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Activity

Oppression- Source of Power

This lesson examines oppression through physical activity and the annotation of poem. It focuses on making the lesson accessible to VI student.

This lesson is part of a unit on Oppression; it examines sources of power.

Objectives:

The lesson will also help students experience annotating text material. 

This lesson is adapted from a submission by Emily Hyland, formerly of Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, NYC Board of Education

  1. Students stand in middle of room. AGREE is on one side; DISAGREE on the other
  2. Teacher reads a statement related to the concept of oppression, and students move to the side of the room that best represents their responses. Statements: I have complete control over my life; My family has power over me; Society is more powerful than my own free will; My skin color is more powerful than my actions; I can do anything I want in this world; I am a victim of the life I was born into; Humans are completely free; I have felt oppression in my life; I am oppressed right now; Oppression and power are like brother and sister; Groups have more power than individuals
  3. Teacher records numbers of students agreeing/disagreeing for each statement
  4. Students, now in their seats, develop working definitions of POWER, AGENCY, and OPPRESSION in notes
  5. Teacher distributes copies of Freedom, Revolt, Love and reads it aloud
  6. Students are given post-it notes and directed to annotate text, applying newly created definitions to the poems
  7. Students swap with peer and comment on peer annotations 
  8. Teacher works with whole class to annotate the text, emphasizing importance of annotation to familiarize the reader with the text’s nuances

ELA Standards

Other Foundational Skills:

Other Materials:

Availability of braille or large print copy of poem if student prefers hard-copy as opposed to electronic access

By Rona Shaw

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