Health Lessons

My Identity and the Community

Subject/Grade: Grade 2 Health Education       
Lesson Title: My Identity and the Community
Teacher: Miss Hope Brenner
Stage 1: Identify Desired Results
Established Goals: (Learning outcomes)
USC2.6 Examine how communities benefit from the diversity of their individual community members. 
a) Investigate what it means to be special and unique (e.g., families, interests, talents, culture, gifts, faith, feelings, desires, learning styles, confidences, appearances). 
b) Develop an awareness of “community” as a group of people who interact, work, and play together; face challenges and solve problems together, and help each other. 
f) Explore personal understandings of “self” as an individual with particular physical and inherited attributes (e.g., age, sex/ gender, culture/ ethnicity, abilities). 
I) Propose what the community would be like if everyone was the same.

Understandings: (can also be written as ‘I Can’ statements)
Students will understand that….
– The characteristics that make up our identity.
– Who we are as individuals within the community
– What could happen if everyone was the same within the community (a place where no one has attributes that make them special or unique).

Students will know…. 
– That identity represents our own characteristics and attributes and determines our place within society
– That a community is a group of people with different identities
– We are all special and unique

Students will be able to….
– Develop a self-portrait that portrays the student’s identities (characteristics, abilities, age, sex/gender, culture, talents, interests).
– Develop an understanding of what everyone looks like within the community
– Explore what could happen if everyone was the same within the community

Essential Questions:
– In the community, who am I, and what makes up my identity?
– What would happen if everyone was the same within the community?

Instructional Strategies:
The instructional strategies that I will be using for this lesson plan are Direct and Indirect Teaching. I chose Direct Teaching because I will be asking the students a variety of questions throughout the lesson and will be recording information discussed (Saskatchewan Education, n.d., para 15). I chose Indirect Teaching because I believe that students deserve the opportunity to be involved and engaged within this specific lesson since it is on their identities and being within the community (Saskatchewan Education, n.d., para 18).

Stage 2: Determine Evidence for Assessing Learning
Formative Assessment: I will observe the students throughout the lesson to ensure that they understand what characteristics and attributes determine their own identities. I will also observe to see if the students understand what their place is within the community and if they know what their peers’ place is too. Lastly, if the students have understood what would happen in the community if no one had their own special unique and special characteristics, making everyone the same. As the educator, I want to know if the students are able to make connections between themselves and the community through visual and critical thinking activities. At the beginning of the development stage, the class will be working together to come up with words for the teacher to write around ‘identity’ and ‘community’. How the students create their visual representation of themselves, their identity, and being within the community will help me determine how they are understanding and engaging with the lesson topic.

Stage 3: Build a Learning Plan
Materials/Resources:
– Whiteboard
– I See, I Think, I Wonder Image
– Sticky Notes
– Plain Paper
– Coloring/Writing utensils
– Bulletin Board

Possible Adaptations/
Differentiation:
– If more time, introduce the students to the Venn Diagram and use that for the first activity in the Development stage. 
– Could take the students out into the community so they can visualize what each of their roles is within the community. 
– Read a book to the students on Community and Identity. 

Management Strategies:
– The teacher will mention what the expectations are for this activity.
– The teacher provides a clear demonstration. 
– The teacher uses a clear and soft speaking tone. 
– The teacher will work with the students to ensure that they are all on the right track. 
– The teacher asks a variety of questions to the students to keep them thinking throughout the lesson. 

Safety Considerations:
– Always observe the students while asking questions and doing their activity worksheets. 
– Ensure that each student is able to participate and contribute to the lesson.

Set (Engagement): Length of Time: 5 Minutes
Good Morning/Afternoon Grade 2’s! Before we get started with today’s lesson, I want you to look deeply at this image on the whiteboard and think about what you see, what you think, and what you wonder…
Beside and below the image will be written on the whiteboard, ‘I See, I Think, I Wonder’ (Smith, 2018). 
There will be an image of a community with many people within the image Community Image for ‘I See, I Think, I Wonder’
The teacher will have an assortment of sticky notes and will ask the students to put their hands up for what they See, Think, and Wonder. The teacher will write the student’s responses on sticky notes.  
This will be the beginning of the conversation of recognizing what makes up our identities and who we are within a community. 

Development:                                      Time: 30 Minutes 
To begin, the Teacher will take the I See, I Think, I Do, down from the board, will write Identity with a large circle around it, and will do the same for the community. The teacher is going to ask the students a variety of questions… 
What does Identity mean? What are some characteristics that a person has that makes up who they are? 
What is each of our roles as individuals within the community? 
Identity and Community WhiteBoard Activity
The teacher will draw lines from each circle and record the students’ answers (this will be a way to observe how well the students are comprehending the topic and questions asked). 
The teacher will hand out a plain piece of paper to the students and will tell each of the students to draw a self-portrait of how they view themselves. 
The students will write or draw around the image some things that are important to them, name, age, favourite food, favourite colour, holiday, gender/ sex, talents, and skills (help the students unpack these terms if they are unfamiliar with them). 

Closure:                                                        Time: 5 Minutes 
To begin closing this lesson, the teacher will ask the students to get into groups of 2 and share their self-image with their partner. Once the first partner is done, the next partner will share their image. The teacher will suggest some ideas to talk about… 
This is my identity and these are the characteristics that makeup who I am 
This is my role within the community
In partners before the class is over, the teacher will ask the groups to think about what would happen if none of us had our own special and unique qualities that each of you wrote on your images, what do you think our community would look like? 
The teacher will ask if some groups want to share their answers with the rest of the class. 
***This will be a recap of the whole lesson**
Once the class is over, the teacher will ask the students to hand in their self-images so they can be placed on the bulletin board within the classroom. 

Stage 4: Reflection
Professional Development Goal is…
My Professional Development goal for this Learning Plan Practice is for the grade 2 students to have a better understanding of their identities and what their place is within the community. I will share the knowledge and information that I have on the topic with my students in a professional way. As an educator, I will guide the students through the lesson and be there as a source for help if any student requires my assistance. I want the students to acquire the importance of understanding their value and significance within their communities. My goal is to provide the students with the required information through questions that require deep thinking, and through creative and fun activities.

References: 

Pinterest. (2020). Children from Canada, China, Senegral, Germany, India and Mexico on Top of the World Holding Hands. Craft Instruction for Kids. Pinterest. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/471329917242918509/

Saskatchewan Education. (n.d.). Teaching as Decision Making. Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice. Retrieved from https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/cte492/Modules/M3/Methods-Strategies.htm
Smith, A. (2018). Lesson Hook Strategies to Launch Learning. TeachStarter.com. Retrieved from https://www.teachstarter.com/au/blog/10-lesson-hooks-to-maximize-learning/

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