What Is “Normal”?
Through quote and poetry analysis, students will consider the ways in which our desire to fit in can impact our identities and the choices we make.
![A student writes on a piece of paper in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Chicago_PhotoShoot_2019_FH2101686.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=Uq9yiZlO)
How Do Others See Me?
Students will define key concepts and discuss the impact that labels, assumptions, and stereotypes have on their identity development.
![3 students at table](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/FHAO_2019_Summit_060.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=iSw_ewUp)
Feeling Seen: A Matter of Perspective
Students will engage in perspective-taking activities to consider what it means to belong and how experiences and interactions with others can shape our identities.
![Two students working together and looking at classwork](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Chicago_Classroom_2019_FH2101643.jpg?h=c11c9c1d&itok=jYPbg96b)
Finding Belonging in the World
Students create “pearls of wisdom” and consider the value of forming relationships that help us feel seen and secure in our sense of belonging.
![Two female students, one with a hijab, sit in classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-10/Los_Angeles_Classroom_2019_FH2109022.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=jx8afuzO)
Making Myself Proud
Students will read and analyze a poem that focuses on what it means to practice celebrating identity, both by loving who you are and by imagining who you can be.
![Engaged uniformed male student engages in classroom discussion.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/United_Kingdom_Classroom_2015_FH137564.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=nDB-eMLS)
Being Seen: Becoming Who You Want to Be Assessment Ideas
Create a culminating experience for your students that helps them draw new connections between the concepts and ideas presented in this text set, themselves, and the world today.
![Male student works on in-class assignment.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-11/Roosevelt_High_School_Classroom_2017_FH260873.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=yk5aZKrd)
Reimagining School after COVID
This mini-lesson asks students to reflect on how education has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and to propose changes they would like to see in schools when the pandemic ends.
![School hallway with lockers.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/iStock-1267107338_fullres_Medium_res.jpg?h=b5d63aee&itok=XtP85FT0)
Co-design Your Classroom with Your Students
This mini-lesson asks students to start the school year by designing their ideal learning space.
![Students move around the classroom in conversation with each other. One student looks directly into the camera with a smile on their face.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/ClassroomImage_LA_FH287162.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=ipY6dvE3)
Haitian Migrants at the US–Mexico Border
This mini-lesson uses images and firsthand accounts of Haitian migrants to humanize the events happening at the US–Mexico border and give shape and nuance to the news.
![A group of adult and children migrants from Haiti stand in line to regularize their migratory situation.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2023-06/HaitianMigrantsinTijuana_FH2178689.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=84nyyZXu)
Hardship and Hope: Teaching Amanda Gorman’s “New Day’s Lyric”
This mini-lesson invites students to analyze Amanda Gorman’s poem “New Day’s Lyric” and create a class poem about hope and collective action during challenging times.
![Amanda Gorman at the 2021 InStyle Awards At The Getty Center](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/GettyImages-1353568867_Medium_res.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=kEYjOlqQ)
Teaching about the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis
Use this mini-lesson to introduce students to the experiences of Ukrainian refugees fleeing war, highlight inspiring ways people have stepped up to help, and raise ethical questions about the treatment of refugees from non-European countries.
![Ukrainian Refugees crossing a fallen bridge.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/2022_RussiaUkraineConflict_FH2168262.jpg?h=7fb2964e&itok=suTcwNTN)