Social Awareness
Family Resources on Two Sides Same Coin
Lesson Topic
Students reflect on how personal experiences shape our perspective on events and ideas.
Essential Question
How does looking at a story from different perspectives affect our understanding?
Two Sides Same Coin – Royida
If this lesson was used in the classroom: Students learned about an immigrant student and advocacy activities. In class students discussed how unfamiliar cultures are often misunderstood and how advocacy can help solve problems. In small groups students were given situations where someone needs to advocate for themselves and develop a plan to solve the problem outlined in the situation.
Getting Ready for the Conversation
The video for this module features a youth named Royida whose family immigrated to the United States. Royida discusses her experiences being a teenager in a different culture from her own. Some things are similar, other things are different. She and her friends talk about how Royida fits in and sometimes has to advocate for herself.
Conversation Starters and Practice at Home
The first item is for follow-up after viewing the lesson video and participating in class activities.
Tell about the situation and advocacy plan your group discussed in class. Why did your group choose this plan?
Why is it important to learn to advocate for yourself? How can you advocate for yourself while also making sure you keep a good relationship with others?
If someone from another country moved into our neighborhood, would they be welcome? Why or why not? How could you advocate for this person or family?
If a new student were to start at your school tomorrow, would they be welcome? Why or why not? How would you advocate for the new student?
School to Home Resources on Two Sides Same Coin
Lesson Plan
Interactive Reflection > Open/Download Complete PDF Lesson
Learning about new cultures
In the video, Royida says that when other students do not understand about henna, she tells them, “it’s art for body like a tattoo… and they say okay, that’s cool.” When others learned that henna was a tradition from Royida’s home country, it no longer seemed unusual. Why do you think that was the case?
Students being treated unfairly
Royida’s friend Jennifer says, “There’s nothing different about her except clothing.” Do you think that Royida has been judged unfairly in the past? Why? Do you believe that there are students in your school who are unfairly judged by others? If so, what could be done to advocate for that student/those students? What could you do?
Advocating for a cause
At the end of the video Royida says, “it’s better to get to know anyone who is different from you-they’re the same as you are”. Royida often has to educate others about her culture, why do you think this is necessary? Pretend a friend of yours is a member of a cultural group that people in your community are not familiar with, how should your friend go about sharing their cultural differences within your community? Why do you think your advice would help others be more accepting of your friend?
Seeing things from a different perspective
A recent article titled Teaching Youth to Tell Their Stories was posted on a journalistic website Next City. The article reports on teens from Storycatchers Theater (a youth theater group in Chicago) who wrote role-playing scripts to help train new police officers recruited at the Chicago Police Department. The officers-in-training role-played with scripts written by teens who have experienced the criminal justice system first-hand. Tim Crawford, a Chicago police officer is quoted in the article, says, “Storycatchers has been a great tool for allowing recruits to see things from a different light.” How can a youth written role-playing story be helpful in police training? What is an important story that you believe could be used to advocate for individual youth or a group of youth?
Additional Reflection Questions > Open/Download PDF
