2. Agenda
◉ Overview of weeks ahead
◉ The Bear that Wasn’t
◉ A Poem of Self
◉ Sneeches
◉ Understanding Bias
◉ Poverty in our Classrooms
◉ Break
◉ Oral Chronicles
◉ Triad Work Time
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3. The Bear that Wasn’t
Each person is an individual with unique talents,
interests, and values. Even as we struggle to
define our own identity, others attach labels to us
that may differ from what we would choose for
ourselves. Author Frank Tashlin uses words and
pictures to describe that process. (From Facing
History and Ourselves)
https://youtu.be/mt106ojXPyE
4. Connecting Questions
◉ Create an identity chart for the bear. Which labels on the chart represent how he sees
his own identity? Which ones represent how others in the story see him
◉ Why do you think Frank Tashlin titled this story The Bear That Wasn’t? Why didn’t the
factory officials recognize the Bear for what he was? Why did it become harder and
harder for the Bear to maintain his identity as he moved through the bureaucracy of the
factory?
◉ What were the consequences for the Bear of the way others defined his identity?
◉ Whose opinions and beliefs have the greatest effect on how you think about your own
identity?
◉ How does our need to be part of a group affect our actions? Why is it so difficult for a
person to go against the group?
8. FATHER, Mother, and Me
Sister and Auntie say
All the people like us are We,
And every one else is They.
And They live over the sea,
While We live over the way,
But - would you believe it? - They look upon We
As only a sort of They !
We eat pork and beef
With cow-horn-handled knives.
They who gobble Their rice off a leaf,
Are horrified out of Their lives;
And They who live up a tree,
And feast on grubs and clay,
(Isn't it scandalous?) look upon We
As a simply disgusting They!
We shoot birds with a gun.
They stick lions with spears.
Their full-dress is un-.
We and They by Rudyard Kipling
◉ We dress up to Our ears.
They like Their friends for tea.
We like Our friends to stay;
And, after all that, They look upon We
As an utterly ignorant They!
◉ We eat kitcheny food.
We have doors that latch.
They drink milk or blood,
Under an open thatch.
We have Doctors to fee.
They have Wizards to pay.
And (impudent heathen!) They look upon We
As a quite impossible They!
◉ All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They !
◉
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Connection Questions
Create an identity chart for the bear. Which labels on the chart represent how he sees his own identity? Which ones represent how others in the story see him
Why do you think Frank Tashlin titled this story The Bear That Wasn’t? Why didn’t the factory officials recognize the Bear for what he was? Why did it become harder and harder for the Bear to maintain his identity as he moved through the bureaucracy of the factory?
What were the consequences for the Bear of the way others defined his identity?
Whose opinions and beliefs have the greatest effect on how you think about your own identity?
How does our need to be part of a group affect our actions? Why is it so difficult for a person to go against the group?
Connection Questions
Create an identity chart for the bear. Which labels on the chart represent how he sees his own identity? Which ones represent how others in the story see him
Why do you think Frank Tashlin titled this story The Bear That Wasn’t? Why didn’t the factory officials recognize the Bear for what he was? Why did it become harder and harder for the Bear to maintain his identity as he moved through the bureaucracy of the factory?
What were the consequences for the Bear of the way others defined his identity?
Whose opinions and beliefs have the greatest effect on how you think about your own identity?
How does our need to be part of a group affect our actions? Why is it so difficult for a person to go against the group?
Share on our google slides from the first day.
Choose a book and with your group talk about how you would use it in a grade 4 and grade 7 class. How can you avoid “we” ”they” when talking about this topic. Choose a white board and jot down some ideas to share.
