Fist to Five
Students communicate how they are feeling in response to a chosen prompt, giving teachers a pulse on the class’s opinions or well-being.
First Chapter Fridays
Read aloud a chapter of a book your students are interested in to build community around stories and storytelling.
Compass Points
Students get an opportunity to give feedback about the class and communicate their needs and worries.
What is Power?
Students define power and then analyze five perspectives about power in order to understand its many sources and the different ways it can be experienced.
Introducing Agency
Students explore the concept of agency, both in literature and in life, and examine the societal forces that play a role in an individual’s agency.
Agency, Choice, and Action
Students apply their thinking about power and agency to an analysis of four personal narrative essays written by young people.
The Power of Belonging
Students discuss the first half of Bethany Morrow’s short story “As You Were” and create character maps as a way of exploring the character of Ebony’s identity and sense of belonging in her school community.
Finding One's Voice
Through continued reflection on the short story “As You Were,” students consider the factors that impact power and agency in moments of decision-making and explore the possibilities and limitations of justice and reconciliation.
Use Poetry To Teach About Identity
Celebrate National Poetry Month with this mini-lesson that uses poetry to help students grapple with the complexities of identity and inspire them to tell their own stories.
Brave Girl Rising: A Refugee Story
Created in partnership with Girl Rising, this lesson invites students to engage with the story of a young refugee and to consider the power of storytelling to spark empathy.