Very informal-share your thoughts and ideas with your classmates on how you could use the PBS documentary People Like Us in the classroom. This doesn't need to be a formal lesson plan, just some fun, thought-provoking activities or ideas that would bring the issue of social class into the personal lives of our students.
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I thought this website was informative and reputable two things I like..I would definitely use this site to introduce the stereotypes and labels which are placed on social classes, and to explain the role of social class in our society. I would just like to point out that as future educators we should be aware of our students and their backgrounds in an effort not to offend them or their families. I have had a huge issue with this just being a single mom with bi-racial children..some of the comments or assumptions made by teachers in the past left me feeling alienated and appalled, just the use of certain words can be totally misconstrued and offending
ReplyDeleteI viewed all "Outtakes" on this page: http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/film/index.html
ReplyDeleteI think many of us will find them interesting with teaching in mind. I could talk about any one of them in more depth, so I'll just pick the one, "Belles, Belles, Belles" about a female dance team in a Texas high school. Some of the other outtakes had more to do specifically with social class issues, but this clip seemed to me to most focus on social bonding, gender roles, inclusion and exclusion in high school.
The clip could be included along with teaching so many works of literature that address issues of social inclusion and exclusion from _Lord of the Flies_ to _The Outsiders_.
A high school or junior high doesn't have to have a girls dance team to have groups that make some kids feel included and others excluded, that set up hierarchies in the school. Including this video along with a literary work could help make the issues relevant to students in the present day and get them thinking about how they can make their school a more inviting community. I wonder how the issues in the video could be connected to broader issues of social class in the community at large? Ideas?
Okay I was finally able to open some of the links on the people like us website. I think this is a great resource for the classroom. I enjoyed the games that they have, you can decorate a living room and it tells you what class you are based on your taste. I think they are a great way to introduce this topic in the classroom. It would be a good icebreaker when teaching about such a touchy topic. I also like the stories section which provided insights on how different social groups interact and feel about certain things (although I disagreed with a few but that's gonna happen) This site also provides a download which contains information for resources for educators teaching this subject in the classroom. I am so glad you guys included this in your unit, I know it is a resource I will use in the future, especially being a history major social class needs to be understood in examining the historical trajectory of the history of the U.S. and other countries.
ReplyDeleteI liked the short excerpts about people and how they struggle with class in everyday life. Students could read this and possibly feel more open to sharing their stories.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the games as well, and I think they can really get students thinking about what kinds of things influence what 'class' we seem to put people into.
I like the idea of using this type of technology, this media, as discussed in one of the last articles we read, to aid you in teaching, because we truly do live in a visual society as your group did well in pointing out with the videos we've been watching in class. I think these things could have an effective impact on our students.
Well probably the easies thing you could do is assign your students to write an essay on one of the articles they provide under ‘essays’ that deal directly with social class.
ReplyDeletei think this type of resource, resouces i should say, presents the idea of social class in a way that students can understand this very complex idea. I watched a few of the interviews in the "about the people" part. i think that students when watching these might have more empathy towards people in a social classs not of their own.
ReplyDeletei also think the games and the extra stuff was cool
this is a very thoughtful project that PBS did. I liked it
I thought this website had a LOT to offer not just to students, but to everyone--young or old. Personally, I was very fond of the games section. I took the time to play the "name that class" game, which evaluates your "class attitudes" and what your lifestyle and preferences reveals about your class. I was pretty surprised by my results, and had fun doing it! I think little fun things like this are a great way to either introduce students to the unit, or to get them more involved in it. It's always good to offer hands on activities (in this case, virtual hands on) that are easy and trick students into learning by giving something that they see as fun, such as a game! :-P I think even giving students a chunk of time to explore this website on their own... maybe have them do a short freewriting exercise on it or give them some reflective questions on what they learned from it... is a great way to get students interested in the class system and what it means to them and their lives!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed looking around this website. I agree with everyone else that this site would be a good site to introduce social class. I really liked the stories section. It was interesting reading everyone else's story and really neat getting someone else's perspective on things. I think in my classroom I would use these stories to have my students become aware of different types of social class.
ReplyDeleteI think that this site would be a nice break from everyday routine. I really enjoyed the game section too, and I think it's something that students would enjoy. The video clips would be good to use too.
After browsing the website with students, I would provide an exit slip to assess what they got out of learning about social class. I would have them write any questions that they had, what their opinion was on the website, and what did they learn from it.
I think later on, I'll have more of an idea of how I can relate it to novels, but as of write now, I think this website would be a good introductory and a good way to get students interested learning about social class and to become aware of social class.
This is a great resource for the classroom, and really, my only qualm is that there is so much available here that it might be difficult to find what to use, and more importantly, how much of the material to use. With a website like this, it might be tempting to use it as a crutch for an entire unit. I would definitely use the intro we watched in class as a jumping off point, and from there supplement my lesson with material as it relates to whatever literature I'm teaching at the time.
ReplyDeleteThis website is great! I think there are great resources for everyone, not just students. I really loved playing the "Chintz or Shag" game. It showed the stereotypes associated with certain home furnishings. I would have never known that having a pitbull as a pet meant "trailer park." In all seriousness, I would definitely use this site to teach about social class in the classroom. The video clips were short enough to hold a students attention, and relevant (especially the one about the cheerleaders). I agree with Amber, that the website would be a good way to introduce the topic of social class, and get students interested in learning about it.
ReplyDeleteI played the game "chintz or shag" and I absolutely loved it. Aside from the frayed persian rug which was upper class, and the collage of family photos which was working class, I was smack dab in the middle of the middle. I loved how it judged your choices of decoration and even dog as to where you fall in social class standing. I think this would be a really fun way to introduce social class, and get a good laugh too. Some of the choices were easy to tell, especially with the little commentary given by the people from each class. Even so, some surprised me, like the television in the armoir being middle class. It's funny, because those are things that my family has in their home, and that's probably exactly where we fall. Awesome game!
ReplyDeleteThe PBS videos are a great resource for teaching about social class, if that's something you want to do. The clip in class was a very effective and clear compilation of social class. I think we would use this type of video in a media awareness or sociology class. Why not a lit class? Well, I might, but I just don't see myself doing so at least until I have developed more closeness with my group of students.
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