Ethnic Studies · Week 2 · Identity and Belonging
The Meaning of a Name
Exploring how names carry family history and culture and practicing pronouncing and honoring classmates' names with care.
- Students will
- Students explain how names can carry family history and cultural traditions, and practice pronouncing and honoring classmates' names with care.
- SEL skill
- Listen to a classmate's name story and say their name back with care
- What it looks like
- Students practice empathy by listening to how others feel about their names and responding respectfully.
- Content focus
- The meaning of a name
- Format
- Partner exchange
Social awareness
Social awareness means understanding other people's perspectives and showing empathy, including for people from different backgrounds. More social awareness activities
What you get
A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.
Standards
- ESMC.Identity: California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum theme, Identity
- CA HSS Analysis Skill: HREP4 Construct and test hypotheses using multiple primary and secondary sources and present findings orally and in writing. (Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View)
- C3 Framework (national): D2.His.5.9-12 Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people's perspectives.
- Literacy in history: RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as used in a text, including political, social, or economic vocabulary.
More social awareness activities for Ethnic Studies
- First Peoples of the Desert Social awarenessLearning Cahuilla history and present day tribal sovereignty through sources created by Cahuilla people, and practicing listening to a community describe itself in its own words.
- Chinese Workers and Exclusion Social awarenessStudying Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroad and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 through primary sources, and honoring the persistence of communities who challenged exclusion in court.
- Voices of the Bracero Program Social awarenessComparing government records with bracero oral histories from 1942 to 1964 and listening for experiences that official documents leave out.
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RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.