Approximately 20-25 minutes
About this strategy:
This strategy provides an opportunity for students to explore how their identities might be perceived as visible or invisible. It invites students to think about themselves and their identities as an entry point to the themes of identity that are present in the play.
Grade Level: 4-6th Grade
Essential Question: How do our identities show up in different communities?
Objectives:
- Categorize where their personal identity markers land an iceberg of what is seen or unseen by others.
- Analyze how our identities might be influenced by the perception of others.
- Summarize how their various identities impact or show up in their communities.
TEKS:
- A.I.S.D. SEL TEK: Goal IV Elementary: Demonstrate interpersonal (relationship) skills needed to establish and maintain positive relationships;
- Uses responsive listening skills
- Demonstrates collaborative skills (e.g. listen, encourage, acknowledge opinions, compromise, reach consensus)
- 5th Grade Theatre TEK: (b) Knowledge and skills. (1) Foundations: inquiry and understanding. The student develops concepts about self, human relationships, and the environment using elements of drama and conventions of theatre. The student is expected to:
- (D) express emotions and relate ideas using interpretive and planned movement and dialogue.
Space: Open space or virtual
Participants: 4+ students
Materials: Small pieces of sticky paper, writing utensils, large writing surface
Directions:
The facilitator begins by Inviting participants to brainstorm a broad range of identity communities based on a range of markers (e.g., religious communities, race/ethnicity groups, socioeconomic status, familial relationships, and/or hobby/vocation). Based on these identity communities, ask each participant to compile an individual, written list of “identity markers,” which society may use to describe them (e.g., female, black, liberal, daughter, girlfriend, young adult).
Each participant will choose five markers from their list – that they feel comfortable sharing – and writes one marker each, on 5 different post-its or individual pieces of paper with tape.
Side-Coaching:
- Consider what identity markers are most important to who you are.
- You only need to share those things that you are comfortable sharing with our group.
- We may have different ideas about where the same identity marker is placed.
Draw a picture of a large iceberg outline in the water on a chalk/whiteboard. It’s important the drawing includes parts of the iceberg formation above and below the water level. Invite participants to place each of their 5 individual “markers” onto the iceberg image based on whether the identity marker is seen (placed above the water) or can be hidden (placed below water level) from others. Afterwards, ask participants to observe where identity markers are placed.
Engage in dialogue about what markers are placed where and why.
Prompts for discussion:
- What are we noticing on this iceberg of identities?
- Where do you see the most post-it on the iceberg?
- What are some similarities and differences we see across the board?
- What does this iceberg tell us about our community?
To close the strategy, invite participants to reflect on the ways individual and group identities are seen and not seen in this learning community and why this might be.
Reflection: We use a reflection model to describe what we did in this activity, analyze the different responses, and relate this strategy back to our learning community.
Describe: How did it feel to write down ideas about your identity? What categories of identity markers did we choose to include/exclude?
Analyze: What identity markers are similarly/differently placed?
Relate: How might identify inform our work together in this learning community?
Zoom Facilitation Considerations:
- Using the Google Jamboard feature, upload an image of an iceberg as the background
- Invite students to input their identity markers using the jamboard sticky note feature
- Instruct students to move the sticky note to where their identity marker falls on the iceberg spectrum
- Also, you can have students write their 5 identity markers on the zoom whiteboard feature.
Possible Variations/Applications:
After listening to the play “Kimmy,” Invite students to write identity markers for various characters in the play. Lead a discussion on how the identities of characters in “Kimmy” show up in different relationships (i.e. family, peers, Mrs. Anderson, etc.).
Adapted from the DBI Network: https://dbp.theatredance.utexas.edu/content/iceberg-identity