At a Glance
Language
English — USSubject
- English & Language Arts
Grade
8–10Duration
Two 50-min class periods- Culture & Identity
Overview
About This Lesson
The concept of identity is complex, multidimensional, and fluid. The answer to “Who am I?” depends on a range of factors: how you define yourself, your membership in certain groups, and how other individuals and society label you.
In this lesson, students consider how the interplay between individual identity and our membership in certain social groups can impact how we answer the question, “Who am I?” They will also explore the relationship between identity and human behavior and the ways in which the labels we place on ourselves and others can serve as what Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah calls “living guides.” 1
The lesson ends with a social identity wheel— an activity that invites students to reflect on their group identities and the ways in which these identities can influence their sense of who they are, how they perceive and treat others, and how others might perceive and treat them.
- 1Kwame Anthony Appiah, "“Can we choose our own identity?,” The Guardian, August 31, 2018.
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