Identity through Time and Space

Identity through Time and Space

Author(s):

Marsha Bowers

Grade Level:
11th

Timeframe:
Four 90-minute blocks

Lesson Description or Explanation
Students will explore the idea of identity within the scope of time and place. They will identify what aspects of where/when they live contribute to how they identify themselves, and how they view the world. They will begin by identifying these aspects for themselves, then build on what they are familiar with to explore the same questions about people removed from them by both time and space.


Indiana Curricular Standards:
English standard 11.3.2:
Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Literary Text: Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim. (Core Standard)

English standard 11.5.1:
Write fictional, autobiographical, or biographical narratives that:
• narrate a sequence of events and communicate their significance to the audience.
• locate scenes and incidents in specific places.
• describe with specific details the sights, sounds, and smells of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters; in the case of autobiography or fiction, use interior monologue (what the character says silently to self) to show the character's feelings.
• pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood. (Core Standard)

English standard 11.5.8:
Deliver multimedia presentations that:
• combine text, images, and sound and draw information from many sources, including television broadcasts, videos, films, newspapers, magazines, CD-ROMs, the Internet, and electronic media-generated images.
• select an appropriate medium for each element of the presentation.
• use the selected media skillfully, editing appropriately, and monitoring for quality.
• test the audience's response and revise the presentation accordingly. (Core Standard)

ISTE standards:
Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:

a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.

2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

Assessments:
Formative:
--Walking around the room, observing conversations
--Classroom discussions

Summative:
-- The initial group project will be graded on creativity, originality, and breadth and depth of coverage of the ideas presented.
--Although originality and creativity will be a factor in their grading rubric for their second project, they will not be weighed as heavily as they were in the previous group project. The content will be weighed much more heavily for this exercise.
-- Interview grades will be based on how well the questions met the purpose of the interview, and how complete the identity description was that resulted. The diary entries will be graded upon how well the imagined responses matched the interview results. The students will have been given both rubrics prior to composing the interview questions.


Prior Knowledge:
Curricular Knowledge or Skills: Students will have read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Technology Knowledge: Students will have been blogging with students from other places in the world.

Technology:
Internet Resources: (please list URLs) http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/

Hardware: Computers with internet access

Software: Whatever students choose to use in their presentations—Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Publisher, Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, etc.

Procedure:
Day 1 (Thursday):

30 minutes
Students will be led in a discussion about how characters’ identities were formed in To Kill a Mockingbird by the time and place in which they lived. Discussion will include the Great Depression, available technology/new technology at the time (who had cars, how was communication handled—how often were they on the phone, etc., what did they do for entertainment), the treatment of blacks post Civil War, pre civil rights movement (where were they coming from, where were they heading). And in the South in particular—how was racism different where these people lived than in other areas, how did weather contribute to identity, and so on.

60 minutes
The students will be assigned to pre-determined groups, heterogeneously mixed according to ability and interest. They will explore in their groups how their own identities are formed by living in Indianapolis at the beginning of the 21st century. They will compare and contrast their identity to those in their groups. They will spend the rest of the class gathering their findings and discussing how best to present them using their choice of media. They will be given the weekend to put the 10-minute presentation together.

Day 2 (Monday):

60 minutes
Students will share their presentations with the class.

30 minutes
Students will be led in a discussion about how someone from Indianapolis might have had their identities shaped differently simply because of the time period they grew up in. They will be asked to identify someone at least two generations removed from themselves—grandparent, neighbor, friend of the family—who grew up in Indianapolis (or as close as possible). They will spend the remainder of class composing questions to ask during an interview. They will have until Friday to complete the interview and bring back their responses.

Day 3 (Wednesday):

25 minutes
Conversely to Monday, they will now discuss how someone growing up today might have a completely different identity because of the place they live. The students will have been exchanging blog entries with students in other countries through http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/. They will analyze the discussions they have had with their pen pals, which will have been led to include questions about this very topic from the beginning of school.

60 minutes (5 minutes travel time)
In the computer lab, they will individually create a presentation describing a day in the life of their pen pal and compare and contrast this day with one of their own. They will be allowed to work on it at home and in class on Friday briefly if needed.

Day 4 (Friday):

25 minutes
Students will meet in the lab and complete their pen pal projects if needed. Those who have finished can help those still working as needed.

60 minutes (5 minutes travel time)
Students will use the interview responses they brought in to create a diary entry (or multiple entries) using the voice of the person they interviewed. These will be hand written. They will make up situations and describe in first person, past-tense, how their interviewee would respond according to the identities they revealed in the interviews.


Differentiated Instruction:

ESL:
The first project will be done in groups that will be formed so that any English language learners will have appropriate support from their peers. The second project in the computer lab will allow them to translate as needed using resources online. The diary writing will help assess their progress in writing in English.


Challenge/Extend:
The students with higher abilities will be matched with those who need help in the heterogeneous groupings. They will be able to provide assistance for others in the computer lab if they finish their work early. They can add to their diary entries or help others if they finish that project early. They may also do additional research and do similar projects for historical figures.


Special Needs:
Those with special needs will be placed with students who can assist them in the heterogeneous groupings. The computer work will allow for some one-on-one assistance from me as well as students who have finished early, and the computers will have access to websites that can alter the texts they’re working with or speak the words to them through headphones, etc.