What Is Belonging? | Introductory Lesson

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Introduce the Concept of Belonging

Let students know that they will spend the next two lessons considering what it means to belong, why belonging matters, and the barriers that can get in the way of belonging. 

Pass out the What Is Belonging? Anticipation Guide handout and have students complete Steps 1 and 2. Then debrief using the Four Corners teaching strategy. To provide opportunities for everyone to voice their opinions, have students share ideas with others in their corners before you facilitate the class discussion. Then have students complete Steps 3 and 4 on the handout. Move students into triads and invite them to share their definitions, adding any new ideas that resonate with them to their own handouts.

Activity 2: Read and Discuss Perspectives on Belonging

With students still in groups of three, pass out the Perspectives on Belonging handout, which includes three perspectives on the concept of belonging, as well as discussion questions for each perspective. Read the instructions together, and then circulate to hear how groups are engaging with the perspectives. 

Debrief the activity by asking for volunteers to share highlights and questions from their discussions.

Activity 3: Reflect on New Understandings about Belonging

Have students revisit their anticipation guide handout from the first activity to see if their perspectives have changed over the course of the lesson. Have them use a different color pen or pencil to indicate any shifts in Section 1 of the handout. 

Then share the following questions and have students respond on an exit ticket that they submit at the end of class or complete for homework. 

• What new, different, or deeper understandings do you have about belonging? 
• What questions about belonging did this lesson raise for you?