The YCteen stories “Change for the Better” and “Tough Guise” can be found online and in Teaching Tolerance's Student Texts library. We provide text-dependent questions for both "Change for the Better" and "Tough Guise" in our library.
This toolkit models how to build a Learning Plan for grades 3-5 and 9-12, respectively, using a YCteen story and TT's instructional strategies and student tasks, once part of our former curricular tool Perspectives for a Diverse America. You can now customize your own learning plan using our Learning Plan Builder.
Essential Questions
- How can I use YCteen stories in my instruction?
- How can I plan instruction using the Learning Plan Builder and YCteen?
Procedure
3-5 Learning Plan
Starting with a diversity-based essential question, this Learning Plan for grades 3-5 builds upon “Change for the Better” by Nhi Tong, and motivates students to make an emotional connection with her personal narrative. The strategies encourage readers to engage closely with the narrator’s perspective. The tasks position students to fully express themselves, thus taking risks similar to those Tong took.
9-12 Learning Plan
Driven by an identity-based essential question, this Learning Plan builds upon multiple themes from “Tough Guise” by Melvin Pichardo. The vocabulary strategy and performance task compliment Pichardo’s theatrical experiences, while reading and discussion strategies challenge students to engage more deeply with Pichardo’s complex discussion of gender and masculinity.
Learn more about Youth Communication, the organization that publishes YCteen, and how it encourages students’ reading and writing through nonfiction stories.
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