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Me, Myself, and I: Examining Personal Identity in Short Texts
Students explore the factors that contribute to and impact one’s personal identity through their reading of short stories, poems, and nonfiction.
ELA
Unit 1
9th Grade
Unit Summary
Adolescents, especially ninth graders transitioning into high school, are at a pivotal time in their lives when they are thinking about who they are and who they want to be. Unit 1 focuses on that very question, Who am I?, considering both visible and invisible facets of one’s identity—from our hobbies and core beliefs to our gender identity and sexual orientation. Students will examine shorter texts from a variety of genres—nonfiction, poetry, spoken word, and short stories—in which diverse characters explore their identities. While thinking critically about the identity of characters, students will also reflect on their own.
In the first arc of the unit, students will learn first about personal identity versus social identity. Students will consider temperament as part of their personal identity, reading an excerpt from Susan Cain’s Quiet in which she explores the introvert-extrovert spectrum, considering where on that spectrum is the speaker of Emily Dickinson’s poem, "I’m Nobody! Who Are You? (260)." After listening to and analyzing Rudy Francisco’s spoken word poem "My Honest Poem," in which he shares both factual and deeply personal aspects of his identity, students will create their own free verse narrative poem that uses facts and figurative language to share who they are.
In the next arc of the unit, students will consider what happens when our social identities come into conflict with our personal identities. The poems and short stories from this arc investigate the tension that exists when how we define ourselves is different from how others perceive and/or define us. Students will engage in a small-group hexagonal discussion, making connections between texts as they build their academic discourse skills. Students will round out this arc of the unit by analyzing additional short texts, including a TED Talk by disabled rights activist Judy Heumann, seeing how people navigate their identities differently—questioning, denying, or fully embracing who they are.
The unit concludes with the students’ first Socratic seminar of the year in which they discuss what these texts reveal about the factors that influence someone’s identity. Finally, students will turn inward, crafting a personal reflection in which they analyze how the texts from the unit served as windows and/or mirrors to their own identities. By the end of this unit, students will have established the thematic foundation for the entire year: Personal Identity.
Please Note: In March 2025, this unit and its lesson plans received a round of enhancements. The unit maintains the same number of lessons and instructional days as the previous version, but teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for updated pacing, sequencing, and content.
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Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Excerpt: “Introduction” from Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
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Poem: “I'm Nobody! Who are you? (260)” by Emily Dickinson (The Poetry Foundation)
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Video: “My Honest Poem” by Rudy Francisco (Button Poetry, YouTube)
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Excerpt: Counterfactual from Counting Descent by Clint Smith
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Book: Fresh Ink: An Anthology (Ember)
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Poem: “(citizen)(illegal)” by José Olivarez (Poet's House)
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Book: How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity (HarperTeen)
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Excerpt: The Paper Menagerie from The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
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Excerpt: Borders from One Good Story, That One by Thomas King
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Video: “Hair” by Elizabeth Acevedo (The George Washington University, YouTube)
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Poem: “Hair” by Elizabeth Acevedo
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Video: “Our fight for disability rights—and why we're not done yet” by Judith Heumann (TED Talk)
Supporting Materials
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Article: “In 'Turning Red' I finally saw myself reflected in a main character” by Evelyn Kwong (The Toronto Star)
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Resource: Identity Charts (Facing History & Ourselves)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Assessment
These assessments accompany Unit 1 and should be given on the days suggested in the Lesson Map. Additionally, there are formative and creative assessments integrated into the unit to prepare students for the Performance Task.
Socratic Seminar
The Socratic Seminar assesses students on their ability to push themselves and their peers to think critically and participate meaningfully in conversation by collecting and evaluating evidence, actively listening, and responding thoughtfully. Socratic Seminar assessments may occur mid-unit as a way to synthesize the ideas of the text/unit to that point or summative, taking place at the end of a unit.
Performance Task
The Performance Task is the culminating assessment of the unit in which students have the opportunity to show the skills and content they have learned.
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
Essential Questions
- What is identity, both personal and social? How are those identities sometimes in conflict with each other?
- What factors impact how and when we can fully be our authentic selves?
- How can shorter texts from different voices, cultures, and experiences help us examine our own identities?
Vocabulary
Text-based
brittleconferderidedefiantformidableinalienableinherentpensivereclamationtemperament
Literary Terms
author's purposeauthor/speaker's purposecharacterizationdictiondirect characterizationethosfirst personfigurative languageflashbackfree verseimageryindirect characterizationlogosmetaphormotifmoodnarrative point of viewpathosperspectivepersonificationrhyme schemerhetoricsecond personsimilestory structure (plot)structurestanzasymbolthird person omniscientthird personthemethird person limitedtone
Root/Affix
-ment-tioncon-de-herin-re-
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 1, view our 9th Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
Notes for Teachers
The texts in this unit integrate the following lenses: race, class, gender identity, immigrant status, and sexual orientation. Along with that, the unit discusses issues of racism, implicit bias, stereotypes, transphobia, and homophobia. Be sure to review all content before teaching the unit. No matter the identities of your students, this unit will undoubtedly spark difficult—and important—conversations. As always, it is important to consider the knowledge and diverse experiences your students bring with them to your classroom.
Some resources are listed below that provide information and guidance about how to have conversations about these important topics with your students:
- "Creating an Anti-Bias Learning Environment" (ADL)
- "A Framework for Leading Classroom Conversations About Race" by Stephanie Creary (Harvard Business Publishing Education)
- "Gender and Sexual Identity" (Learning for Justice)
- "Sex? Sexual Orientation? Gender Identity? Gender Expression?" by Joel Baum and Kim Westheimer (Learning for Justice)
Lesson Map
Common Core Standards
Core Standards
Supporting Standards
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