Picture an American
- Preview |
- Resources & Preparation |
- Instructional Plan |
- Related Resources |
- Standards
Overview
While reading Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book, students will be able to think critically about the types of stories we are told through history lessons and media, focusing on explicit and implicit biases. Students will explore ideas around identity and privilege in what we tell each other as both fact and fiction and how we tell as Americans.
This lesson is designed for classrooms and teachers with very limited resources and time in under-resourced areas or in districts with strict pacing guides. This lesson is also suitable for students with behavioral and developmental complexities. The goal is to provide a kinesthetic learning experience that takes advantage of teenaged students’ sociability and movement in a space to maximize engagement and learning opportunities. Students will explore deep/analytical thinking around concepts such as nationality, ethnicity, and citizenship while leaving the possibility open for conversations around Western imperialism, racism, and colorism, and discuss their thinking and learning by writing in one class.
Featured Resources
- Digital or printout copies of Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book
- Chart paper
- Colored markers
- Socratic Seminars
- Introducing New Content with Seed Discussions
- Anticipation Guide
Materials and Technology
- Timer (digital or physical)
- Music and speaker (for timer)
- Pens or pencils
- Writing paper
Printouts
- Printout copies of Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book, if needed
Websites
This website is a link to all the free illustrated stories created by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
This website is from the National Endowment of the Humanities and provides an interactive glossary for literature terms with examples.
This website is from StudioBinder and includes videos and vocabulary for story structure using examples from well-known popular media, like The Dark Knight, and Rick and Morty.
This website is from Learning for Justice and discusses identity within their anchor standards and learning outcomes created to guide teachers in curriculum development and to make schools more just, equitable and safe.
This website is from Learning for Justice and discusses diversity within their anchor standards and learning outcomes created to guide teachers in curriculum development and to make schools more just, equitable and safe.
Preparation
- Label four pieces of chart paper with questions like, “What does it mean to be ‘American?’” “What does it mean to be an ‘immigrant’?” “What kinds of stories do comic books tell?” “Should comic books be studied as literature in high school? Why or why not?” to encourage divergent thinking, brainstorming, and vocabulary building.
- Gauge student familiarity with comics and ask, “Who reads comics or has read a comic before?” Ask students, “What are comic books?” to encourage divergent thinking, brainstorming, and vocabulary building.
- Divide students into groups of no more than five for easy management and group dynamics (assuming a class of no more than 30 students; e.g., to be adjusted as needed: five table groups of five in a class of 25, or seven table groups of five in a class of 35, for example).
- Bring students’ attention to questions around the room.
- Have groups rotate around the room to answer each question on a three-minute timer; consider using a playlist of school-appropriate pop songs of similar length from immigrants like Rihanna, Shakira, The Weekend, Dua Lipa, etc.).
- Groups return to seats.
- Read and discuss with the class responses on chart paper.
- Assign each group silent reading from Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book.
- Have students independently write a response to the question, “How are these stories different and unique from other familiar media like TV, film, and video games, specifically because they are comics?”
Student Objectives
Students will:
- discuss ideas and concepts around national and ethnic identity/intersections of identity.
- Academic vocabulary: national identity, ethnic identity, comics, storytelling
- Tier 2: immigrants, immigration, subliminal message, subtext, connotation
- discuss and evaluate the value of comic books as literature in the classroom.
- Academic vocabulary: panel, gutter, speech balloon, thought balloon, caption
- Tier 2: theme, tone, climax, subtext, symbolism
- craft a written personal argument in response to comics used as a serious tool for learning in the classroom.
Session Introduction and Activities
(Session One)
1. Label four pieces of chart paper: the first labeled “What does it mean to be ‘American?’”; the second labeled “What does it mean to be an ‘immigrant’?”; the third labeled “What kinds of stories do comic books tell?”; and the fourth labeled “Should comic books be studied as literature in high school? Why or why not?” Hang the chart paper in four locations around the room with enough space between them for groups of students to gather near each.
2. As class begins, have students take out a clean sheet of notebook paper and write down the question “What are comic books?” Give the class about three minutes to write their answer silently and independently. You may use a song of your choice as a timer or a generic timer will do. When time is up, sample a few responses around the room and create the opportunity for some discussion (no more than five additional minutes, no more than 10 total for this step).
3. Divide your students into groups of no more than five students per group (e.g., to be adjusted as needed: five table groups of five in a class of 25 or seven table groups of five in a class of 35, for example). Give each group a different color marker.
4. Bring to students’ attention the chart papers around the room. Instruct them that they will go around the room and respond to each question in the form of sentences, word clouds, bullet points, etc., and then be prepared to defend their responses to the class. Consider roles like leader, time keeper, recorder, speaker, and fact checker.
5. Set a timer for three minutes (or use popular, school appropriate songs of similar length. Consider using pop songs from immigrants like Rihanna, Shakira, The Weekend, Dua Lipa, etc.) and have groups rotate around the room to answer each question on the chart papers with their group’s colored marker. If there are more than four groups, allow flexibility for more than one group to be at a question at one time or for groups to return to favored questions either together or as individuals. For example, if there are only four groups and they rotate to all four posters in about three minutes each, that is roughly twelve minutes for this step. However, if there are six groups and you allow for two additional rotations of their choice, this step will take about eighteen minutes.
Note: This is the halfway point of the lesson.
6. Once all groups have rotated through and answered each question on the chart papers at least once, instruct the class to sit back down with their group.
7. Walk around the room and repeat the questions from each chart paper along with some of the responses. Allow time for students and groups to elaborate on and defend their responses. This should take no more than ten minutes.
8. Assign each group two stories from Great Immigrants, Great Americans: The Comic Book and have them read silently for no more than five minutes.
9. In the final ten to fifteen minutes of class, have each student return to their paper from earlier and underneath the question “What are comic books?” instruct them to write and answer the question “How are these stories different specifically because they are comics?” You may then collect these or discuss responses with the class.
Extensions
- Alternative question: What makes a great story?
- Alternative question: What makes a great comic book?
- Follow-up activity: Write a 500–1,000 word argumentative essay about why comic books should or should not be used to tell diverse stories in the classroom.
- Follow-up activity: Write a 500–1000 word discursive essay about how comic books can be used to effectively tell nonfiction stories about real people’s lived experiences and teach students in the classroom. Cite examples from the comic Great Immigrants, Great Americans.
From Theory to Practice
Critical Thinking: “It is critical that students develop the ability to effectively exercise critical thinking and respectful and productive discourse when exploring and discussing complex topics.”
Discussion and Class Community Engagement: “Discussions about complex topics are an important part of English language arts education because these discussions can strengthen students’ sense-making, civic engagement, and achievement.”
Civic Literacy/ies: “To fully participate in society, students need to be able to grapple with the very topics that are being pushed out of the classroom by divisive concepts, legislation and other methods of censorship. As educators consider the integration of complex topics into learning spaces, it also becomes essential to provide a variety of experiences and texts that highlight the nuances of these topics. Inquiry frameworks, discussion protocols, community experts, and transparent communication and engagement with families can all contribute to positive teaching and learning experiences.”
Work Cited
Behizadeh, N., et al. (2024). Position statement on supporting teachers and students in discussing complex topics. National Council of Teachers of English. ncte.org/statement/position-statement-on-supporting-teachers-and-students-in-discussing-complex-topics/
Student Assessment / Reflections
The learning objectives for this lesson are assessed through the individual written responses to the questions “what are comics?” and “how are these stories different specifically because they are comics?”
Related Resources
Standards
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A complete listing of the standards can be found here.
1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).