GRADE LEVEL: 3
SUBJECT: ELA
INTENDED UNIT: Identity & Narrative
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is the power of a name?
CENTRAL QUESTIONS/BIG IDEAS:
How do race, ethnicity, nationality, and culture (among others) shape our personal identity?
How can examining experiences that have shaped our identities further develop our knowledge and love of self?
CONTENT OBJECTIVE:
Knowledge: Students will reflect on the significance of people’s name stories and how they shape personal identity.
Skills: Utilizing resistance reads as a means of counter-storytelling and disruption of oppressive narratives.
Habits: Reflection, critical thinking, identity exploration, solidarity, empathy
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT AREA STANDARDS:
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series).
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.
CA ELD STANDARDS:
Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative discussions on a range of social and academic topics.
Listening actively to spoken English in a range of social and academic contexts.
Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine how meaning is conveyed explicitly and implicitly through language.
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.
Refer to specific accommodations in students’ IEP/504 plans.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Slides (link)
That Moment You Learn The Meaning of Your Name Video (link)
Say My Name by Joanna Ho
a. Book available at San Jose Public Library
b. Book available at Santa Clara County Library District
Ron Lee Oral History (00:00 >> 01:19)
Gordon Chang Oral History (21:06 >> 22:30)
Jeanette Arakawa & Eimi Okano Oral History (19:11 >> 23:08)
”Double Bubble” template (1 for each student) (link)
My Name, My Identity Student Design Challenge
a. What is Your Name Story? - My Name My Identity Initiative Video (link)
b. Student Voice: Respecting the Name, Respecting the Identity Video (link)
c. My Name, My Identity Student Design Challenge Directions (link, pdf)
d. My Name, My Identity Student Design Challenge Submission Form (link, pdf)
LESSON IMPLEMENTATION SEQUENCE:
Day 1 Step 1: Land Acknowledgement, Essential Question, & Warmup
Duration: 10 minutes
Implementation:
Lead the class through a land acknowledgement as appropriate to your specific context.
Introduce the essential questions to the class:
Play the warmup video (5 minutes), and lead the class in a discussion of the Warmup questions:
How did Siaka feel about his name growing up? Why did he feel this way?
What is the story of Siaka’s name? When he learned about the story of his name, how did it change the way he felt about his name?
Resources/Materials:
Slides 1-7
That Moment You Learn The Meaning of Your Name Video
Assessment: Class discussion
Day 1 Step 2: Vocabulary
Duration: 5 minutes
Implementation:
Review the pronunciations of the names that will appear in the story.
Notes to consider when talking about “name stories” with the class:
Not everyone knows/has a “name story.”
Or, some people change their name when their given name does not align with their gender identity. Therefore, some people may have a lot of different feelings (pain, joy, anger, pride, sadness, confidence, etc.) about their “name story.”
Resources/Materials: Slides 8-9
Assessment: N/A
Day 1 Step 3: Read Aloud
Duration: 30 minutes
Implementation:
Read aloud the book Say My Name, and pause periodically to check for understanding with students as needed. Lead a class discussion on the following questions:
At the end of Say My Name, the author writes the following metaphors. What do you think they mean? “My name is a window to my world, a door to my destiny, a key to unlock the dreams of my ancestors, the hopes of my family, and the divine that lives within.”
At the end of Say My Name, it says: “Say my name. Anything less is not me.” What do you think this means?
Resources/Materials:
Slides 10-11
Say My Name by Joanna Ho
Assessment: Class discussion
Day 2 Step 4: Land Acknowledgement and Review
Duration: 5 minutes
Implementation:
Lead the class through a land acknowledgement as appropriate to your specific context. Review the following with students as a warm-up to the rest of the lesson:
What name stories did we read about yesterday?
What is the importance of learning about people’s names?
Resources/Materials: Slides 12-14
Assessment: Class discussion
Day 2 Step 5: AAPI Perspectives Interview Clips
Duration: 15 minutes
Implementation:
Play the AAPI Perspectives Interview Clips (10 minutes). Places to pause to clarify and check for students’ understanding may include:
Ron Lee: Why might there be so many Ronald Lees?
Gordon Chang: English names come from American politicians/leaders
Jeanette Arakawa & Eimi Okano: Clarify the meaning of “anathema” (something that one vehemently dislikes) and why the name Yamamoto was considered anathema.
Resources/Materials:
Slides 15-18
Ron Lee Oral History
Gordon Chang Oral History
Jeanette Arakawa & Eimi Okano Oral History
Assessment: N/A
Day 2 Step 6: Discussion & Reflections
Duration: 30 minutes
Implementation:
Lead students through the following discussion questions:
How did Ron Lee get his middle name?
When Gordon talked about his family members’ names, what did he mean when he said that they are a “mix of American and Chinese traditions?”
When Jeanette and Eimi said that “Yamamoto is an American name too,” what does this mean?
Why might it be important to learn about people’s name stories? Divide the class into 6 groups. Each group will focus on the “name stories” of one person from the book and one person from the AAPI Perspectives Interview Clips. Students will compare and contrast the “name stories.”
Resources/Materials:
Slides 19-21
“Double bubble” template (1 for each student)
Assessment: Completion of “double bubble” template
Day 3 Step 7: Extension: My Name, My Identity
Duration: Depending on their projects, students will need varying amounts of time.
Implementation:
Watch the videos on the My Name, My Identity initiative. Then, review the directions for creating a My Name, My Identity project. Have students create their own project, turn it in to you, and turn it in via the submission form.
Resources/Materials:
What is Your Name Story? - My Name My Identity Initiative
Video
Directions
Submission Form
Assessment: My Name, My Identity Project