AAPI PERSPECTIVES THEME: Transformation and Change
GRADE LEVEL: 9
SUBJECT: Ethnic Studies
INTENDED UNIT: Social Change Movements
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is solidarity and why is it needed for social change?
CENTRAL QUESTIONS/BIG IDEAS: What is solidarity? What are examples of solidarity? How can solidarity strengthen movements for change?
CONTENT OBJECTIVE:
Knowledge: Students will define solidarity and explain how different examples of social movements exemplify solidarity.
Skills: Students will draw conclusions through analyzing images and oral histories as primary sources.
Habits: Students will practice utilizing a comparative lens when analyzing struggles of marginalized communities and will practice reflecting on how they can act in solidarity with others
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT AREA STANDARDS:
CA ELD STANDARDS:
IEP/504 ACCOMMODATIONS:
All lesson plans will be accommodated with a transcript (for video clips), student facing worksheets, and visual slides ready to be shared and accessed.
Feel free to accommodate extra time for any formative assignments and provide scaffolds as needed for differing age groups/needs.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Slides (link)
Photos for solidarity gallery walk warmup activity (link)
Intro to Solidarity Lesson on Peardeck (link)
(CNN) Video of George Takei speaking about Muslim Ban Video (link)
Susan Hayase Oral History 2 (6:32 >> 18:47)
Yosh Uchida Oral History 1 (26:07 >> 33:45)
LESSON IMPLEMENTATION SEQUENCE:
Day 1, Step 1: Gallery Walk Warmup
Duration: 20 minutes
Implementation:
Prep:
For an in-person activity with movement, print out the photos and glue them to large poster paper. Students will rotate through each poster and write down their thoughts.
For a digital activity, use Padlet, Google Slides, or another digital collaboration software to post the pictures and have students respond to each photo.
Activity:
In groups, students rotate through the stations with 4 photos depicting solidarity.
Prompt students to record on the posters what you see, think, and wonder.
There are 4 stations, and each group will have 4 minutes at each station.
Debrief discussion:
Resources/Materials:
Slides 1-3 (intro slides, skip if appropriate)
Slides 4-6
Link to photos
Assessment: N/A
Day 1, Step 2: Define Solidarity
Duration: 25 minutes
Implementation:
Guide students through the activities and prompts in the peardeck. This lesson will help students differentiate solidarity from pity, and solidarity vs. helping others for one’s own benefit.
Resources/Materials:
Slides 7-8
Pear Deck Slides on Solidarity
Assessment: N/A
Day 2, Step 3: Warmup
Duration: 10 minutes
Implementation:
Discussion
Have students read the quote by indigenous activist Lilla Watson out loud.
Prompt students to discuss:
What do you think is the message of this quote?
How does this relate to solidarity?
Resources/Materials: Slides 9-10
Assessment: Class discussion
Day 2, Step 4: Case study - Japanese American Solidarity with Muslim Americans
Duration: 15 minutes
Implementation:
Introduce President Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban of 2017 and the movement for Japanese American solidarity against the ban.
Students will watch Susan Hayase’s oral history interview 2
Resources/Materials: Slides 11-12
Assessment: N/A
Day 2, Step 5: Writing Assessment
Duration: 25 minutes
Implementation:
Students will use Susan Hayase’s oral history as a primary source to answer the prompt: “How and why did Japanese Americans practice solidarity with Muslims and Muslim Americans?”
Students’ writing should be evaluated based on the following:
Demonstration of understanding of the definition of solidarity
Incorporation of quotes from the oral history as evidence
Explanation of the events of the case study
Resources/Materials: Slide 13
Possible Extension
Show clips of the Yosh Uchida interview and discuss what life might have been like for Japanese American after the war.
Resources/Materials:
Slides 14-15
Yosh Uchida Oral History
Assessment: N/A
NOTES ON HOW THIS MAY BE INTEGRATED IN INTENDED UNIT
This lesson can fit into a larger lesson segment about solidarity, followed by more case studies of solidarity. This fits well in a unit on Transformation & Change, which typically is situated toward the end of an ethnic studies course.