Identity Unit
Stage 1 Desired Results
Established Goals Transfer
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events using effective technique,
descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.A
Establish a situation and introduce a narrator
and/or characters; organize an event sequence
that unfolds naturally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.B
Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts,
and feelings to develop experiences and events or
show the response of characters to situations.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.C
Use temporal words and phrases to signal event
order.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.D
Provide a sense of closure.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.1) I know and like who I am and can talk about my
family and myself and describe our various group
identities. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.2) I know about my family history and culture and
about current and past contributions of people in
my main identity groups. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.3) I know that all my group identities are part of who
I am, but none of them fully describes me and this
is true for other people too. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.4) I can feel good about my identity without making
someone else feel badly about who they are. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.5) I know my family and I do things the same as and
different from other people and groups, and I
know how to use what I learn from home, school
and other places that matter to me. Teaching for Justice (DI.3-5.7) I have accurate, respectful words to describe how I
am similar to and different from people who share
my identities and those who have other identities.
Students will understand that identity impacts every facet of their lives and the lives of their peers.
Meaning
Understandings Essential Question
There are lots of things that make me who I am. Some
of these things will change, and some of them will stay
the same—but they are all important to who I am.
What makes you who you are?
Acquisition
Knowledge Skill
Key Vocabulary: • Identity • Group identity • Role • Race/ethnicity • Religion • LGBTQ+ • Socio-economic status • Sexual orientation • Gender • Language • Spiritual affiliation
Students will be able to: • Identify parts of their own identities • Explain the difference between group
identities, roles, small moments, family
history, and traits
Students will be able to: • write personal narrative
stories that have a beginning,
middle, and end and share
about what makes them who
they are. • edit and revise stories to
clarify their message. • compare and contrast
identities to identify
similarities and differences • share positive qualities about
their and others’ identities. • share parts of their family
histories that they are
comfortable bringing into the
class. • ask questions about peers to
get to know them better • reflect on “oops” moments and
repair relationships when they
make a mistake talking about
identity
Stage 1 Desired Results
Established Goals Transfer
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events using effective technique,
descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.A
Establish a situation and introduce a narrator
and/or characters; organize an event sequence
that unfolds naturally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.B
Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts,
and feelings to develop experiences and events or
show the response of characters to situations.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.C
Use temporal words and phrases to signal event
order.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.D
Provide a sense of closure.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.1) I know and like who I am and can talk about my
family and myself and describe our various group
identities. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.2) I know about my family history and culture and
about current and past contributions of people in
my main identity groups. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.3) I know that all my group identities are part of who
I am, but none of them fully describes me and this
is true for other people too. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.4) I can feel good about my identity without making
someone else feel badly about who they are. Teaching for Justice (ID.3-5.5) I know my family and I do things the same as and
different from other people and groups, and I
know how to use what I learn from home, school
and other places that matter to me. Teaching for Justice (DI.3-5.7) I have accurate, respectful words to describe how I
am similar to and different from people who share
my identities and those who have other identities.
Students will understand that identity impacts every facet of their lives and the lives of their peers.
Meaning
Understandings Essential Question
There are lots of things that make me who I am. Some
of these things will change, and some of them will stay
the same—but they are all important to who I am.
What makes you who you are?
Acquisition
Knowledge Skill
Key Vocabulary: • Identity • Group identity • Role • Race/ethnicity • Religion • LGBTQ+ • Socio-economic status • Sexual orientation • Gender • Language • Spiritual affiliation
Students will be able to: • Identify parts of their own identities • Explain the difference between group
identities, roles, small moments, family
history, and traits
Students will be able to: • write personal narrative
stories that have a beginning,
middle, and end and share
about what makes them who
they are. • edit and revise stories to
clarify their message. • compare and contrast
identities to identify
similarities and differences • share positive qualities about
their and others’ identities. • share parts of their family
histories that they are
comfortable bringing into the
class. • ask questions about peers to
get to know them better • reflect on “oops” moments and
repair relationships when they
make a mistake talking about
identity
Teaching for Justice (DI.3-5.8) I want to know more about other people’s lives
and experiences, and I know how to ask questions
respectfully and listen carefully and non-
judgmentally.
Stage 2 Collecting Evidence
Evaluative Criteria Performance Tasks
• Narrative Writing Checklist, incorporating success
criteria • Single Point Rubric, related to writing checklist items • Checklist for “I Am...” Poems
• Personal Narrative Stories • “I Am...” Poems • Identity Murals
Other Evidence
• Weekly writing samples, submitted in Seesaw each Friday to gauge pace and
progress • Anecdotal notes from writing conferences • Thinking Journal Responses • Post-It Notes and Anchor Charts from class discussions
and experiences, and I know how to ask questions
respectfully and listen carefully and non-
judgmentally.
Stage 2 Collecting Evidence
Evaluative Criteria Performance Tasks
• Narrative Writing Checklist, incorporating success
criteria • Single Point Rubric, related to writing checklist items • Checklist for “I Am...” Poems
• Personal Narrative Stories • “I Am...” Poems • Identity Murals
Other Evidence
• Weekly writing samples, submitted in Seesaw each Friday to gauge pace and
progress • Anecdotal notes from writing conferences • Thinking Journal Responses • Post-It Notes and Anchor Charts from class discussions
Stage 3 (Learning Plan)
Summary of Key Learning Events
Dates Activities
Arc 1 In social studies, students will identify key vocabulary for talking about identity. In literacy, students will draw upon identity work to
learn about themselves as readers and writers.
Learning Activities:
Literacy Social Studies
• Model and write “I Am...” poem (pre-
assessment) • Write initial personal narrative story (pre-
assessment). • Unpack Narrative Writing Checklist, identifying
strengths and goals for personal narrative
writing. • Begin revising personal narratives by discussing
beginning, middle, and end.
• Pose initial question: What makes you who you are? Students
share thoughts on post-it notes to support co-construction of
identity vocabulary. (Lesson Plan) • Read All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold (2019) and
create Circle Map (Hyerle, 2015) to Brainstorm Identity
Words (Lesson Plan) • Introduce Thinking Journals o See-Think-Wonder (Ritchhart, et al., 2011) o I used to... Now I... (Ritchhart, et al., 2011) • Sort identity words from Circle Map to identify categories
for identity (i.e., gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity,
etc.) using iCardSort. Create a list of “group identities.” • Goal-Setting Activity: What are your personal goals this
year?
Arc 2 Students will unpack their identities, using key vocabulary from Week 1, resulting in additions to Identity Maps. In literacy, they will
explore their lives as readers and continue writing personal narratives, learning how to edit and revise through peer feedback.
Learning Activities:
Literacy Social Studies
• Revise personal narratives by modeling how to
add dialogue and sensory details. • Model peer conferencing for student-to-student
feedback on personal narratives. • Edit personal narratives for paragraphing and
indentation; introduce editing checklist. • Collect work samples of personal narratives for
self-assessment with checklists. • Begin “My Reading Timeline” project, where
students create a timeline of their reading life,
sharing favorite books and important moments
in their history as readers.
• Scaffold identifying parts of identities (group identities,
roles, family culture, important stories, etc.) and add to
Identity Popplets (Ahmed, 2018), spread across multiple
lessons. o Lesson 1: Traits vs. Roles o Lesson 2: Group Identities o Lesson 3: Important Moments and Family
History/Culture • Send Home Family Culture Survey (Home Connection)
where students choose questions to interview family
members; bring notes back to school to include in Identity
Popplets. • Read alouds to continue to support discussions about
identity, including: o Fly Away Home o King and King o The Lotus Seed o Hidden Figures • Thinking Journals: o How has your thinking about identity changed? o What makes you who you are?
Arc 3 Students will compare and contrast identities with classmates, developing an appreciation for similarities and differences between
identities. In literacy, students will begin to reflect on their first personal narrative so they can articulate their strengths and challenges
as writers.
Learning Activities:
Literacy Social Studies
• What do strong readers and writers do? Create a
circle map to be added to as the year progresses. • Reflect on first personal narrative and set goals
for a new narrative using self-reflection and
Narrative Writing Checklist. • Model starting a second personal narrative using
reflection and Narrative Writing Checklist. • Model “revising as you go,” using Lift a Line
strategy (Buckner, 2005). • Share reading timelines with small groups;
record a retelling of the reading timeline on
Seesaw.
• Create double-bubble maps, scaffolded and supported
across multiple days. • Create an “identity mural” that illustrates important pieces
of identity both symbolically and literally, to hand with final
“I Am..” Poem. • Thinking Journals: o How has your thinking about identity changed? o What makes you who you are?
Arc 4 Students will demonstrate how their understanding of identity has changed over the course of the unit. Students will use the Reading
Timeline project and Personal Narratives to discuss how they want to grow as readers and writers.
Learning Activities:
Literacy Social Studies
• Finish editing and revising personal narratives to
prepare for publishing party.
• Celebrate writing progress with publishing party,
using Narrative Writing Checklist and reflection
activity to compare initial narrative to new
narrative.
• Goal-Setting Activity: What are your strengths
and challenges as a reader and writer? Use
personal narratives and reading timeline as a
provocation for future goals.
• Complete identity murals and back them for hanging. • Complete Final “I Am...” poems. • Put finishing touches on Bubble Maps and Double Bubble
Maps. • Compare “I Am...” poems to analyze how thinking about
identity has changed. • Final Thinking Journal Entry: How has your thinking
changed about identity? (I used to think... Now I think...)
Literacy Social Studies
• What do strong readers and writers do? Create a
circle map to be added to as the year progresses. • Reflect on first personal narrative and set goals
for a new narrative using self-reflection and
Narrative Writing Checklist. • Model starting a second personal narrative using
reflection and Narrative Writing Checklist. • Model “revising as you go,” using Lift a Line
strategy (Buckner, 2005). • Share reading timelines with small groups;
record a retelling of the reading timeline on
Seesaw.
• Create double-bubble maps, scaffolded and supported
across multiple days. • Create an “identity mural” that illustrates important pieces
of identity both symbolically and literally, to hand with final
“I Am..” Poem. • Thinking Journals: o How has your thinking about identity changed? o What makes you who you are?
Arc 4 Students will demonstrate how their understanding of identity has changed over the course of the unit. Students will use the Reading
Timeline project and Personal Narratives to discuss how they want to grow as readers and writers.
Learning Activities:
Literacy Social Studies
• Finish editing and revising personal narratives to
prepare for publishing party.
• Celebrate writing progress with publishing party,
using Narrative Writing Checklist and reflection
activity to compare initial narrative to new
narrative.
• Goal-Setting Activity: What are your strengths
and challenges as a reader and writer? Use
personal narratives and reading timeline as a
provocation for future goals.
• Complete identity murals and back them for hanging. • Complete Final “I Am...” poems. • Put finishing touches on Bubble Maps and Double Bubble
Maps. • Compare “I Am...” poems to analyze how thinking about
identity has changed. • Final Thinking Journal Entry: How has your thinking
changed about identity? (I used to think... Now I think...)