS.1, HS.2, HS.9, HS.10
Economics: 7.8
Geography: 5.13, HS.51
Historical Knowledge: 5.22, 6.20, 6.21, 8.22, 8.25, HS.52, HS.64
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.31, HS.68
Social Science Analysis: 5.26, 5.27, 6.24, 6.26, 8.34, 8.36, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74

In this lesson, students will learn about the Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre of 1871. They will examine the attitudes and policies of the time which led to the Massacre. Students will learn about recent acts of anti-Asian violence and make connections between the Chinese Massacre and recent anti-Asian violence and attacks.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 3.2
Economics: 4.4
Historical Knowledge: 5.22
Historical Thinking: 4.19, 5.24
Social Science Analysis: 3.17, 3.18, 4.21, 4.24, 5.27, 5.28, 5.29

In this lesson, students will learn about the Los Angeles Chinese Massacre of 1871, and identify the causes by examining the attitudes and policies of the time. They will learn about and analyze other massacres that have occurred in the United States in order to gain a better and more nuanced understanding of how and why these acts of violence occur. Lastly, students will research the process for reparations and consider how to address and rectify the harm of such injustices.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: HS.2, HS.9
Geography: HS.42, HS.51
Historical Knowledge: 6.20, 6.21, 8,22, 8.25, HS.52, HS.53, HS.64, HS.65
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.30, 8.31, HS.67, HS.68
Social Science Analysis: 6.24, 6.26, 6.27, 6.28, 7.27, 7.28, 7.29, 7.30, 8.33, 8.34, 8.36, HS.71, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74, HS.75

This lesson, part of the Digital Literacy series, addresses the importance of locating and verifying reliable sources when working with online information. This lesson is aimed at a young audience and operates on the assumption that many students in the class are not yet reading and writing independently.

Not all people are born equal or free but there is an expectation of both when you are a citizen of the United States. Our struggles to earn the base level of representation are quickly forgotten as we look for another group to demonize. In my unit we will discover why George Washington was ahead of his time with his warning about "factions" and how their existence makes freedom and equality harder to bridge. As we trek through time highlighting issues such as the abolition of slavery, support for women's suffrage, and the challenges that face Asian and LGBTQIA communities my hope is that student understand the sacrifices made to be accepted and to earn the right to vote but more importantly the difficulty in being welcomed into American society.

The “Citizenship Complex” is the process by which groups gain full inclusion. To understand it, one must look to the intersection of law, citizenship and the Constitution. The unit aims to provide a more complex history of our nation, to tell a more earnest story of how the American identity became a mosaic of human struggle, and to offer a more robust and enlightening study of these issues so that as students recognize the power of citizenship they will take a more hopeful view of what our nation will look like in the future. By engaging in the sophisticated discussions of the past, identifying why some groups supported each other and scapegoated others, and learning about the importance of supporting efforts at inclusion, our students should become more informed, open-minded, and ready for the globalized world of the 21 st Century.

The unit will focus on four groups that have experienced the “Citizenship Complex”: African-American slaves, women, Asian immigrants, and the LGBTQIA community. By comparing these groups over time, we will really be able to unearth the cycles behind the Citizenship Complex and understand that American citizenship means at different times in our country’s history.

This lesson explores the topics of Japanese American incarceration and redress, and its relation to the definition of an “American”, rights, and the Census. Definitions of race, nationality, ethnicity, and rights are explained to define “American”. The lesson also explains how Constitutional rights are basic human rights granted to all people regardless of citizenship as well as the differences that benefit an American citizen. To further analyze Japanese incarceration camps, studying the Census will explain its role in carrying out Executive Order 9066 as well as how the laws have changed to protect all Americans. Lastly, students will review the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 to understand how the American government apologized for the treatment of Japanese Americans.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 7.5, 8.9, HS.2, HS.6, HS.9, HS.11
Historical Knowledge: 8.25, 8.27, HS.58, HS.60, HS.65, HS.66
Historical Thinking: 8.31, 8.32, HS.67
Social Science Analysis: 7.27, 7.30, 8.33, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74, HS.78

This course surveys the social science literature on civil war. Students will study the origins of civil war, discuss variables that affect the duration of civil war, and examine the termination of conflict. This course is highly interdisciplinary and covers a wide variety of cases.

Students will learn the characteristics of the Three Graces, compare and contrast a classical image of the Graces with a contemporary interpretation, and use empathy and theater skills to consider an artist’s purpose for adapting a classical image in a contemporary work of art.

This 6th Grade literacy unit focuses on the Required Core Novel The Skin I’m In , by Sharon G. Flake. This unit explores the confusing journey to finding identity as a middle school aged student. The complex identities of five characters from the novel, Maleeka, Char, Mrs. Saunders, Caleb and John-John, are analyzed with multiple supplemental texts. The project for the students includes a daily “Identity Journal,” in which they analyze the characters using text evidence from both the novel and supplemental texts, and then compare these with what they are feeling or seeing within themselves. The unit culminates with a drawing of the student alongside the character the most identify with. Students present their journals with the drawings.

The incarceration of Japanese Americans in World War II was a grave failure of our democracy and highlights the dangers that can result when the three branches of government failed to uphold the Constitution, and certain communities are excluded from political power. Until the 1950s, Asian Americans were not allowed to become naturalized citizens and did not have the power to vote or engage in many of America’s political processes. In this lesson, students will investigate how citizenship and voting rights have evolved throughout history and reflect critically on how the rights and privileges conferred by citizenship impact political power on both an individual and community level.

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies:
Civics and Government: 8.2, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, HS.1, HS.2, HS.6, HS.9
Historical Knowledge: HS.53, HS.65
Historical Thinking: 7.25, 8.30, 8.31, HS.67, HS.68
Social Science Analysis: 7.27, 7.29, 8.33, 8.36, HS.72, HS.73, HS.74, HS.77, HS.78

An individual portfolio is something like a visual curriculum to be constructed together with the people with disabilities, to support them in understanding the their own identity, so that they can determine their choices in the most assertive way and with a view to achieving their life goals.

Download the instructions to implement a workshop for the creation of personal portfolios.

This lesson explores the complexities of a situation in which immigrant students attend a school that is plagued with racially motivated violence. Working in small groups and as a class, students will discuss possible solutions and outcomes and apply their problem-solving skills to issues affecting their own school and community.

Democracy in difference: Debating key terms of gender, sexuality, race and identity focuses on concepts and analytical frames we use when discussing how marginalised identities navigate their place in an assumed common culture.

This ebook offers a path for exploring how we might build a shared vocabulary when working through the muddle of public debates like identity politics, political correctness, pronouns and what constitutes racism. Democracy in Difference is an unconventional interdisciplinary guide to key concepts, which borrows from decolonial methodologies, Marxism, feminism, queer theory and deconstruction.

Key terms are illustrated through written text, La Trobe Art Institute artworks (centering Indigenous artists), poetry, comedy and song, and customised animations which make difficult terms accessible.

This text is published by the La Trobe eBureau.

The overall goal of these lessons is to help students develop their racial or ethnic identities in a safe and open classroom environment. Each lesson capitalizes on a slightly different modality of learning. The lessons

As social media engagement among youth continues to rise, students are becoming increasingly exposed to and involved in hashtag campaigns related to themes of identity, diversity, justice and social action.

In this lesson, students will describe aspects of their identities such as race, gender, class, age, ability, religion and more. They will watch two video clips featuring Marley Dias, an eleven-year-old girl who started the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign, a book drive with the goal of collecting 1,000 books featuring African-American girls. After learning about the campaign, students will review illustrated books in their classroom and school library and analyze whether the characters in the books reflect their own identities or the identities of their families and friends. Finally, students will write a book review on one of the books and examine how the book’s characters are similar to or different from them.

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

In this unit, students will produce two major pieces of work.  The first piece is an argument essay that grapples with one of the core questions of the unit: who are we, and who have we become because of the ways we connect? Students will read, annotate, and discuss several texts together as they consider the issues surrounding this question, and they will also research and annotate independently as they search for more evidence and perspectives to help deepen their ideas.  They will also create a museum exhibit as part of a team.  The exhibit project will help students identify what's worth preserving about their unique place in history.

PROJECT UNITS

This project unit continues to meet the English Language Arts standards as it also utilizes the learning principles established by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. It is designed to support deep content knowledge and perseverance through long-term project planning and implementation. In addition, it will help students to recognize, develop, and apply the planning, teamwork, communication, and presentation skills they will use while presenting a final product to their class and/or the greater community. This real-world project-based activity will give students an opportunity to apply the skills they have been learning all year and will guide them to develop the motivation, knowledge, and skills they need in order to be college and career ready.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students write an argument paper where they develop a claim about current culture as it has been influenced by digital connectivity.
Students participate in a group project to create a museum exhibit that captures a unique place, time, and relationship to technology. Students acknowledge the differing perspectives of each group member and use those perspectives to synthesize one cohesive visual argument together.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

What does it mean to be digitally connected?
What are the implications of living in a world where everyone is digitally connected?
How does the availability of instant connectivity shape our relationships?
What does our Internet use reveal about people's needs as humans?

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT: Cold Read

During this unit, on a day of your choosing, we recommend you administer a Cold Read to assess students’ reading comprehension. For this assessment, students read a text they have never seen before and then respond to multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. The assessment is not included in this course materials.