Social Justice Unit

April Hong
EDUG 402 | BRian Charest
Social Sciences Single Subject
Thematic Lesson: Social CHange
10th grade World and US History

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Letter to Brian--

The sole reason I am working to attain my social sciences teaching credential is to

empower a diverse, cultural youth. This is what my Johnston emphasis is based on.
From my own experience in the American education system, I have felt the oppressive
ways our education can be. As a child, I was unable to explore my identity further and
see myself in the education I was supposed to be a part of. But of course, not all of my
educational experiences were negative ones.

The teachers who paid attention to diversity and inclusion in the classrooms, were the
ones who most affected my education. The material they brought out, was the material I
held onto the longest. Because of them, I began to feel liberated in my learning.

This liberated learning is what I hope to achieve though my unit plans and as my role as
a history teacher. I want our youth to be able to learn their own history and the efforts of
their people that came before them. I want them to know about the figures who fought
for these students rights, so that they can be here today learning in this classroom
together. Through my teaching, I hope students can see themselves in history and be
excited to make their own history as well. I hope they can come to believe in themselves
just a little bit more.

It takes a lot of strength, effort, and vulnerability to be able to learn more about yourself
and be a part of deeper conversations. Being a part of dialogue means exposing
yourself to a certain extent. No one can force students to think critically. Knowing this, I
have prepared an array of activities to help students develop trust for each other in the
classroom. These lessons will help students see themselves as a bigger and important
part of society. Students will look into themselves, each other, and examples from
history to brainstorm the social change they want to see today. Through the last project,
students will be able to connect their knowledge to the world, their families, and their
environment.

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Unit Plan
10th Grade US History
Leader of Social Movements in World and US History
Practicing Civic Engagement

Goals and Objectives

In this Unit, students will attempt to see themselves as a part of history and see the resolutions
to todays problems through historical examples. As students begin to reflect on themselves,
students will identify issues in our societies and communities that relate to different parts of
identity. Students will be challenged to ask more questions and challenge norms.

Students will also be challenged to see the classroom as a more trusting environment. Through
the beginning exercises, students will notice each others differences and similarities, related to
race, culture, class, gender, sexuality, and religion. They will see how these aspects are also
related to privilege and oppression.

Students will do a group social justice figure research project through the webquest model
looking into historical and present figures to see how theyve lead social change. This project
should take 3-4 weeks to finish. About a weeks worth of class will be given to students to work
on the project (perhaps 2-3 days per week dedicated to the project), and the rest of the project
should be worked on outside of class. However, if the students express needing more class
time, it should be given taking into consideration students being unable to meet outside of class.

After the social justice figure research project, students will move onto their civic engagement
project, which is a group and whole class project. Students will identify key issues in their
community that they feel need to be addressed. Students will divide themselves into the group
with the social issue they want to work on (i.e. water waste, women leadership, diversity &
inclusion topics) to advocate for change. In a order to reach their goals/spread awareness about
their topic, students will go into their communities, interview fellow students and families, contact
offices, create social media platforms, create videos, write blog posts, write proposals, and
upload them in a formatted matter onto a cumulative website where the public can have access
to their work. This should take about a month/month and a half to do.

At the end of all the projects, students will put on a family/friend day during a school lunch time
where the students invite their families and friends to come and hear them present their work on
the civic engagement project. Through this process, students will encourage their peers to be an
advocate for the social issues they care about and this will be a bonding time to highlight the
students. This lunch can be in a form of a potluck where each student brings a small dish of
their cultures/familys food so that students can have another opportunity to share with their
peers their culture/background.

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Unit 1: Identity
Unit 2: Social Justice Leaders
Unit 3: Student Activism and Civic Engagement

Day 1: What is identity?

Day 2: What is privilege and oppression?
Day 3: What does privilege and oppression look like in our lives?
Day 4: Introduction to Social Justice Figure Research Project
Day 5: Introduction to Student Activism

Day 1: What is Identity?

Students begin to understand intersectionality and the ways different parts of their identities
exist. Students start to think about ideas of privilege, power, and oppression by looking at
examples in their own lives.

I. Opening Freewrite -- 5 min.

A. Individual Work
B. Writing prompt: Write an elevator speech about yourself. If you had one elevator
ride to tell a new person, you just met, about yourself, what would you say? In a
couple sentences, tell us who you are and the most important parts about you.
II. Concept Attainment Model -- 10 min.
A. Whole class
B. Discussion:
1. What are some things/words you think about when you hear the words
race, gender, and religion? How do these words relate? Write answers on
board.
C. Dimensions of Identity
1. End discussion with explaining that all these different categories, or
dimensions, of how we see ourselves are parts of our identity.
III. Anticipatory Set: Social Identity Reflection Activity -- 10 min.
A. Individual work
B. Materials needed: Handout

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IV. Discussion
A. Think, Pair, Share -- 10 min.
1. With a partner, discuss the following questions (have displayed in front of
the class): What was the most interesting part of this activity? What social
identity to you identify with the most? Why were you aware/unaware of
some of these identities? Were there some dimensions/statements that
you found difficulty answering? What personal experiences came to your
mind while checking off these boxes? Why are these identities important
to you?
B. Whole Class Discussion -- 20 min.
1. Ask each pair to share with the class some key points in their discussions.
assessment
2. Whole class discussion questions: Why do you belong in these identity
categories? Do you remember ever making a choice? How did you end
up with these identities? Did anyone tell you where you belong/told you
who you are? What experiences lead you to these points? How have our
families, friends, surroundings affected our identities? How have media,
societal expectations, world events affected our identities?
V. Instructor Reflection: How are students engaged with these activities and discussions?
Are they taking it seriously? Are the supported questions and scaffolding helping?
VI. Homework-- 5 min.
A. I am Poem
1. Show example & have available online + paper copy for students to
reference:

I am poem

I am a teacher and I teach to create a better world

I see people trying but having no luck
I hear the wails of children abandoned and lonely
I wonder what can be done
I am a teacher and I teach to create a better world

I am a father with a daughter standing at the edge of uncertainty

I worry about the future for her and for our planet
I feel uncertain, but also
I am confident that love and justice will prevail
I am a father with a daughter standing at the edge of uncertainty

I am committed to ending racism

I understand those who doubt that it can be done
But I know that discouragement will not help to make things right

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 So I try to hold out hope for a brighter day
I am committed to ending racism

Day 2: What is privilege and oppression?

Students will understand concepts of privilege and oppression.

I. Formative Assessment -- 30 min.

A. Whole class
B. Share I am poems
II. Video: Identity, oppression, discrimination, privilege -- 10 min.
III. Vocabulary Acquisition -- 20 min.
A. Words: Identity, Oppression, Discrimination, Privilege
B. Material Needed: Handout of template, resource on where to find vocab info
(online, books, articles maybe trip to the computer lab/reserve class laptops
beforehand)

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 C.
IV. Homework: Finish vocabulary acquisition

Day 3: How does privilege and oppression appear in our lives?

Students will apply vocabulary and concepts to themselves and see the differences/similarities
of life experiences in the classroom.

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 I. Formative Assessment --
A. Pair share discussion -- 10 min.
1. What relationships have you found within these words?
2. Students write down similarities and differences of identities with the
person you are paired with. Talk about how their experiences have been
similar or different.
B. Whole class discussion -- 10 min.
1. Volunteer students share with the class
V. Cross the line activity -- 15 min.
A. Whole class
1. Silent Activity. Move outside to spacious, grassy area-- if possible.
Encourage students to participate, but do not have to if they do not want
to. Students stand in a line. Instructor calls out a series of statement
related to race, class, gender, sexuality. Students move forward or
backward depending on their answers.
VI. Discussion and Assessment -- 25 min.
A. Whole class discussion
1. Reflect on cross the line activity
2. What did you think about the activity? What did the activity represent?
Were there some moments when you were shocked? Uncomfortable?
What does this activity say about people? Why were we all in different
parts of the room/space at the end of the activity? What do these
differences say about us?

Day 4: Intro to Social Justice Figure Research Project

I. Opening Sponge
A. Individual work
B. Free write: Who is your role model and why? What does this person care about?
What do they put hard work in? What have they done to contribute to a better
family, community, or world? -- 10 min.
C. Volunteers share with class -- 5 min.
II. Introduce Social Justice Leader Research Project -- 45 min.
A. Prep: Create website or use the school platform (like Blackboard or Moodle) to
put up resources students can access to do their research project. Have a list of
social justice leaders (mostly past) with links, documents, books, articles, and
videos under each social justice leader where students can find information about
that person.
1. Joyce Banda
2. Assata Shakur
3. Angela Davis
4. Dennis Banks
5. Begum Rokeya

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 6. Dorothy Pitman Hughes
7. Gloria Steinem
8. Jim Matsuoka
B. Project website in front of class and model how to navigate the website. Answer
any questions that may arise from students.
C. Explain research project:
1. Research graphic organizer. (Week 1)
a) How did they grow up? What are their life experiences? What was
going on at the time? What did they care about? Why? How did
they go about their actions? How did they include people in their
communities? Who else was involved? What was their main goal?
Event & Year Description Significance Resource / Citation
Information

2. Create six journal entries from the perspective of your subject that explain
important events in his or her life. (Week 2-3)
a) While most of these entries should be based on facts you uncover,
you should use your creativity to explain the emotions your subject
may have experienced during important events in his or her life.
Each journal entry should be two to three paragraphs in length
and must be based on the research you have conducted. Include
graphics, pictures, drawings, etc.
3. Presentation (Week 3-4)
a) Students will present in class or create a 15 minute video on the
significance of their historical figure. Presentation should include
visual aids, timelines, organizers, quotes, etc.
b) Microsoft PPT, google docs, and Prezi are tools to go over so
students know how to use them. A video making software/website

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 will be helpful as well depending on what kind of computers the
school offers.
c) During the presentation, other students will be required to think of
2 questions they have for each presenting group.
4. Reflection
a) On the day of the presentation, students will turn in a reflection on
their research and time building the project. Individual. 1 page
single spaced.
(1) What did you learn about teamwork? How did you and
your partners delegate work? How did you all work to your
strengths? How did you grow? How did you all
communicate?
(2) What did you learn about social justice? About making
change? What inspired you the most? Why is learning
about your person important? Whis is remembering history
important?
Outcome: Students will understand goals, motivations, and emotions of these
public social justice figures.
D. Randomly divide students up into groups of 4. Hand out short bios of each figure
so groups can decide which person they want to do the research project on.
Once groups are done deciding, each group will send one representative up to
sign up for their choice. If time permits, groups will begin to plan out the research,
delegate work, and plan meeting times. Examples of MLK journal entries will be
available review.
1. This journal entry was by Martin Luther King Jr. and later used in a
speech:
April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, NYC
"Perhaps the more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to
me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at
home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight
and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population.
We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and
sending them 8,000 miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which
they had not found in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem. And so we have been
repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV
screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat
them together in the same schools. And so we watch them in brutal solidarity
burning the huts of a poor village but we realize that they would hardly live on the
same block in Chicago. I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation
of the poor."
E. Rubric: meets/does not meet + comments for each portion. Instructor will also
have a chance to conference with each group during and after the project.

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 1. Research Notes/Graphic Organizer: Has the student used all the
sources? Is the information accurate and thorough? Has the student
displayed effort in detailed research?
2. Journal Entries: Are these in the students own words? Do they accurately
portray the figures life? Are they thoughtful and creative? Are the entries
meaningful? Has the group proofread each other to ensure proper
grammar/sentence structure?
3. Presentation: Does the students display knowledge of the material and
time put into taking in the research? Has the student prepared enough to
confidently present their research?
4. Participation: Have all members of the group partaken in any way for all
three parts of the project? Have they delegated a fair amount of work for
each other? How have they conferenced to play with each others
strengths? How have they helped each other? What did the cooperation
look like? Has the student reached out to the teacher when needed?

Day 5: Introducing Student Activism

I. Formative Assessment Wallpaper Activity -- 20 min.

A. Have the names of the social justice figures written up the walls in different areas
of the classroom. Each student will be given post-its, where they can write the
most important words/phrases they got from the social justice figure presentation.
One post-it per figure.Then students will go around and post the post-it next to
the name on the wall. Individual work.
B. Instructor calls on different volunteers to read the post-its and generate some
discussion based off the post-its. Whole class.
II. Watch: Joshua Wong: Teenager vs. Superpower -- 4 0 min.
A. The Joshua of the title is Joshua Wong, an unassuming Hong Kong schoolboy
who decided to pick a fight with the next global superpower, and won, at least
initially. In 2011 14-year-old Wong and his Scholarism movement managed to
defeat an effort to make Chinas communist National Education curriculum
mandatory in Hong Kong schools through the power of peaceful protest. It was
the first victory an activist group managed in the territory since it came under
Chinese rule in 1997, when Wong was a year old.- the guardian
1. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lN9_mQq2mQ

Day 6: Intro to Civic Engagement/Activism Project

I. Finish Joshua Wong -- 20 min.

II. Vocabulary Acquisition: activism and civic engagement
III. View examples of student activism -- 20 min.

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A. Precious Knowledge (Raza Studies):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mw-lZJjBKI&index=4&list=PLc8Yca7DATV0
eMQY5jbpuSZ9smUKXtsik and http://www.preciousknowledgefilm.com/
B. Get Lit (spoken work): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YshUDa10JYY
C. RAINN: https://www.rainn.org/student-activism

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