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This Land is Our Land Inquiry Unit: "How did (does) Europeans’ view of land impact their (our) relationship and interactions with Indigenous peoples?" From the unit overview:
"In addressing the compelling question, How did (does) the Europeans’ view of land impact their (our) relationships with Indigenous peoples?, students go beyond a chronological understanding of historical events of Michigan history and instead consider the belief systems motivating these events on a larger scale. Students analyze how Europeans’ view of land impacted their relationship with Indigenous peoples as they:
1. Investigate the Indigenous and European perspectives on land.
2. Analyze how these differences influenced the complexity of the interactions with one another for better or worse.
3. Examine the change and continuity of these relationships by analyzing current events."
HTK Note: This unit was created with 3rd graders in mind; however, since it could be easily adapted, we have included 5th, 6-8 grade standards below.
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Famous Author Study #1: Langston Hughes An ELA and social studies unit for 7th grade that uses Langston Hughes' work and life as a way to explore how and why authors write how they do.
Specifically, students will be able to:
- determine an author's purpose in writing.
- determine central idea(s) for non-fiction text,
- determine theme(s) for fictional text,
- cite evidence to support the central idea or theme,
- summarize texts succinctly,
- analyze how parts of a text interact, and
- begin to determine how poetic devices, form, and structure add to the meaning of a poem.
Note: ELA standards are included below and in the packet. Social studies standards only included below.
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At Risk of Prejudice: The Arab American Community A brief article answering teachers' questions such as:
"How can we teach about the Arab world in an objective way. . . Where can we obtain appropriate resources about the Arab world and Islam? What can be done to allay the fears of Arab and Muslim students and provide them with a safe and nurturing environment?" (quote from article.)
Please note that Seikaly considers "Arab" expansively: purposefully not conflating Muslim and Arab identities while including Chaldeans, Coptics, and other communities indigenous to the Middle East North Africa (MENA.)
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Day in The Life of An Arab Youth: Using Stories to Learn About Places In this lesson, students will be exposed to stories about children from different parts of the Arab world. They will ask and answer compelling questions about the children and their lives. They will also do research on the countries where these children are from and answer questions about their own lives.
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Beyond Aladdin This lesson plan is created for elementary classrooms to use cartoons and film to discuss stereotyping, or ultimately, to talk about how it feels to have people say things about you that are not true. Teachers are given detailed instructions on teaching students to identify details and implications of media images of “bad guys” and “good guys” while specifically examining Arab characters. Also provided is a robust list of activities to help students understand different aspects of the Arab American community through food, games, language and more.
