An illustrated collage of silhouettes in bright colors.

Collection

Materials for My Part of the Story

Find the videos, images, readings, handouts and strategies you will need to teach the lesson plans in the unit My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States.

Published: June 12, 2017

Last Updated: May 4, 2018

Collection

Language

English — US

Subject

Civics & Citizenship
History
Social Studies

Grade

7–12

Democracy & Civic Engagement

Inside this Collection

Materials for My Part of the Story

Find the videos, images, readings, handouts and strategies you will need to teach the lesson plans in the unit My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States.

Reading

Use this list of famous people who have changed their names to explore the relationship between names and identity.

Reading

Jonathan Rodríguez reflects on his name through poetry. How does his name “place him in the world”?

Teaching Strategy

Facilitate thoughtful group discussions by having students first share their ideas in writing and with a partner.

Handout

Access the Online-Search Identity Chart.

Image

This cartoon by Garry Trudeau explores the ways that identity impacts how we perceive people.

Cartoon depicting two strangers greeting each other, while in thought bubbles each internally assesses the other’s “risk.”

Reading

A teenager describes how changing her appearance affected the way that others perceived her identity and how she thought about herself.

Teaching Strategy

Facilitate thoughtful group discussions by having students first share their ideas in writing and with a partner.

Teaching Strategy

Use this discussion strategy to help students practice being contributors and listeners in a group conversation.

Video

This short video satirizes the way we sometimes rely on stereotypes about race, ethnicity, and nationality to make assumptions about each other.

Gallery

Explore how the choices individuals make about clothing affect how others perceive them with Bayeté Ross Smith’s 2010 photography series.

Teaching Strategy

Have students move around the classroom to explore a range of documents, images, or student work.

Students adding post-it notes to a white board.

Reading

Read quotes from teenagers about how they choose to represent themselves on social media.

Reading

A teenager recalls a time he bought shoes to fit in with his high school friends.

Reading

A teenage immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo explains how he discovered his passion for electronics.

Reading

Canadian writer Anna Fitzpatrick describes how she moved beyond the labels and stereotypes about Indian culture to find a deeper connection to her family's history.

A man and woman warm up for a run on an outdoor trail.

Reading

A high school student reflects on being raised by his older brother and the legacy of the karate blackbelt his brother gave to him.

Reading

A high school student describes how his neighborhood in Los Angeles helps him feel connected to the traditions of his family’s “old world” heritage in Mexico.

Reading

Learn how filmmaker Macky Alston learned about the history of his family name and its connection to his family's legacy in the United States.

Bayeté Ross Smith’s 2010 series "Our Kind of People" examines how clothing, ethnicity, and gender influence our ideas about identity, personality, and character.

Teaching Strategy

Students will become “experts” on a topic and then share their new knowledge with peers.

Four students sitting at a table smiling and talking to each other

Teaching Strategy

Facilitate thoughtful group discussions by having students first share their ideas in writing and with a partner.

Reading

A high school student tells the story behind a pair of wooden shoes and their connection to her family's history in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Video

Cassania, a high school student in Boston who emigrated from Haiti, tells the story of a pair of wooden shoes her grandfather gave to her as a gift.

Reading

Analyze data from the Pew Research Center about the demographic trends shaping the United States today.

The “Flag of Faces” exhibit at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum features a mosaic of individual portraits.

Reading

Here are a selection of answers to New York Times reporter Damien Cave’s question, “What does it mean to be American?”

Teaching Strategy

Use this graphic tool to help students consider the many factors that shape their own identity and that of groups, nations, and historical and literary figures.

A drawing of a girl with her name Serena Bialkin at the top and characteristics written around her

Teaching Strategy

This discussion strategy helps students practice being both active speakers and active listeners in a group conversation.

Four students sitting at a table with one student talking and gesturing.

Video

Individuals from around the world share three words that describe the United States.

Lesson

Students begin thinking about civic engagement in terms of their own passions and identities as they are introduced to the 10 Questions Framework.

High school students participate in class.

Unit

This unit uses the 10 Questions Framework to explore two examples of youth activism: the 1963 Chicago schools boycott and the present-day movement against gun violence launched by Parkland students.

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

Mini-Lesson

In this Mini-Lesson, students learn about the history of democratic and anti-democratic efforts in the United States and examine sources that illuminate this tension from Reconstruction through today.

Lesson

Students create a plan for enacting change on an issue that they are most passionate about using the 10 Questions Framework.

Person holding a sign at a Global climate change strike

Lesson

Students identify strategies and tools that Parkland students have used to influence Americans to take action to reduce gun violence.

Millbrook High School students demonstrate against gun violence outside their school in Frederick County, Va., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, following a school shooting in which over a dozen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., one week ago. (Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star via AP)

Lesson

Students experience the challenges to reporting objectively by writing a news piece and watching a video about how journalists counteract bias in the newsroom.

Lesson

Students explore the potential negative impact of images through the social media protest #IfTheyGunnedMeDown and develop a decision-making process for choosing imagery to represent controversial events.

National President of Black Lawyers for Justice, carries a picture of Michael Brown as he leads demonstrators on a march.

Lesson

Students explore how identity impacts our responses to other people and events by examining a cartoon and analyzing an opinion poll from a week after Ferguson.

Lesson

Students examine how identity and biases can impact how individuals interpret images and experience the challenge of selecting images to represent news events, particularly connected to sensitive issues.

People hold hands in prayer in the parking lot of convenience store that was looted and burned after Michael Brown was shot by police in Ferguson, Mo.

Lesson

Students establish a safe space for holding sensitive conversations, before introducing the events surrounding Ferguson, by acknowledging people's complicated feelings about race and creating a classroom contract.

Lesson

Students explore the role of social media in Ferguson, apply information verification strategies to social media posts, and develop strategies for becoming critical consumers and sharers of social media.

Peaceful demonstrators gather in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death.

Lesson

Students evaluate the differences among news accounts about Ferguson, develop strategies for verifying news and information, and understand the challenges facing journalists as they cover complex, fast-moving events.

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

The resources I’m getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable.

— Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif

Search

Search

Materials for My Part of the Story