Book

My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States

Get the print or PDF version of our unit designed to launch a course on US history, literature, or civics through an investigation of identity.

Last Updated: May 12, 2022

Book

Language

English — US

Subject

Civics & Citizenship
History

Culture & Identity
Democracy & Civic Engagement

My Part of the Story is a collection of six lesson plans designed to help you launch a course on United States history, literature, or civic life in a fresh and engaging way—through an exploration of students’ identities.

Students begin the unit by investigating their own choices and experiences. They then examine the factors that help make each of us who we are, including our names, labels, choices, and family legacies. Students ultimately develop an understanding that the identity of the United States is the dynamic collection of many voices, and that their choices and their stories fuel its dynamism.

Throughout the unit, you are provided with structured activities, handouts, and teaching strategies that support your students’ engagement with primary and secondary source readings, videos, and images.

My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States

ISBN: 978-1-940457-22-2

Date of Publication: December 2017

Format: Print Book

Cost: $11.95

This book is available for purchase from most places you buy books, including major retailers and independent bookstores.

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Collection

Explore resources that meet the California History–Social Science Framework standards.

Four students sit in a circle in conversation. The student in the center speaks with their hands raised.

Collection

Explore resources that meet the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework.

Students working in groups in a classroom

Unit

This unit is designed to help students in the UK reflect on how Islamophobia manifests in contemporary society and what needs to be done to challenge it.

Lesson

Students explore the roots of Islamophobia, reflect on its human cost and its impact on those who experience it, and start thinking about the importance of standing up against Islamophobia.

Uniformed high school students read at their desks.

Lesson

Students explore Islamophobic tropes, their troubled history, their evolution and their present manifestation in further depth, and consider the harm that their circulation can cause.

Picture of students working in a classroom.

Lesson

Students reflect on how Islamophobia manifests in the media and in the entertainment industry, and the potential consequences of being exposed to Islamophobic content.

Photograph of student in uniform working on a worksheet in class

Lesson

Students learn how Islamophobia intersects with misogyny and the impact that this has on the treatment of Muslim women.

Lesson

Students reflect on the impact of Islamophobia on Muslims’ sense of belonging, consider what can be done to foster integration, and explore ways in which they and others can challenge Islamophobia.

Picture of high school students smiling.

Activity

Students reflect on a meaningful, inspirational, or thought-provoking quotation.

The back of a white book with a quote from Brianna Wiest which reads "I thought becoming myself was improving each part piece by piece. But it was finding a hidden wholeness seeing the fractures at the design."

Activity

The Rose, Thorn, Bud exercise increases students' self-awareness as they reflect on recent successes, challenges, and opportunities.

Mini-Lesson

Use this mini-lesson to help students learn about the groundbreaking careers of Patsy Takemoto Mink and Shirley Chisholm and to consider the significance of Vice President Kamala Harris’s election.

Kamala Harris being sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States.

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.

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My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States

At a Glance

Language

Subject

My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States

Purchase

Download a PDF of this resource for free.

You might also be interested in…

Resources for Civic Education in California

Resources for Civic Education in Massachusetts

Discussing Contemporary Islamophobia in the Classroom

Confronting Islamophobia

Exploring Islamophobic Tropes

Addressing Islamophobia in the Media

Understanding Gendered Islamophobia

Standing Up Against Contemporary Islamophobia

Notable Quotable

Rose, Thorn, Bud

The Power of Representation: Patsy Takemoto Mink, Shirley Chisholm, and Kamala Harris

Three Good Things

My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States

At a Glance

Language

Subject

My Part of the Story: Exploring Identity in the United States

Purchase

Download a PDF of this resource for free.

You might also be interested in…

Resources for Civic Education in California

Resources for Civic Education in Massachusetts

Discussing Contemporary Islamophobia in the Classroom

Confronting Islamophobia

Exploring Islamophobic Tropes

Addressing Islamophobia in the Media

Understanding Gendered Islamophobia

Standing Up Against Contemporary Islamophobia

Notable Quotable

Rose, Thorn, Bud

The Power of Representation: Patsy Takemoto Mink, Shirley Chisholm, and Kamala Harris

Three Good Things

Inspiration, insights, & ways to get involved