What’s in a word? Increasing Student Awareness of Racial Slurs

In this lesson students will focus on the use of racial slurs and helping students understand the impact slurs can have on an individual and societal level. Students will in engage in discussions focusing on the the usage of slurs in American and local history. It uses a variety of primary sources to exemplify the use of slurs within current american culture and specific communities. Finally, students will reflect on their own usage and comfort with racial slurs while focusing on the complex topic of when it is appropriate to use slurs within specific racial and ethnic groups.

Created By: Lauren Laucius, Centaurus High School

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Juxtaposing House on Mango Street, Local Latinx History, and Personal Experience through Student Writing

In this lesson students are encouraged to draw connections between an interview with a local Latina, Marta Moreno and three vignettes from Sandra Cisneros’ House on Mango Street with similar themes in order to help students ultimately produce their own vignette mirroring Cisneros’ writing style.
Created By:Jamie Hedlun, Mead High School

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Self-Portrait: Who are we? / Quien somos?

In this lesson students will build empathy and develop cultural sensitivity and awareness for themselves and others by participating in a variety of lessons which build on these topics. Students will analyze the Power of Unity Mural and discuss posed questions with each other.

Created By: Karla Colin, Laura DeCastro, and Delia Saenz – Escuela Bilingue Pioneer

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La Raza: Who Am I? Where Am I From? Exploring Latino History in Colorado and Boulder County with English Language Learner Students

In this lesson students will study the following inquiry questions, Who are you? What made you? Research and present three topics of interest from your/the past using La Raza videos and make connections with Boulder County Latino History. Beginning of the school year unit to get to know long term English Language Learner [ELL] students and have them get to know themselves.

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Whose History, Whose Story is Portrayed in the U.S?

In this lesson students will will be asked to think about who is commonly portrayed in the media and how they fit into this reflection of the United States. Students begin with a discussion of events from one of the BCLHP youth to show how perspective plays a role in the decisions people make. They will then create a collage of who is seen more frequently in mass media. Then they will be asked to analyze documents and pull out main ideas in the form of a found poem. Finally, students will be asked create a ‘Race Card’ focusing on how they perceive to be seen or not seen. This lesson was created specifically with a small group special education class in mind, but it could be adapted for any classroom.

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Creating Found Poetry: Exploring Racism against the Local Latino Community Using Primary Sources

In this lesson students will create “Found Poems” from a primary document that discusses the history of racism against Latino communities of Boulder, Colorado. Individually, students will reframe the text to create a poem with the message they have taken from the piece.
*Note: One foul word is used in this piece, so you may choose to eliminate that part of the story, or have a conversation with students about use of profanity, maturity in dealing with it, and allow them to have it eliminated if they so choose.

Created By: Lucy Copperberg, Twin Peaks Charter Academy

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