Printer-friendly versionObjectives
- Students will draw conclusions about boundary crossing from history and literature.
- Students will identify boundaries in their classroom or school, cross those boundaries, report back and reflect on what they learned.
Materials
- Poster paper and pens for student-created maps
After sharing the background information, ask students if they think we've improved since the fifties. Why?
In small groups of four, ask student to draw a map of your school's lunchroom, noting who the different groups are and where they eat and spend lunchtime. Why do they think students self-segregate?
Hang the maps in the classroom for at least a week and ask students to venture out of their own lunchtime comfort zone and move into a different group's area. (They can do it in pairs to feel more comfortable.) As they practice moving out of their comfort zones, invite students to draw arrows on their maps, showing how they moved from their group to other groups. Keep track of this for as long as students remain engaged with the activity.
Discussion or Writing Prompts
- What are ways society segregates us? Why does this happen?
- What are ways we segregate ourselves? Why do we do this?
- How did it feel to move to a different group? Was it fun, or were you nervous?
- How were you received in the different group? Are there ways that you could make it positive for everyone? What are they?
- Will you remain in your own group from now on, or will you venture into other groups from time to time? Why?
