Table of Contents
Foreword Terrence J. Roberts, PhD xi
A Letter to Readers xii
Acknowledgments xvii
An Introduction to Social Comprehension and Strategies to Prepare You for the Work Ahead xxi
Chapter 1 Exploring Our Identities 1
Lesson: Affirming Our Identities: Identity Webs 5
We introduce the elements of our own identities (such as sister, athlete, bilingual, reader) and look for connections to or wonders about the identities of others.
Lesson: Placing Ourselves in the World: Stories of Our Names 14
Using a mentor text, we write the stories of how we got our names, how our names make us feel, and our experiences with our names.
Lesson: Journeying into Our Family Histories: "Where I'm From" Poems 21
We use the structure of a "Where I'm From" poem to share our family histories, storied objects, and moments.
Synthesis: Making Thinking Visible 29
Chapter 2 Listening with Love 30
Synthesis: Making Thinking Visible 40
Chapter 3 Being Candid 41
Lesson: Seeing Our Own Bias: Drawing Activity 45
We learn about how bias works, and we use an activity to help us see some of our own bias and brainstorm how we can confront it.
Lesson: Understanding Microaggressions: Poem Analysis 55
We analyze examples of microaggressions to understand what they are and how they affect people, and we look for microaggressions in our own lives.
Lesson: Refusing to Let Others' Biases Define Us: Identity Statements 62
We assert who we are with confidence. We recall labels others have tried to put on us, reject those labels, and choose how we define who we are.
Synthesis: Making Thinking Visible 73
Chapter 4 Becoming Better Informed 75
Lesson: Understanding How Our Identity Affects Us: Our News 79
We identify what is happening in our world-personal events, news stories, media-and consider how our identity shapes what we give our attention to.
Lesson: Moving Beyond Our Initial Thinking: Mini-Inquiries 89
We use a mini-inquiry to learn more about a topic and examine how new information changes our perspective.
Synthesis: Making Thinking Visible 98
Chapter 5 Finding Humanity in Ourselves and in Others 99
Lesson: Broadening Our Ideas About Who We Are Responsible To and For: Our Universe of Obligation 105
We consider who we feel responsibility to and why. We also consider how that responsibility can change in certain situations.
Lesson: Understanding Others' Perspectives: Intent Versus Impact 116
We work to understand two sides of a divisive issue by listening to both perspectives.
Synthesis: Making Thinking Visible 125
Chapter 6 Facing Crisis Together 126
Suggested Resource Stacks 135
References and Inspiration 137