Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts of queering a text, intersectionality, and Trans-Pacific Studies. This lesson is intended to be an introduction to these terms that can be built upon in later lessons and/or student projects.
Materials Needed
- Projector/screen
- Device to project to screen
- Internet connection
- Post-it Notes
Pre-class student work:
- Students should watch the video “ Douglas S. Ishii on Crazy Rich Asians, Critical University Studies, and Queer of Color Theory” (~24 minutes) before class.
- Students should spend time looking up these phrases on the internet: “queering a text,” “intersectionality,” and “Trans-Pacific Studies.”
Lesson Plan (45 minutes)
Warm Up: Free Write (~3 minutes)
Description
Ask students to free write about the homework.
Possible question to guide their free write:
- Based on Professor Ishii’s video and your research, how do you understand the phrase “queering a text”? Intersectionality? Trans-Pacific Studies?
In approaching and researching these terms, what was interesting about these concepts, what was new to you, and what was surprising?
Rationale
Asking students to research these terms in addition to watching Prof. Ishii’s video helps them contextualize and personalize these meanings before class.
Some students may feel put on the spot when asked to dive into a discussion activity; free writes and other warm-up activities help activate their ideas before sharing.
Jigsaw: Phase 1 (Home Groups, 15 minutes)
Description
Note on jigsaws: Students are placed into a “Home Group” in which they discuss and learn about a single text/idea. In Phase 2, they are put into a new “Expert Group” in which they lead a discussion about their term to a new group of students.
Put students into three groups:
- Group 1 discusses Trans-Pacific Studies
- Group 2 discusses intersectionality
- Group 3 discusses queering texts
Each group member discusses what they found during their homework and what they wrote during their free write. Visit each group to guide their conversation about their term.
Show this portion of Prof. Ishii’s video to the entire class (3:54-9:27).
Have each group take a few minutes to reflect on the video and incorporate any new information into their discussion. Ask student to ensure that all group members are knowledgeable about their term and are ready to teach the term to their new groups.
In each group, assign each student a letter, A, B, C, D, and so on.
Rationale
Note that it’s important to mingle with student groups at this stage (Home Groups) to catch and inform any misunderstandings of the concepts.
Jigsaws are a way to decenter the teacher in the classroom, and they also let the teacher move among small groups to catch any misunderstandings of concepts and respond to them in a smaller group setting instead of in front of the entire class.
Jigsaws also have been the subject of substantial research, which has shown they work to create antiracist spaces, empower students, and help create community and cooperative skills1.
Jigsaw: Phase 2 (Expert Groups, 10 minutes)
Description
Regroup the students so that all As are in a group together, all Bs are together, and so on.
Ideally, each group will have one student who has just discussed Trans-Pacific Studies, one student who has only discussed intersectionality, and one student who has just discussed queering texts.
In these regroupings, each student leads a discussion about what was discussed in their previous group.
You could also ask students to work together to think about this question:
How has your knowledge of these terms changed from your independent research (the homework) to now?
Rationale
All-class share (15 minutes)
Description
Ask each Expert Group to share their understanding of these terms.
Guiding questions:
- What did you discover about these terms?
- What do you understand about these terms that you didn’t before doing the homework?
- How did our discussion today affect your understanding of the terms?
Rationale
This is an opportunity to guide the students’ final thoughts on the content, make connections between the video and the concepts that students may have missed, and introduce any connections to these terms that students may be visiting in future assignments.
Exit Ticket (~2 minutes)
Description
Ask students to write any lingering questions on a Post-It Note and stick it to the board on their way out of the room.
These could be anonymous, or you could ask students to leave their email addresses on the note if they want a quick follow-up from you via email.
Rationale
Exit Tickets are a low-stakes way for teachers to hear from students. Students can be anonymous, which takes the pressure off of them, but could also provide their email in case they do want to be in contact with their teacher.
1. Aronson, Elliot, and Shelley Patnoe. The Jigsaw Classroom: Building Cooperation in the Classroom. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 1997