An English Language Arts teacher prepares to teach a literature unit for middle and high school students.

Toolkit

Coming-of-Age Unit Planning Toolkit

This toolkit provides the framework and classroom resources to help you design a coming-of-age literature unit for middle or high school students using a book of your choosing.

Published: July 14, 2021

Toolkit

Language

English — US

Subject

English & Language Arts

Grade

6–12

Culture & Identity

Overview

The toolkit features classroom-ready resources, such as essential questions, journal prompts, and customizable student activities, as well as guidance to help teachers apply Facing History’s approach to their unit design process. These resources, along with the educator workbook, support the creation of coming-of-age literature units that center students’ identities and experiences as young adults in the world today.

This toolkit is organized into 7 sections, each of which leads you through a different phase of the unit planning process. Within these sections you’ll find:

Resources for engaging in self-reflection before planning your unit
Guidance on purposeful text selection, including videos with Dr. Kimberly Parker and recommendations for addressing racist and dehumanizing language in literature
Facing History learning objectives and learning outcomes
An adaptable, summative assessment option with a written and oral component
12 essential questions to choose from that support student inquiry and reflection
30 journal prompts and ideas for incorporating journaling into your classroom
19 learning experiences with classroom activities designed to work with a wide range of texts

Preparing to Teach

Guide

As you progress through the Unit Planning Toolkit, use the questions and activities in this Educator Workbook to guide your planning and design process.

An educator supports two students in school uniforms with a classroom activity.

Guide

Use this editable template to begin documenting your unit-planning process.

Guide

Use or adapt this coming-of-age unit assessment, which invites students to join thousands of others from across the globe in sharing their beliefs and values in short written and recorded statements.

Inside This Toolkit

Section

Reflect on your identity as an educator and your ideas about teaching and learning, as well as your school context and the students in your classroom.

Section

Apply Facing History’s key principles of text selection to your own context as you customize a unit for your students.

Section

Identify the goals, learning objectives, and student learning outcomes for your coming-of-age literature unit.

Teacher helping a male pupil studying at a desk in classroom stock

Section

Explore our bank of essential questions for a coming-of-age literature unit and engage with activities in the Educator Workbook to align your essential questions with your learning outcomes and passages from the text.

Section

Plan your summative assessment based on a “This I Believe” personal narrative or an assessment of your choice using Facing History’s strategies for prewriting, outlining, and revision.

Facing History and Ourselves Bullying Summit September 29th 2012 in Los Angeles CA

Section

Learn creative ways to incorporate journaling into your units and lesson plans and explore our bank of Facing History journal prompts.

Section

Each of our learning experiences provides activities and resources to explore a core Facing History concept or theme while building key literacy skills.

Materials and Downloads

The additional resources referenced in this toolkit are available in Google Doc format. You can access them all in the folder below.

Get Files Via Google

Document

Coming-of-Age Unit Planning Toolkit Folder (all Docs)

+ Share to Google Classroom

Text Set

Power, Agency, and Voice

Designed for students in grades 11-12, this text set includes lesson plans and multi-genre texts for a 1–2 week unit exploring the essential question, "How do I empower myself to speak up and take action on behalf of myself and others?”

Guide

Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

Teach a unit on Jacqueline Woodson's coming-of-age memoir in verse that invites students to reflect on their own experiences and identities.

Additional Resources

Text Set

Designed for students in grades 8-10, this text set includes lesson plans and multi-genre texts for a 1–2 week unit exploring the essential question, "What makes me, me?"

Text Set

Four students at their desks, working in a group.

Guide

Teach a unit on Jacqueline Woodson's coming-of-age memoir in verse that invites students to reflect on their own experiences and identities.

A girl leans against a wall while reading a book.

Activity

Students get an opportunity to give feedback about the class and communicate their needs and worries.

A person holds a compass in their hand with the ocean in the background.

Activity

Students share how they are feeling, what their needs are, and what goals they’d like to set in an exit card.

A person holds a glass door open with a backpack over one shoulder.

Collection

Incorporate these community-building routines into your lessons to set a welcoming tone, allow students to connect with one another, and encourage goal setting.

Two students in conversation while looking down at a laptop computer.

Activity

Students consider what parts of our identities we choose for ourselves and what parts are chosen for us, as well as the impact our names can have on our identities.

A student in conversation with a peer outside of the photograph is in the center of the photo. Another student looks at a laptop.

Activity

Students examine the tensions that can arise when we must navigate multiple, and sometimes conflicting, identities.

A student writes on a piece of paper with a pencil while holding a handout in their other hand.

Activity

Students read a personal narrative and reflect on the relationship between storytelling and identity development.

A stack of papers with Michelle Obama's "Becoming" on top.

Activity

Students explore the idea of “community” in order to identify its key aspects and deeper meaning.

Activity

Students explore the factors that make up a community.

A silhouette of the Chicago City Skyline at sunrise.

Activity

Students practice sharing what they are feeling while building empathy for their classmates.

A student looks down at their paper with a pen in hand. A smiling emoji is in the foreground.

Activity

Students engage with an intriguing image that lacks context or a title, drawing on their close viewing and analysis skills.

Assorted images of the outdoors organized in a grid on a beige wooden table.

Activity

Students practice gratitude by naming and recording three good things that have happened that day.

Two students look to the front of the classroom with smiles on their faces.

Activity

Students use poetry as a spark for reflection and discussion about what’s happening in their lives and the world.

Four students in conversation with each other in a classroom.

More Like This Teaching Resources Learning & Events

Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Listen to #DisruptTexts founder Julia Torres about taking a critical lens to text selection in ELA classrooms.

Three students at table, working on a project

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Issues of equity and education have long existed in our country and continue to manifest today. How can writing and the power of one's voice help us respond to these disparities? Listen to writer and educator, Dr. Clint Smith, where we hear his poetry and reflections on working for justice, equity, and civic agency in our schools.

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Explore approaches to centering student voice, building authentic relationships and cultivating community with Molly Josephs, the creator of This Teenage Life, a youth-driven, story-sharing podcast that started as a school club.

More Like This View Upcoming Events View On-Demand Events

Using the strategies from Facing History is almost like an awakening.

— Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif

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Coming-of-Age Unit Planning Toolkit

At a Glance

Language

Subject

Grade

Overview

About This Toolkit

Preparing to Teach

Inside This Toolkit

Materials and Downloads

Quick Downloads

Get Files Via Google

Power, Agency, and Voice

Additional Resources

You might also be interested in…

Compass Points

Exit Cards

Establishing Opening and Closing Routines

Our Names and Our Place in the World

Dual Identities

Becoming Ourselves

Making Meaning of Community

Community Is… Community Isn’t

Emoji Emotions

Picture This

Three Good Things

Slow Down with The Slowdown

Coming-of-Age Unit Planning Toolkit

At a Glance

Language

Subject

Grade

Overview

About This Toolkit

Preparing to Teach

Before You Begin

Coming-of-Age Educator Workbook

Coming-of-Age Unit Planning Template

“This I Believe . . .” Personal Narrative

Save this resource for easy access later.

Inside This Toolkit

Toolkit Sections

Start With Yourself

Choose a Coming-of-Age Text

Begin with the End in Mind

Craft the Essential Question

Design the Summative Assessment

Teach with Facing History Journal Prompts

Teach with Facing History Learning Experiences

How are you planning to use this resource?

Materials and Downloads

Quick Downloads

Get Files Via Google

Was this resource useful?

Power, Agency, and Voice

Additional Resources

Related Facing History Resources & Learning Opportunities

Identity and Storytelling

Power, Agency, and Voice

Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

You might also be interested in…

Compass Points

Exit Cards

Establishing Opening and Closing Routines

Our Names and Our Place in the World

Dual Identities

Becoming Ourselves

Making Meaning of Community

Community Is… Community Isn’t

Emoji Emotions

Picture This

Three Good Things

Slow Down with The Slowdown

Unlimited Access to Learning. More Added Every Month.

Exploring ELA Text Selection with Julia Torres

Working for Justice, Equity and Civic Agency in Our Schools: A Conversation with Clint Smith

Centering Student Voices to Build Community and Agency

Inspiration, insights, & ways to get involved