StonewallandBeyond:GayandLesbianIssues

AnneOlson
May10,2016

***ThislessonisadaptedfromtheThirteenEdOnlinelessonplan,StonewallandBeyond:Gay
andLesbianIssues.Thislessoncanbefoundonline:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/lessons/stonewall/index.html

1. Subject:
a. History/SocialScience
2. TopicorUnitofStudy:
a. GayandLesbianHistory
3. Grade/Level:
a. 912
4. Objective:
a. Studentswillbeableto:
i. developanunderstandingofhowbiasandnegativestereotypesaffectthe
civilrightsofgaysandlesbians.
ii. examinedifferentperspectivesonthesubjectofgayandlesbianrightsand
roleplaythesedifferentviews.
iii. analyzeexamplesofgayandlesbianstereotypinginthemediaand
popularcultureandcreateanadvertisement,song,ortelevisionshowthat
expressesthisunderstanding.
iv. writeaneditorialthatexhibitsanunderstandingoftheissuesinvolvedin
thegayandlesbianrightsmovement.
5. Summary:
a. WhenpoliceraidedtheStonewallInn,agaynightclubinGreenwichVillage,on
June28,1969,gaysandlesbiansfoughtback.Thismarkedaturningpointinthe
struggleforgayandlesbianrightsintheUnitedStates.Andmorethanthree
decadeslater,thestrugglestillcontinues.Inthislesson,studentsexaminethe
issuesthatnowsurroundthequestforgayandlesbianequalrights.Theyexplore
biasandnegativestereotypinginthemediaandtheireffectonhowgaysand
lesbiansaretreated.Alongtheway,studentswillexaminetheirownbiasesand
expresstheiropinionsonthetopicofgayandlesbianrightsinanewspaper
editorial.
6. LearningContext:
a. AfterinitialCivilRightsMovementUnit
7. TeachingStrategies:
a. Studentswillstartbyexamininghowantigaybiasisreflectedinthemediaand
popularculture.Thentheywillexplorehowbiasesagainstgaysandlesbians
affectedtheirstruggleforequaltreatment.Next,studentswilldevelopatalkshow
dealingwithgayandlesbianrightsinwhichthecharactersexpressmanydifferent
perspectivestohelpthemunderstandtheissuesanddeveloptheirownpositions.

Finally,studentswillcomposeaneditorialthatdemonstratestheirunderstanding
oftheissuessurroundinggayandlesbianrights.
b. Studentswillcreatejournalsinwhichtorecordfacts,thoughts,orreactionsthat
comeupduringthecourseoftheactivities.Encouragestudentstoreflectintheir
journalsaftereveryclassperiodsothattheywillhavearecordofhowtheir
understandinggrowsorchanges.Journalswillnotbecriticizedorgradedso
studentscanusethemasasafeplacetoexpresstheirthoughtsonthematter.
Whenthetimecomestoworkontheirfinalproject,thejournalswillcontain
manyusefulpointsofreference.
8. TimeAllotment
:
a. 56classperiods
9. SampleStudentProducts:
10. AuthorsComments&Reflections:
11. AnticipatorySet:
a. Studentswillthenlookattheirownpersonalbiasesanddevelopanunderstanding
ofhowevenhiddenbiasescanresultintheunequaltreatmentofthegayand
lesbianpopulation.Askstudentstocompletetheonlinebiastest,"TestYourself
forHiddenBiasesHowTolerantAreYou?"byselecting"go"atthebottomof
theTolerance.orgpage.
i. Aftercompletingthetest,breaktheclassintosmallgroupstodiscussthe
followingquestions:
1. Whatwerethemostsurprisingthingsyoulearnedaboutyourself
fromthistest?
2. Whatdoyouthinkaresomeofthecausesofpeople'sbiases?
3. Whatdoyouthinkaresomeofthecausesofintolerancedirected
towardgaysandlesbians?
4. Doyouthinkalotofpeoplearelesstoleranttowardsthegayand
lesbianpopulationthantheyaretowardotherpopulations(e.g.,
women,AfricanAmericans,Latinos)?Explainyouranswer.
5. Howdoyouthinkbiaseshaveanimpactonthegayandlesbian
fightforequalrights?
12. Modeling:TheRoleoftheMedia&PopularCultureintheGayandLesbianRights
Movement(4classperiods)
a. Inthisactivity,studentswillexaminehowantigaybiasisreflectedinthemedia
andinpopularcultureandwillreflectonhowbiasandstereotypinghavean
impactonequalrightsissues.Readthefollowingquotationanddiscusshow
negativestereotypingofgaysandlesbianshasanimpactontheircivilrights:
i. "Imagineatimewhenthewords"gay"and"lesbian"weretaboointhe
mediaatimewhenyournewspaperhadblatantlyhomophobicstorieson
thefrontpageandtheentertainmentindustrydidn'tgiveasecondthought
tonegativelyportrayinglesbiansandgaysontelevisionorinmotion
picturesatimewhenlesbiansandgayswereotherwiseinvisibleinthe
media.Thiswasalloccurringlessthantenyearsago,beforetheformation
oftheGay&LesbianAllianceAgainstDefamation(GLAAD)"(quote
fromGLAAD'sWebsite,
http://www.glaad.org
)

b. Nowbrainstormtocomeupwithsomeexamplesofgayandlesbian
representationinthemedia.Passoutthediscussiontopicsbelow,andprovide
timeforstudentstoviewGLAAD'sWebsiteat
http://www.glaad.org/
.
i. WhatisGLAAD'smission?
ii. InwhatwaysdoyouthinkGLAAD'sworkbenefitsgaysandlesbiansand
themovementforcivilrights?
iii. Askstudentstogiveexamplesofhowvariousgroupshavebeen,orstill
are,portrayedinmovies,television,newspapers,songs,and
advertisements(e.g.,AfricanAmericans,Women,NativeAmericans,
JapaneseAmericans)
iv. Discusstheimpactthattheseportrayalshaveonindividualviewstoward
thedifferentgroupsandhowthedepictionsaffect/haveaffectedvarious
strugglesforcivilrights.Whyitisimportanttoportraythesegroupsina
morerealisticmanner?
c. InvolvetheclassinagroupdiscussionabouttheWebsite.
d. Aftercompletingthediscussion,handoutthe
MediaProjectOrganizer
.Small
groupsofstudentsshouldchooseoneoftheactivities,followitsinstructions,and
thenanswerthequestionsrelevanttotheirparticularsubject.Attheendofthe
periodthegroupspresentwhattheyhavelearnedtotheclass.
13. GuidedPractice:BuildingaHistoricalPerspective
a. Tellstudentsthatthegayandlesbianrightsmovementhasmadenumerousgains
sincetheStonewallRiots.Inthissectionoftheactivity,studentswilllookatwhat
has,andwhathasn't,changedsince1969.Thisbackgroundinformationwillhelp
themunderstandtheissuesthatwillcomeupduringthetalkshowactivity
(activity3).
b. Askstudentstoreadthefollowingtwoarticlesandrespondtothequestionsinthe
formatofareflectivejournal.Thefirst,froma1969editionoftheNewYork
Times,isabouttheStonewallRiots.Thesecondisapresentdayarticleaboutthe
picketingofabarpopularwithgays.
i. "TurningHateIntoHelp"
http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=130
ii. "PoliceAgainRout'Village'Youths".NewYorkTimes.June30,1969
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/events/sw25/gifs/1times2.gif

c. Givestudentstimeforprivatethinkingandtorespondtothefollowingquestions
intheirjournals.Providetimeforthemtosharetheiranswerswiththeclass.(This
maybedoneasawholeclassactivityorinsmallgroups.)Eventhoughthe
journalsareprivate,youmayaskifanystudentsarewillingtosharewhatthey've
written.Thisshouldbeoptional,asyouwantstudentstotrustthatthejournalsare
theirprivateplacetorecordtheirthoughts.
i. Whatarethethreethingsthatinterestyouthemostinbotharticles?
ii. Whatthingshaveremainedunchangedduringthistimeperiod?
iii. Howhavebiasestowardgaysandlesbianschangedduringthistime
period?
iv. Howdoyouthinkthingswillbedifferentthirtyyearsfromnow?
14. IndependentPractice:ClassTalkShow

a. Afterstudentsexploremediabiasandhistoricalbackground,theywillexamine
differentperspectivesonthetopic.Theywilldosobycreatingcharactersinatalk
showconsistingof:
i. Anorganizerforagay/lesbianequalrightsmarch
ii. Anadvocateforgays/lesbiansinthemilitary
iii. Apersonworkingforthepassageofsamesexmarriagelaws
iv. AtalkshowhostbasedontheDr.Lauratelevisionshow
v. Amemberofthereligiouscommunitywhoopposeshomosexualityin
theirchurch
vi. Apersonwhodoesn'tbelievethatgays/lesbiansshouldhaveequalrights
b. Havestudentgroupsselectonecharacterfromtheabovelist.Thenhavethe
groupsresearchthepointsofviewanddevelopcharacteroutlinesasspecifiedin
the
TalkShowGuidelinesorganizer
.Onceresearchiscomplete,thegroupshould
selectoneofitsmemberstoplaythecharacterthatthegroupresearched.
c. Havethehostgroupgivetheirdiscussionquestionstotheguestgroupssothat
theycanpreparetheiranswers.Thehostgroupshouldusethistimetodecidehow
theywillsetuptheclassroomforthetalkshow,aswellashowtheywillorganize
theshowitself.
d. Oncethisiscomplete,stagethetalkshow.Studentswhoaren'tonthepanelwill
bethetalkshowaudience,butallstudentswillwriteaneditorialbasedonwhat
theylearnedinthetalkshow,andinotheractivitiesfromthislessonsoitis
importantforthemtocontinuetotakenotesduringthisactivity.
e. Teachertips:
i. Alloweachmembertospeakwithoutinterruption.
ii. Themoderatorshouldmakesureeveryonehasachancetoarticulatehisor
herpositioninatimelymanner.
iii. Providesufficientopportunitiesforaudienceparticipationandquestions.
iv. Allowstudentstoarguetheirpointofviewwithpassion.Dissentisagood
waytoclarifyourunderstandingofvariedperspectives.
15. Closure:
a. Exitticket:Returntotheanticipatoryset.Howdoyouthinkbiaseshavean
impactonthegayandlesbianfightforequalrights?
16. FollowUp:
a. HistorySendstudentstotheColumbiaUniversityLibrariesonlineexhibition
StonewallandBeyond:LesbianandGayCulture.Thissitecontainsawealthof
historicalinformationaboutthehistoryofthelesbianandgayrights
movement.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/events/sw25/
b. ReadingThefollowingsiteisaresourceforbookscontaininggayandlesbian
charactersandthemesinchildren'sbooks
http://www.pe.net/~bidstrup/biblio.htm
c. MathCreateaquestionnaireongayandlesbianrights.Generateachart/graph
thatdisplaysthequestionnaireresults.
17. InstructionalMaterials:
a. Paper
b. Pencil/pens
c. Artsupplies

d. LyricstotheeditedversionofEminem'sMarshallMathersCD
e. EditorialOrganizer

f. MediaProjectOrganizer

g. TalkShowGuidelinesorganizer
18. Resources:
a. TECHSTANDARD:
i. 9(g)Eachcandidatechoosessoftwareforitsrelevance,effectiveness,
alignmentwithcontentstandards,andvalueaddedtostudentlearning.
b. Tolerance.org
http://www.tolerance.org/hidden_bias/index.html
http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=130
Tolerance.orgwascreatedtoawakenpeopleofallagestotheproblemsofhate
andintolerance,toequipthemwiththebesttoleranceideas,andtopromptthem
toactintheirhomes,schools,businessesandcommunities.Studentswilltakethe
"HowTolerantAreYou?"testonthissite.
c. TheFreedomCoalition
http://freedomcoalition.dhs.org/end.html
TheFreedomCoalitionisagrassrootscivilrightsorganizationbasedin
Lawrence,Kansas.Studentswillusethissitetoexplorevariedperspectivesonthe
issueofhumanandgayrights.
d. StonewallandBeyond:LesbianandGayCulture
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/events/sw25/
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/events/sw25/gifs/1times2.gif
ThisWebsitefeaturestheColumbiaUniversityLibrariesonlineexhibition,
"StonewallandBeyond:LesbianandGayCulture".Studentswillusethissiteto
extendtheirknowledgeofthehistoryofthegayandlesbianrightsmovement.
e. Gay/LesbianIssuesatAbout.com:theMillenniumMarch
http://gaylesissues.about.com/newsissues/gaylesissues/library/content/bl2000.htm
ThisABOUTsitecontainsinformationabouttheMillenniumMarchon
Washington.Studentswillusethissitetoresearchacharacterforthetalkshow
activity.
f. Bibliography:GayandLesbianCharactersandThemesinChildren'sBooks
http://www.armory.com/~web/gaybooks.html
ThisWebsitecontainsanannotatedbibliographyforgayandlesbiancharacters
andthemesinchildren'sbooks.Teachersmayusethissitetoextendthetopicinto
theirlanguageartscurriculum.
g. Salon.comnews:ShouldGaysServe?
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/06/09/gays/index.html
ASalonpaneldebatesthebanonhomosexualsinthemilitary.Studentswilluse
thissitetocreatetheircharacterforthetalkshow.
h. Gay/LesbianIssueswithDeborahLevinson:FittoServe
http://www.rslevinson.com/gaylesissues/features/main/gl970516.htm
Studentswilllearnaboutgaysinthemilitaryinthearticle"FittoServe".Students
willusethissitetocreateacharacterforthetalkshow.

i. TheLegalChallenge
http://mentionables.com/ca.htm
Thissitecontainsanarticlechroniclingasamesexmarriage.Studentswilluse
thissitetocreatetheircharactersforthetalkshow.
j. GayMarriage:TheArgumentsandMotives
http://www.pe.net/~bidstrup/marriage.htm
Thisarticlepresentsargumentsforandagainstgaymarriage,aswellaslinksto
moreresources.Studentswillusethissitetocreatetheircharactersforthetalk
show.
k. AnAmericanCivilLibertiesUnionFreedomNetWork
http://www.aclu.org/fissues/gay/civil_union_publ.html
Thissitecontainsthearticleentitled"AHistoricVictory:CivilUnionsfor
SameSexCouplesWhat'sNext!"Studentswillusethissitetocreatetheir
charactersforthetalkshow.
l. DrLaura.com
http://www.drlaura.com/main/
ThislinkleadstoDr.LauraSchlessinger'sWebsite.Studentswillusethissiteto
createtheircharactersforthetalkshow.
m. GLAAD.org
http://www.glaad.org/org/publications/documents/index.html?record=386
ThissitecontainstranscriptsfromDr.LauraSchlessinger'sshow.Studentswill
usethissitetocreatetheircharactersforthetalkshow.
n. SetFree:Homosexuality
http://members.aol.com/ERAComix/homosexuals.html
Thispagecontainsanarticleentitled"CleaningOuttheCloset:ABiblicalLookat
Homosexuality."Studentswillusethissitetocreatetheircharactersforthetalk
show.
o. Hardcoretruth.com
http://www.hardcoretruth.com/ellen_degeneres/
ThispagecontainsanarticleonEllenDeGeneres.Thisarticlerepresentsan
antigaypointofviewwhichmaybeinaccessiblebeyondschoolfilters.Although
thisisnotcriticaltothelesson,youmaywanttoprintthisoutanddistribute
copiestoyourstudents.Studentswillusethissitetocreatetheircharactersforthe
talkshow.
p. Gay/LesbianIssueswithDeborahLevinson:WeLoveHateMail
http://www.rslevinson.com/gaylesissues/features/collect/onetime/blhate.htm
Gay/LesbianIssueswithDeborahLevinson"WeLoveHateMail".Thissite
containsemailswrittenbypeoplewhoopposeequalrightsforgaysandlesbians.
Studentswillusethissitetodevelopcharactersforthetalkshow.
q. GLAAD.org
www.glaad.org
http://www.glaad.org/org/projects/tv/index.html?record=2525
http://www.glaad.org/org/topics/index.html?topic=857
ThegoaloftheGayandLesbianAllianceAgainstDefamationistohelpchange
thewaythatgaysandlesbiansareportrayedonthescreenandinthenews.

Studentswillusethissitetolearnabouthowgaysandlesbiansareportrayedin
themediaandpopularculture.
r. TheCommercialCloset
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgibin/iowa/index.html
TheCommercialClosetisaunique,nonprofiteducationandjournalism
organizationdedicatedtochartingtheevolvingworldwideportrayalsoflesbians,
gaymen,bisexuals,andthetransgenderedinoneofthemostpowerfulcultural
mediaofourtimemainstreamadvertising.Studentswillusethissitetolearn
abouthowgaysandlesbiansareportrayedinthemediaandpopularculture.
19. Standards:
a. Standard1:UnitedStatesHistoryStandardfromtheNationalCenterfor
HistoryintheSchools(NCHS):NationalStandardsforHistory,Basic
Edition,130131
1. majorcontemporarysocialissuesandthegroupsinvolved(e.g.,the
currentdebateoveraffirmativeactionandtowhatdegree
affirmativeactionpolicieshavereachedtheirgoals.)
2. theevolutionofgovernmentsupportfortherightsofthedisabled
theemergenceofthegayliberationmovementandcivilrightsof
gayAmericans.
ii. continuingdebatesovermulticulturalism,bilingualeducation,andgroup
identityandrightsvs.individualrightsandidentity.
iii. successesandfailuresofthemodernfeministmovement.
b. Standard3:Usesthestylisticandrhetoricalaspectsofwriting,fromCouncil
forBasicEducation:
i. Usespreciseanddescriptivelanguagethatclarifiesandenhancesideas
andsupportsdifferentpurposes(e.g.,tostimulatetheimaginationofthe
reader,totranslateconceptsintosimplerormoreeasilyunderstoodterms,
toachieveaspecifictone,toexplainconceptsinliterature)
20. AssessmentPlan:
a. Asafinalassessment,studentswillexpresstheirownperspectiveabouttheissue
ofgayandlesbianrightsinaneditorial.Beforetheystartwriting,examinesome
basicconventionsofeditorialwritingbylookingatsampleeditorials.Ask
studentstobringineditorialsfromhome,thenselectonetosharewiththeclass.
Afterstudentshavereadtheeditorial,discussthefollowingquestions:
i. Whatwasthepurposeoftheeditorial?
ii. Howdidyoufeelasyouwerereadingtheeditorial?
iii. Whatdidthewriterdotomakeyoufeelthisway?
iv. Whatdidthewriterchoosetoincludeintheeditorial?
v. Whatdidthewriterchoosenottoincludeintheeditorial?
vi. Howistheeditorialstructured?
vii. Whatdidtheauthorincludeinthebeginningparagraph?
viii. Whatdidtheauthorincludeintheendingparagraph?
ix. Howeffectivewastheeditorial?
b. Breaktheclassintosmallgroupsandaskthemtorepeattheclosureactivitywith
someoftheeditorialstheybroughtfromhome.

c. Nowhavestudentswritetheirowneditorials.Studentsshouldreviewandfillout
the
EditorialOrganizer
.Thentheycandrafttheireditorials.Havestudentspeer
editingroups,thensharewiththeclasswhencompleted.
21. Assessment/Rubrics:
a. Seenextpage

Content

Thecontentisabsent
ornotrelatedtothe
topic.

Thecontentisordinary
andsomewhatrelated
tothetopic.

Thecontentisclear
anddirectlyrelatedto
thetopic.

Thecontentis
substantial,intriguing,
andoriginal.Itrelates
directlytothetopic.

Purpose

Thereisnopurpose.

Purposeisvague,
misstated,ornot
alwayssupportedby
details

Purposeisdefinedand
understandable,
supportedbydetails.

Clearlydefinedpurpose,
carefullyand
convincinglypresenting.

Ideas

Ideasareconfusing
anddonotsupport
themaintopic.

Ideassometimesdonot
supportthemaintopic.

Clearideassupportthe
maintopic.

Strongideasare
carefullyand
imaginatively
presented,showingreal
insightintothetopic.

Format

Selectsincorrect
format.

Selectscorrectformat
fortheassignmentbut
usesitinconsistently
withmanyerrors.

Selectsandgenerally
usescorrectformatfor
theassignment.

Selectsandconsistently
usescorrectformatfor
theassignment.

Grammar

Grammarchoices
keepreadersfrom
understandingthe
piece.

Grammarchoices
sometimesconfuse
readers

Usesappropriate
grammarthatdoesnot
interferewith
meaning.

Usescompletely
appropriategrammar
thathelpsreaders
understandmeaning.