Restorative Coalition Curriculum Building

Essential Question

What is the difference between individual bias and structural inequality?
How do power and privilege shape the relationships people have with each other as well as with institutions?
Does everyone have an equal responsibility to stand up to injustice?
How do power and privilege determine access and opportunity?
How can we effectively interrupt biased speech when we hear it?
Why is it important to stand up to injustice when those around you do not?
What factors are important to consider when choosing whether or not to speak up in the face of injustice?
How can individuals learn to talk about incidents of bias and remain civil?
What ground rules can we set to pave the way for racism to be talked about in an effective and sensitive manner?
What is the difference between feeling proud and feeling superior?

Texts

Informational

Always Running

In this excerpt from his memoir, Rodriguez provides a stirring recollection from his adolescence: the first time he experienced racism as a result of being an immigrant in America. As he says, the experience "stays with [him] like a foul odor."

Luis J. Rodriguez

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Class Immigration Race & Ethnicity

July 2, 2014

Literature

Foul Line—1987

In this poem, a black woman carefully analyzes her interaction with a white waitress, whose actions, although civil, are smoldering with superiority.

Colleen McElroy

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity Race & Ethnicity

July 5, 2014

Teaching Strategies

Community Inquiry

Four Perspectives

A strategy to introduce the anti-bias framework into group discussion and textual analysis. Students respond to and pose questions from the four anti-bias domains: identity, diversity, justice and action.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RI.6-12.1, SL.6-12.1, SL.6-12.4, SL.6-12.6

July 13, 2014

Community Inquiry

Say Something

A comprehension strategy during which student take turns reading aloud to each other, stopping occasionally to comment on the text.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RL.6-12.2, RI.6-12.1, RI.6-12.2, SL.6-12.1, SL.6-12.2, SL.6-12.6

July 13, 2014

Community Inquiry

Socratic Seminar

A structured discussion in which students examine issues and respond to open-ended questions about a text. Students use dialogue rather than debate to communicate with each other.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RI.6-12.1, SL.6-12.1, SL.6-12.3, SL.6-12.4, SL.6-12.6

July 13, 2014

Community Inquiry

What Would They Say

A discussion strategy that asks students to infer how a particular author or character from a text would respond to questions and scenarios. Students must defend their conclusions using evidence from the text.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

CCSS

RL.6-12.1, RI.6-12.1, SL.6-12.1, SL.6-12.3, SL.6-12.4, SL.6-12.6

July 13, 2014

Student Tasks

Do Something

Be the Change...

Students identify and investigate a community problem and propose a solution. They then plan and implement action directed at solving the problem.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Journalism for Justice

Students plan, write, edit and distribute a piece of print or digital journalism about a relevant social problem or issue.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Spotlight on Change Agents

Students investigate, interview and profile a person working for equity and social change. The person can work on the local, national or international level, with an organization or as an individual. The compiled profiles will form a resource for other students in the future.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Truth to Power: Writing Letters for Change

Students write informed letters to corporate or elected officials, outlining their views on a social issue and calling for specific action.

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

July 13, 2014

Do Something

Voting in Your Town

Students use online resources to analyze current voter registration and turnout rates in their state and local community. They also explore potential roadblocks to the voting process (e.g., felon disenfranchisement and voter fraud).

Grade Level

6-8 9-12

October 3, 2016

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Restorative Coalition Curriculum Building

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