Tiffany Martin

Professor Devine
5/--/2016
Title: Looking Through the Mirror: Social Constructions & Identity
Rationale:
How social constructs impact our views in gender, identity, class and influence the expectations
we have of ourselves?
This unit will focus on identity, primarily what factors into our social and personal

identities. The core books of the unit are Stephan Cranes Maggie: Girl of the Streets, Reginald

Roses Twelve Angry Men, and Sandra Cisneros House on Mango. Each of these books

illustrates societys influence on the individual. Additionally, these text reflect the individuals

understanding of class, themselves, gender, and what is expected of them. The jurors in the play,

Twelve Angry Men are anonymous and universal figures, who represent different components of

1950s society (e.g. Juror #10 represents the bigotry, while Juror #5 represents the poverty gap).

Additionally, Cranes characters-- Maggie, Jimmy, Pete, and Mother-- all reflect 1800s society

influence on gender and class identity. Also, House on Mango Street explores the concept of

gender, class and identity more than the other two text.The books will be taught in chronological

order because I want students to see the drastic shifts and ranges of influence society has on the

portrayal of the characters within their specific text. Cranes novel illustrates gender identity,

social class and societys influence on the individuals expectations; Roses play illustrates the

same things expect gender, with more emphasis placed on societys influence, while Cisneros

book illustrates everything and is more relatable for students.

High schoolers usually struggle with identity. At this point in their lives they are more

involved in social media and their communities, so their views on the world are a direct result of

their experience on social media and within their communities. I want my students to understand
that the ideals surrounding gender, class, and more are not new concepts, but things that have

evolved over time. They will be able to see themselves in the various characters and societys

impact on themselves, and be willing to question. As many of my students will be from the city,

many of them may have struggles similar to Esperanza, so by seeing how she takes her

limitations and uses them as her motivators will hopefully inspire them to do the same. By the

end of the unit my student should be able to answer the question, what does it mean to be a

product, rather than molded by your environment?

Theme:

We will look at the books through the scope of social structures; however, in each book

we will address a sub- section of this broader scheme. For each book we will do a brief overview

of the historical context in which the book was written, so that students could see the influence of

the era (i.e the practices of the era) on the main characters behaviors. To understand social

structures, the students must understand the common practices of time and communities we are

visiting. For example, students behavior is a direct reflection of their societys standards: Being

from the city, immersed in pop culture, students are expected to dress in the latest fashion and

give the appearance of middle classwell offdespite their socioeconomic status. Sneaker

heads, could relate to Maggie, as most students are willing to spend exuberant amount of money

on their shoe wear (e.g. 400 dollars for a pair of Yeezys) just as Maggie a low girl, factory girl

spends her time knitting doilies and fixing up her tenement. Labels define adolescence: to be

caught in a pair of twenty dollar jeans or worse knock-off brand is the equivalent of having the

plague for urban teenagers. Additionally, gender struggles play a huge role our society (e.g. rape

culture, and glass ceiling for women) and in many of those are addressed in the books we will be

reading. Students perpetuate gender ideals of society: for example to be a girly girl you have to
be small and stylist, while to be a manly man you have to be rough and tough. A girl is supposed

to depend on her looks, while a man is to depend on his strength: a running theme in Cisneros

and Crane works. Overall, students have certain notions and ideals of class, gender and various

things that are direct reflections of how their experiences like the characters in most of the text

we will be reading.

Essential Questions:

Maggie: Girl of The Streets sub-questions:

Now and Then questions: What does it mean a woman in society? What does it mean to be a
man in society?
How is survival for women different from survival for men in Maggie?
List the expectations for men *
List the expectations for women*
What does it mean to be poor, middle class, and wealthy? Describe the influence of
socioeconomic class on an individual?
*Our society and the novels.

Twelve Angry Men sub-questions:

How does cultural/ society shape our expectations?

How are our identities influenced by society?
How does our behavior in society influence or critique it?
How does our socioeconomic status influence our perspectives? Develop a scenario from
present day or provide an explanation of the characters (i.e. the characters jobs influence on
opinion)

House on Mango sub-questions:

What dreams/ expectations do you have of yourself?

What factors encourage your dreams? culture? family? etc. and why?
What factors limit your dreams? and why?
How does your environment define you? *think about your mini ecosystem (friends, family,
neighborhood).
 How has Esperanza dream limited, encouraged by her environment? Additionally, how is she
molded by her environment?
What does it mean to be a product vs. molded by our community?
Objectives:

Students will read and discuss text by Crane, Rose and Cisneros and supplementary
materials.
Students will interpret the actions of the characters in text through scope of expectations
dependent on gender and class.
Student will analyze and evaluate the portray of women, men, class, and individual and
make text to text and text to self-connections through mini activities.
Students will create blogs and use other forms of social media to illustrate their
understanding/ transformation of the characters.
Students will apply what theyve realized about social constructions and identity to
create: a reflection piece in the form of a case file for Maggie: Girl of the Streets, a re-
adaptation of Twelve Angry men from the scope of Modern times and their own novella
with pictures and in the style of Esperanza.
Students will write a reflection at the end on each project.

Unit & Activities

Over a period of a month or two months, my class will participate in a series of activities that

will get them in touch with their communities and understand the communities within the text.

Maggie Activities:

1. Students will answer the first the sub-essential question in the unit, by listing out the

expectations of both a man and a woman in their society and the representation of

classing their community. Then be given some historical content and artifacts from the

period of Maggie; they will read an excerpt from Herman Melville the Paradise of

Bachelors and the Tartus of Maids (i.e originally published a few decades before Maggie,

but a close representation of women and men dynamic in Cranes novel). Then they will

work with images from Jacob Riis How the Other Half Lives, in addition to historical
 images documenting the suffragist movement; once they have done these activities they

will write out a list of expectations for men and women, and class from the time of

Maggie. The students will then discuss if these expectations of class and gender have

changed. After which they will watch several commercials: Summer Eves (the macho

figure), Plan B (the girl waking up by herself), Guy Codes break down on wealth and

class and the Super-bowl skittle commercial. Then compare and contrast.
2. The students will get into the world of Maggie. They will begin by writing blogs either

from the perspective of Maggie or another character within the chapter. Most of the book

is written in ominous third person, so by writing through individual characters

perspectives (i.e preferable Maggie our silenced protagonist) they can get into the heads

of the characters and make interpretations of what they would be thinking in the moment

based on Cranes depiction of them. This activity would happen over the course of the

two weeks we would be reading the novel. The students will reflect on the portrayal of

gender and class and the structures presented in the novel in a 1-2 pages paper.
3. The final project will be for students to become investigators. Maggie dies at the end of

the novel. I want students to create criminal profiles for all the suspects of the death.

They will have time in case to act out some of the interrogations, where one student will

be an investigator and ask the suspects Jimmy or Pete to explain themselves. The students

playing the suspects will have to embody the characters they are chosen to represent (e.g

answer how the character would answer). The criminal file will include motives and alibi,

which will be lines from the story and interpretations of certain scenes.
The students will have to speak and act in a manner befitting the gender and social class

of the character being interviewed (e.g Pete would probably be haughty, Jimmy would be

bullish and brawny).

 4. Lastly the students will write a reflection about 2-3 pages detailing their experience in

Maggie. What they have learned about gender and class constructions?

12 Angry Men Activities

1. Conformity and Anti-conformity: the 1950s. The students will work with images from the

1950s and early 1960s and discuss how they critique each other and what they reveal

about their society. Then the students will create memes/ hashtags for the ads and images

that reflect their response to 1950s portrayal of women, class, and conformity.
2. Jurors on Social media. Response to modern and period pieces. The students will be

broken into pairs assigned a juror to create a twitter account for the individual jurors

(i.e a paper copy) then the students will respond in the fashion of the jurors to the

prompts provided by me. For examples the prompts could be headlines: Rape culture

with and image, and #black lives matter with an image. The students will incorporate

quotes of the juror to respond or use I their 150 character messages.

3. Students will do either a re-adaption of the play with a modern twist: they will replace the

jurors with characters from their community, or they could write themselves in as the 13th

juror. The modern twist and the 13th juror project will get them into the characterization,

as the characters will not have names, but reflect social class and gender (i.e certain

representation of men) within society. The re-adaptation is expected to be 4-6 pages in

length, while the write-in will be 2-4 pages.

House on Mango Street

1. Students will read free write about their dreams, what lead to the development of that

dream, what encourages them and things that limit their dreams. The students will write

about the limitations they face; most likely the limitations will focus on economics or
 family not supporting their beliefs. Dependent on the students comfortability there will

either be a share out or the class will create a character.

*To create a character, we will have a class discussion, in which the students will come

up with general dreams a young person within their community would have. For

example, they could say, everyone is my neighborhood wants to be a politician, then

the students will list the limitations based on gender, class, culture that person my face.

We will do a few examples of this before diving into the poems.

2. The poems we will read our Still I Rise and Phenomenal Woman by Maya Anglou,

Men and Women Whose Lives Are Food, Men Whose Lives are Money by Dorianne

Laux, then listen to Public Enemy Dont believe the Hype and Bring the Noise. The

students will compare and contrast the poems and reflect on what they reveal about

gender identity. Additionally, student will analyze the two songs by Public Enemy, from

the time period of House on Mango Street, and reflect on the critics on class the songs are

making.
3. Selfie twist: the students will enter the world of Cisneros, as we read the chapters of

House on Mango Street the student will have to come to a conclusion about what they

believe the chapter is about and then they will take pictures around their environment.

The picture they take could be the equivalent of Cisneros chapters (i.e taken a photo of

their mother hands, for the hair chapter, which speaks about the intimacy between

family). An alternative would be for students to take photos in their environment that

reflect a specific prompt about gender, class, identity, limitations and their expectations.

Then they will reflect a brief reflection on the image in the style of Cisneros.
4. For the final project the students will compile their images and reflections to make a

collage and journal about their House on Mango Street. After which they will write a

reflection about 2-3 pages and attach an image and poetic piece about themselves.
Image assignment example:

Dumplings
Soft on the inside, hard on the outside; Dumpling are like clouds, compact and in all shapes and

sizes. I am a dumpling. When I was younger my family members use to call be dumpling when I

stuff my face to fast with my mommys food. My belly would puff out just like a dumpling. I

watch my mother as she kneads the dough; her hands are covered in flour, she is calculated like a

spy, but her eyes look up and rest on me. She smiles and says, what do you want dumpling? I

always smile and look back at her. The dough sticks to her hand while she palms it and sinks it

into the boiling oil. Im tired of being called dumpling. They get hard each morning, you have to

eat them quick, while they hot or youll miss it all. They golden and crisp and covered in spice.

They pair well like ackee and salt-fish and are very versatile. I guess I dont mind being a

dumpling. The world needs more little dumplings.

Beauty
They took away my beauty
Im rough plaster and rougher lives
My life is made up of crooked train line
When you bend in you see my glory
I shine with charcoal from the family BBQ
The ashes from the landlord trying to repay their debt covers my legs
Im loud like a fire siren coming down Sunnyside ave.
What they call ugly I call my beauty.
They say Im too broken to fix
So they condemn me, bar me up from the rest of the world
But my community surrounds me, and covers me with hugs
The cover me with kisses and nothing but love
Im covered in memories
Struggle
Limits and achievements.
Im safest at night when they stop looking, and let me have my way.
But in the day they see me and say I am ugly
The light foundation they cake own to my face, suffocates me and keeps and hides me away.
I wear a thick mask now
I dont know if Im beauty
They always find something wrong
Im too big, too loud, too tenacious, too proud
I try to fit in
But the more I blend the heavier I descend
I cant see me world
Its only been four blocks
But my eyes are closed, and Im scared
They dont know me
They cant me
It like a vanished like a magicians assistant
I am lost, and Ive lost myself.
Cramped and hot
I hate the summer; its loud and musky. All I feel are the feet walking on me. Heels, boots they

are all the same. But the worse is people talking over me like Im not there. I lay there like a rug,

beneath their feet. Weathered and worn like an old part of jeans ripped between the thighs on

both sides. I can feel the flesh sticking to flesh, in all this heat. Its exhausted being treated like

the street. The creaks in my life are too wide to fill. Ive lost so much, I cant even explain. But

Im tough in destructible until you step into one of my creaks. It grows deeper, and expands with

the heat. The heat of the sun in like the pressure I feel being in school. Make something of

yourself, do something for this family, when all I want to do is lay there: lay there like the cool

concrete. Lay there like the rug. What there to look up to from the view of the street the sky.

Maybe Ill shoot for the stars and bypass Mars, but until then Ill just lay here and hopefully they

wont notice. Ive been successful so far, so why even bother.

The reading standards set by common core apply to the unit I have designed because they

directly get at what I want students to do with the text. I require students to cite strong example

within the text in several of my activities: the Maggie criminal file and Twelve Angry Men twitter
profile. Additionally, in all the activities students are gaining a deeper understanding of the text

and historical content in which these literary works are written. Through the blogs, poetry

readings, and re-creations they are about to build upon and reflect on the works theyve read,

which is crucial for my unit plan success. I want students to reflect on the text, but also see the

similarity within the text social constructions and their own, which they are able to do in the

activities with a modern twist and supplementary reading. The supplementary readings: excerpts

of other books and poems are there to reaffirm the plot and message I want my students to see in

the core readings. Additionally, these supplementary reading are also there to model and enhance

their reading, thus inspire them as writers. Although, the texts are being read through a scope, I

want the students to feel comfortable to express their ideas and make connections outside of the

ones I provide, thus throughout the unit they will be push to interpret every characters actions,

and the authors choices.

Overall, these books are meant to connect to my students urban experiences, so all the

reading and writing activities are meant for them to get out in their community and see their

communities within the text we are reading.

Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the
text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective
summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.3
Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the
course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1.A
Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an
organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1.C
Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and
counterclaim.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.B
Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.A
Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or
multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of
experiences or events.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.B
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to
develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3.E
Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the
course of the narrative.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and
expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader
themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge
ideas and conclusions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and,
when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light
of the evidence and reasoning presented.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5
Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in
presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest