Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States (2021)

Lesson 8
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ELA

Unit 6

7th Grade

Lesson 8 of 20

Objective


Describe how Sasha’s community responded to their gender identity, and how specific chapters in the text contribute to the reader’s understanding of characters, ideas, and events.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater  pp. 28 – 56

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

How do Sasha's parents respond to Sasha coming out as genderqueer? What specific sections of text help reveal their parents' feelings?

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Close Read Questions

  • Why did Slater most likely include the chapter "Gender, Sex, Sexuality, Romance: Some Terms"? How does this chapter help to develop the reader's understanding of characters and plot?

  • Why did Slater most likely include the chapter "Running"? How does this chapter contribute to this larger section of text? Provide evidence from the chapter to support your thinking.

  • How do Sasha's friend group and school community respond to Sasha coming out as genderqueer? What specific sections of text help to reveal the community's response? 

Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think that so many different words/concepts have been created/adopted to describe gender, sexuality, and romantic inclinations?

Exit Ticket

Assess student understanding and monitor progress toward this lesson's objective with an Exit Ticket.

Vocabulary


Root/Affix

hetero-

prefix

different, other (Greek)

homo-

prefix

same (Greek)

bi-

prefix

two (Latin)

Text-based

conspicuous

adj.

(p. 41)

standing out; very noticeable

Academic

central idea

n.

the most important idea that the writer is communicating to the reader in a nonfiction text.

Notes


  • In today’s reading, students may encounter terms or concepts that are unfamiliar to them. In particular, asexuality (and the spectrum of identities covered by that umbrella term) is often ignored in our larger cultural conversations about sexuality, even within the queer community. AVEN is a nonprofit that advocates for the asexual community and has a number of resources available for talking more about asexuality. As always, it is essential that students remember that even if a person’s identity or behavior is unfamiliar or perhaps does not make sense to them, that does not make that person’s identity invalid.
  • This lesson includes a reference to a hospitalization as a result of a young person’s suicidal ideation (p. 28). Be sure to let your school support staff know that this topic will be mentioned in your class.
  • Consider showing students this Gender Unicorn, which is a helpful visualization of the spectrum of identities discussed in today’s reading.

Homework


To ensure that students are prepared for the next lesson, have students complete the following reading for homework. Use guidance from the next lesson to identify any additional language or background support students may need while independently engaging with the text.

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Common Core Standards


  • RI.7.3 — Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
  • RI.7.5 — Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

Supporting Standards

L.7.4
L.7.4.b
L.7.6
RI.7.1
RI.7.2
RI.7.4
RI.7.10
SL.7.1
SL.7.6
W.7.1
W.7.1.a
W.7.1.b
W.7.4
W.7.9
W.7.9.b
W.7.10

Next

Identify a writer or speaker’s argument and assess whether the evidence they provide is relevant to claims.

Lesson 9
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