National Council Teachers of English: “The Council promotes the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society, through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language.”
This five-lesson unit asks students to engage in collaborative reasoning by first reading the book Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman, where the main character is told she can’t play Peter Pan in a play because of her race and gender. Students reflect on the book using idea maps and learn how to discuss their thoughts in a group setting.
- Amazing Grace Lesson Plans
N/A
- Five Smithsonian Tween Tribune Junior Articles
- Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Presence Evaluation: Full Presence
Evaluation Notes: Students learn about injustice and systems of inequity through Amazing Grace, where the main character faces discrimination due to her race and gender.
Presence Evaluation: Not Present
Evaluation Notes: The lessons associated with this resource are not focused on social action.
Presence Evaluation: Not Present
Evaluation Notes: The lessons associated with this resource are not focused on community engagement.
Presence Evaluation: Minimal Presence
Evaluation Notes: The lessons focus on the issues happening within the associated readings, not focusing on issues within the school context.
Presence Evaluation: Some Presence
Evaluation Notes: The teacher facilitates student discussion on issues of inequity and injustice.
Presence Evaluation: Full Presence
Evaluation Notes: Students are able to learn more about themselves through discussion, with an emphasis on challenging students to look closely at how their belief systems influence their interpretation of information.
Presence Evaluation: Not Present
Evaluation Notes: To date, there has been no empirical study of this curriculum to evaluate its effectiveness.
Presence Evaluation: Some Presence
Evaluation Notes: Students learn about inclusivity in the articles they read in the lessons.
Presence Evaluation: N/A
Evaluation Notes: We are unable to evaluate this domain since it is best measured through observation.
Presence Evaluation: Some Presence
Evaluation Notes: There is a discussion on how characters’ social identities preclude them from activities (i.e., Amazing Grace) due to societal discrimination.