Category Archives: Vol 4: What is Identity?

2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

 How Has COVID Affected Me? 

April 19, 2025 – 9:47 am

Amy Stonehouse, English as a Second Language, North Mecklenburg High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: In this curriculum unit, I will provide students with the opportunity to reflect on how COVID has changed them because it is clear in the work that they complete and the behaviors in class. Over the past two years, we have gone from in-person, normal school days, to virtual learning, to hybrid learning, and back to in-person, albeit far from normal. We would be naive to think that this drastic shift in learning has not changed our students and how they see themselves. I’ve learned a great deal about myself through the process. I have learned that virtual teaching is not one of my talents. I’m willing to be that my students have discovered similar things about themselves. 

My unit will focus on self-reflection and discovery, from who my students were before the pandemic and how they have changed. I plan on incorporating a personality test to help students discover characteristics about themselves that they may not have thought about before COVID. I will also incorporate journaling and time of reflection throughout the unit. 

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2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

20th & 21st Century Globalization, Culture and Identity: What Challenges has Globalization Imposed on Ethnic and Cultural Identities Today and In The Past?

April 19, 2025 – 9:45 am

Iliana Sradkova-Strawn, World History, Independence High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: The concepts of globalization and identity are intertwined through the new NC World History Curriculum 2021/22. The course is intended to examine the historical development of the world and global issues and patterns since 1200. The course also explores underlying themes of: power and authority; change and continuity; 

human-environment interaction; globalization; cultural diffusion; and individual and group identity.The standards for this course seek to move beyond the rote teaching of world history to the teaching of history in context to the world and global society. With this in mind, it is important to note that this course is not designed to be a chronological study of history through periodization. The goal of this course is to blend the historical with the contemporary and current so that students begin to acquire an understanding of how the historical events and decisions of ancient, classical, and modern history have implications or lasting impacts that have influenced the world in which we currently live. It is important for students in today’s rapidly evolving global society to be able to understand the contemporary patterns and connections of globalization. Likewise, it is important they know that in order to do so, one must study the historical precedents and antecedents of those patterns and connections. Ultimately, students will be able to use this knowledge to understand and engage with the world as collaborative and productive global citizens who are knowledgeable of why history matters in a twenty-first-century world(North Carolina Standards for World History).

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2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

 Langue et Identité ( Language and Identity) 

April 19, 2025 – 9:41 am

Mawuena Dabla, French, Harding University High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: In this unit, students will explore different aspects of identity as related to language. Due to the exponential growth of immigration to developed countries, various speech communities have been created in those countries1. As you can see, language and identity have been debatable issues with the increase in immigration. We can define identity through different aspects; however, this curriculum will focus on the language part only. In fact, there are a few topics related to language and identity. The language we learn growing up is undeniably related to our identity. For example, I speak Ewe because I was born and raised in Togo in West Africa. As immigrants in the United States, the ultimate question we ask when we hear a random stranger speak the same language as us, is: “Are you from Togo?” We wouldn’t ask that question if we didn’t know that Ewe people can be from Togo. Thus, Ewe is a part of the Togolese identity. Not only we will learn about the notion of identity, but also, we will discuss how our identity can be related to the language we speak. This unit will take approximately four weeks. 

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2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

What is Identity?

April 19, 2025 – 9:38 am

Kokou Komlanvi, French, West Charlotte High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: In this unit, we will explore some aspects of our identities such as family, language, religion, health and well-being, race, value, ethnicity, cultural identity. Students will conduct research on the notion of identity and will answer questions as: “who I am?” How others perceive me”, what makes an identity? In addition, they will compare the values of young Francophone to their own values. Students will read Le Petit Prince. Le petit Prince is about the exploration of identity and adulthood of a young French kid. We will watch à movie called (The namesake) which is an identity crisis over name because the parents gave Gogol two names and is neither an Indian name or American name. He feels neither entirely American or Indian. In this unit, we will explore how other people are similar or are different from us and what makes us who we are. Students will learn about Identity-related vocabulary in French. After that, I will use a variety of teaching strategies to develop their reading, speaking, listening and writing ability on the topic of Identity. At the end of the unit, we will each engage in progressive writing of their own self-introduction book using a book creator app. through the project (Who am I?). 

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2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

 Identities: Who Am I? Who Could I Be? 

April 19, 2025 – 9:36 am

Brittney Knauer, 3rd Grade, Mint Hill Elementary School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: In this unit, students will explore the identity of self and others within the class. Our focus questions in this unit are ‘Who am I?” and “Who could I become?” This exploration will be done through books, informational slides, and self-reflection activities during the social-emotional learning block built into the class schedule. Each ethnicity being discussed is a mirror of the students in the classroom and provides a window into other cultures for their classmates. Students will explore cultures from Africa, America, Asia, and Central and South America. This unit aligns with subjects and standards across the North Carolina State expectations in literacy, social studies, and social-emotional learning needs. This curriculum will provide students with the opportunity to explore global citizenship using real-world examples and experiences. At the end of this unit, students will create a vision board for themselves focusing on all the things they are and could be. 

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2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

Intersecting Identities: Exploring How Identities are Reflected in Literature and Film

April 19, 2025 – 9:33 am

Franchone Bey, English, West Charlotte High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

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Synopsis: This unit will focus on how identities are created in literature and film. Students will be able to identify how the influence of stereotypes influence self-identity. Through critical analysis of images in texts and the media, students will be able to recognize the power that these images have in shaping perception. Students will also be introduced to how schemas develop as a result of reinforced repetition of stereotypes. The repetition of images, and character types have had an impact on society and culture. Students will be introduced to a broad history of stereotyping in film and defining stereotypes. Students will identify stereotypes and then explore the negative effects of racial stereotyping today. 

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2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

Identity Crisis: Who am I?

April 19, 2025 – 9:30 am

LaShonda Alexander, AVID, Wilson STEM Academy

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: Identity is defined as the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. Based on an article from, “Acts For youth”, Identity refers to our sense of who we are as individuals and as members of social groups. Our identities are not simply our own creation: identities grow in response to both internal and external factors. To some extent, each of us chooses an identity, but identities are also formed by environmental forces out of our control. Society, Educators, Parents, and other Adolescents may feel that our youth may be going through some type of Identity Crisis being that some youth have decided not to identify with a certain race, gender, and or religion. I plan to have my students to explore what Identity is, what helps shapes their identity, does their identify or school have an affect on one another, and why is self-identity vital with self-development. I want to get their viewpoints on if they feel that society or their environment plays more of a role in determining their identity or if they feel they that they develop who they are. 

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2022 Vol 4: What is Identity?

Seeing Themselves in Books: An Exploration of Student Identities

April 18, 2025 – 12:45 pm

Johnna Hauck, 5th Grade, Shamrock Gardens Elementary School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.

Synopsis: In this unit, students will learn about identity and explore their own identities through a series of literacy-based lessons in order to answer the question: How can our identities shape our lives? Front Desk will be the text used throughout these lessons. This will allow for students to engage with 5th grade literacy standards, but also lend itself to conversations and activities about identity. Students learn about identity and other concepts that intertwine with identity from a fiction text. This learning will then be applied to students exploring their own identities and experiences. Questions about identity are embedded throughout the unit in order to spark interest, engagement, and reflection on the part of students. Conversations drive most lessons forward, and encourage students to question their beliefs as well as events taking place in the world today. These content areas are integrated throughout the unit with one overarching goal – to encourage students to critically examine how identity shapes our lives including our relationships, our choices, and the way we think and act.

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