9 ES Political Activism in LGBTQ Communities
In this inquiry set, students consider the ways that individuals in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) community collectivize in order to fight for greater equality and recognition. In particular, students grapple with the issues of identity and the multiple and intersecting ways that identity affects efforts to engage politically. For those in the LGBTQ community also identifying as black, Latinx, or Asian meant navigating norms in many communities. Students read several sources, annotate them, and then categorize the documents in order to produce a short essay describing perspectives with evidence from the texts.
- Grades 9-12 Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded rather than solely in terms of present-day norms and values.
- HSS 11.10.5 Discuss the diffusion of the civil rights movement of African Americans from the churches of the rural South and the urban North, including the resistance to racial desegregation in Little Rock and Birmingham, and how the advances influenced the agendas, strategies, and effectiveness of the quests of American Indians, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans for civil rights and equal opportunities.
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ELD.PI.9-10.6a.Em
Explain ideas, phenomena, processes, and text relationships (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, evidence-based argument) based on close reading of a variety of grade-appropriate texts, presented in various print and multimedia formats, using short sentences and a select set of general academic and domain-specific words. -
ELD.PI.9-10.6a.Ex
Explain ideas, phenomena, processes, and relationships within and across texts (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, themes, evidence-based argument) based on close reading of a variety of grade-appropriate texts, presented in various print and multimedia formats, using increasingly detailed sentences, and an increasing variety of general academic and domain-specific words. -
ELD.PI.9-10.6a.Br
Explain ideas, phenomena, processes, and relationships within and across texts (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, themes, evidence-based argument) based on close reading of a variety of grade-level texts, presented in various print and multimedia formats, using a variety of detailed sentences and a range of general academic and domain-specific words. -
ELD.PI.9-10.10b.Em
Write brief summaries of texts and experiences by using complete sentences and key words (e.g., from notes or graphic organizers). -
ELD.PI.9-10.10b.Ex
Write increasingly concise summaries of texts and experiences by using complete sentences and key words (e.g., from notes or graphic organizers). -
ELD.PI.9-10.10b.Br
Write clear and coherent summaries of texts and experiences by using complete and concise sentences and key words (e.g., from notes or graphic organizers). -
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9
Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources. -
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
Investigative Question
What is the story of our community? In what ways have members of my community engaged in political activism?
LGBTQ communities include individuals who identify themselves as African American, Asian, Latinx or other traditionally marginalized group. For this reason, a case study on the political activism of LGBTQ communities is particularly valuable to the 9th grade Ethnic Studies course. In this case study, students “document the experiences of people of color in order ... to construct counter-narratives and develop a more complex understanding of the human experience.” By studying the political activism of LGBTQ communities, students “[take] into account the intersectionality of identity (gender, class, sexuality, among others), to challenge racism, discrimination, and oppression and interrogate the systems that continue to perpetuate inequality.” They consider documents from differing perspectives and communities within and/or opposed to Civil Rights for individuals identifying as LGBTQ. Students read sources to study “multiple perspectives” and “investigate the relationship between race, gender, sexuality, social class, and economic and political power.” After students “study how different social movements for people of color, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities have mutually informed each other,” they write their own accounts of political activism in LGBTQ Communities.
- The Library of Congress. The Library of Congress’ Primary Source Analysis Tool supports an inquiry model of instruction by asking students to first observe, then reflect, then question. Their customizable tool includes specific prompts for student interrogation of books and other printed materials, maps, oral recordings, photographs and paintings, and many other types of primary sources.
- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). NARA has developed a vast collection of document analysis worksheets, ready for classroom use. Their website offers teachers a wide collection of customizable tools – appropriate for working with photographs, maps, written documents, and more. NARA has also customized their tools to meet the needs of young learners, and intermediate or secondary students.