identity essay lesson

Cultural Identity Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

No matter where you study, composing essays of any type and complexity is a critical component in any studying program. Most likely, you have already been assigned the task to write a cultural identity essay, which is an essay that has to do a lot with your personality and cultural background. In essence, writing a cultural identity essay is fundamental for providing the reader with an understanding of who you are and which outlook you have. This may include the topics of religion, traditions, ethnicity, race, and so on. So, what shall you do to compose a winning cultural identity essay?

Cultural Identity Paper: Definitions, Goals & Topics 

Before starting off with a cultural identity essay, it is fundamental to uncover what is particular about this type of paper. First and foremost, it will be rather logical to begin with giving a general and straightforward definition of a cultural identity essay. In essence, cultural identity essay implies outlining the role of the culture in defining your outlook, shaping your personality, points of view regarding a multitude of matters, and forming your qualities and beliefs. Given a simpler definition, a cultural identity essay requires you to write about how culture has influenced your personality and yourself in general. So in this kind of essay you as a narrator need to give an understanding of who you are, which strengths you have, and what your solid life position is.

Yet, the goal of a cultural identity essay is not strictly limited to describing who you are and merely outlining your biography. Instead, this type of essay pursues specific objectives, achieving which is a perfect indicator of how high-quality your essay is. Initially, the primary goal implies outlining your cultural focus and why it makes you peculiar. For instance, if you are a french adolescent living in Canada, you may describe what is so special about it: traditions of the community, beliefs, opinions, approaches. Basically, you may talk about the principles of the society as well as its beliefs that made you become the person you are today.

So far, cultural identity is a rather broad topic, so you will likely have a multitude of fascinating ideas for your paper. For instance, some of the most attention-grabbing topics for a personal cultural identity essay are:

• Memorable traditions of your community
• A cultural event that has influenced your personality 
• Influential people in your community
• Locations and places that tell a lot about your culture and identity

Cultural Identity Essay Structure

As you might have already guessed, composing an essay on cultural identity might turn out to be fascinating but somewhat challenging. Even though the spectrum of topics is rather broad, the question of how to create the most appropriate and appealing structure remains open.

Like any other kind of an academic essay, a cultural identity essay must compose of three parts: introduction, body, and concluding remarks. Let’s take a more detailed look at each of the components:

Introduction 

Starting to write an essay is most likely one of the most time-consuming and mind-challenging procedures. Therefore, you can postpone writing your introduction and approach it right after you finish body paragraphs. Nevertheless, you should think of a suitable topic as well as come up with an explicit thesis. At the beginning of the introduction section, give some hints regarding the matter you are going to discuss. You have to mention your thesis statement after you have briefly guided the reader through the topic. You can also think of indicating some vital information about yourself, which is, of course, relevant to the topic you selected.

Your main body should reveal your ideas and arguments. Most likely, it will consist of 3-5 paragraphs that are more or less equal in size. What you have to keep in mind to compose a sound ‘my cultural identity essay’ is the argumentation. In particular, always remember to reveal an argument and back it up with evidence in each body paragraph. And, of course, try to stick to the topic and make sure that you answer the overall question that you stated in your topic. Besides, always keep your thesis statement in mind: make sure that none of its components is left without your attention and argumentation.

Conclusion 

Finally, after you are all finished with body paragraphs and introduction, briefly summarize all the points in your final remarks section. Paraphrase what you have already revealed in the main body, and make sure you logically lead the reader to the overall argument. Indicate your cultural identity once again and draw a bottom line regarding how your culture has influenced your personality.

Best Tips For Writing Cultural Identity Essay

Writing a ‘cultural identity essay about myself’ might be somewhat challenging at first. However, you will no longer struggle if you take a couple of plain tips into consideration. Following the tips below will give you some sound and reasonable cultural identity essay ideas as well as make the writing process much more pleasant:

• Start off by creating an outline. The reason why most students struggle with creating a cultural identity essay lies behind a weak structure. The best way to organize your ideas and let them flow logically is to come up with a helpful outline. Having a reference to build on is incredibly useful, and it allows your essay to look polished.
• Remember to write about yourself. The task of a cultural identity essay implies not focusing on your culture per se, but to talk about how it shaped your personality. So, switch your focus to describing who you are and what your attitudes and positions are. 
• Think of the most fundamental cultural aspects. Needless to say, you first need to come up with a couple of ideas to be based upon in your paper. So, brainstorm all the possible ideas and try to decide which of them deserve the most attention. In essence, try to determine which of the aspects affected your personality the most.
• Edit and proofread before submitting your paper. Of course, the content and the coherence of your essay’s structure play a crucial role. But the grammatical correctness matters a lot too. Even if you are a native speaker, you may still make accidental errors in the text. To avoid the situation when unintentional mistakes spoil the impression from your essay, always double check your cultural identity essay. 

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Lesson Plan

In the classroom: exploring identity.

Goal and Objectives: Using Elana Bell’s piece Searching for the Lost Jews of Alexandria as inspiration, students creatively explore identity, engage in learning about the Israel/Palestine conflict and write their own creative piece.

Exploring Identity Lesson Plan

1) IDENTITY MAPPING

– What is identity? Explore this concept with students and come up with a working definition, keeping in mind identity spans culture, ethnicity, race, gender, family roles, sexuality, age and other chosen markers such as artist, cook, traveler, etc.

– Task students with creating an identity web:

Begin with a sheet of paper, writing your name in the center. Extending outward, write words and phrases that encompass your identity. Feel free to add illustrations, symbols and use color. Get creative! This web represents you!

– Hang all maps on the wall and have students do a gallery walk. When a student sees an identity they share, they should place a dot or star next to this word.

– Share out the experience. What surprised you about a fellow student- was there an identity that you wouldn’t have guessed? What identities appeared the most? Discuss.

2) CREATING IDENTITY FLAGS

– Ask students to pick one or two of their identities that affect them the most in the world. Which are most important to them? What symbols represent this identity visually? Students should identify clothing, make up, instruments, food and other visual representations of their chosen identity.

– Show students Iranian American artist Sara Rabar’s controversial textile flags . Here, the artist takes the American Flag image and infuses them with different symbology. Discuss the flags with the students. What is the artist attempting to do here?

– Task students with creating a visual representation of these identities by making a personal flag made of solely images. They can use colored pencils, symbols cut from colored paper, but no words.

Flag Template: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/flag-day/printable/5925.html

– Using Sarah’s artist statement as guiding inspiration, students should write their own 4-5 sentence artist statement for their flag on an index card. They can be abstract if they wish, as Sarah’s has, or more concrete, explaining their symbols directly. ( http://www.sararahbar.com/index.php?page=23_ )

– Students present work in front of class, or through a gallery walk.

3) LEARNING ABOUT THE ISRAEL PALESTINE CONFLICT

– Read article aloud with students: A Synopsis of the Israel/Palestine Conflict http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/

For a more in-depth account of the conflict, please read: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

Debate the topic with students aloud. What are their initial thoughts and reactions?

*This is a great place to connect other shared histories. For example: the foundation of America as we know it being an occupation of Native American land.

– Share JR’s Face 2 Face project with students: http://face2faceproject.com/

The Face2Face project is to make portraits of Palestinians and Israelis doing the same job and to post them face to face, in huge formats, in unavoidable places, on the Israeli and the Palestinian sides.

In a very sensitive context, we need to be clear.
We are in favor of a solution for which two countries, Israel and Palestine would live peacefully within safe and internationally recognized borders.

4) PRE-WRITING EXERCISE: Places You Cannot Go

– Ask students to return to their chosen identity. Thinking of this, ask students to create a list of places they feel uncomfortable going. Share out some examples and discuss why these discomforts may occur:

– A white, well off person may feel uncomfortable entering an inner city community (conditioned fear of poverty, being robbed, historical and institutional racism preventing communities from connecting.) This example can also work in reverse. A person of color may feel uncomfortable in a white community, fearing racism, being perceived as dangerous and “women clutching their purses.”

– A woman may feel uncomfortable walking by a group of men on the street, or asserting herself in a class of all men (women have historically been conditioned to be seen as objects of desire, or less smart than men– seen and not heard.)

– An artist might feel uncomfortable walking into a corporate board meeting (if not dressed in a suit, may be judged as having less to offer.)

– A Muslim may feel uncomfortable entering a predominately Christian community (fear of being stereotyped as a “terrorist.”)

– Share out student lists. Ask students to individually share their “place they cannot go” and ask the class to answer the “why.” Remind them that whether “real” or “perceived,” their choices are valid.

– Read Elana Bell’s piece, Searching for the Lost Jews of Alexandria and discuss:

– In what ways does this remind you of the articles we previously read? Let students know that the Israel/Palestine conflict was once more widespread throughout Arab nations. Thought Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979 with Israel, the conflict interpersonally continues.

– How did the author visit a place she “could not go?” In what ways did she defy stereotypes about her identity throughout her journey?

– What special moments did the author encounter on her trip? What words did she use to describe these moments that help us understand why they were special?

– Were you surprised to read about the people she’d encountered in her journey, after her friend’s warnings? Why or why not?

5) WRITING EXERCISE: Places You Cannot Go

In a timed setting, students should write a poem, essay or other creative writing piece that speaks to this place they “cannot go.” Here are a few choices they can pick from for perspective:

– Write a piece speaking to the inhabitants of the place you cannot go. What do you want to share with them? What do you want them to know about you, and people who share your identity?

– Write a piece in the voice of the inhabitants of the place you cannot go. What are they thinking? What are they saying? What would they say to you?

– Write a piece where two people meet– one from the place you cannot go, and one who shares your identity. What happens when these two people meet? Are they kind? Do they share something in common? Do they fight? Write the scene.

6) POST-CRITIQUE: PEER EDITS

In pairs, students should critique a partner’s work. Where can the metaphor and imagery be pushed? Is the piece clear? Is there a reason this story is being told? What feeling does it give the reader. Does it push the reader’s imagination?

Giving students a rubric or a check list grading sheet based on their identified “what makes a good poem” elements will help guide the process.

Using the advice given by peers, students retool and revisit their piece, adding imagery, metaphor and simile in areas identified and clarifying problematic/unclear language. It is helpful to scaffold this process into “draft one” and “draft two,” so students can see their own growth.

8) SHARE OUT

Students share out in front of the class. It is always a positive experience to have students build in an element of positive feedback. Some ways to guide this process:

– Create a performance environment: Identify a student host to “lead” the “open mic.” Each student is introduced with a brief biography. Hand claps or finger snaps set the stage. Assign a student to “DJ,” intro-ing each poet coming to the “stage,” or front of classroom, with appropriate music.

– Sharing aloud: After each poem shared, ask for a few students to verbally share out parts of the poem they enjoyed.

– Index Cards: Have a list of guiding questions on the board. Ask students to give specific, positive feedback to each piece shared aloud that can be collected. At the end of class, distribute the index cards to each poet.

– Assigning “positive feedback” partners. Each student is assigned a fellow classmate to “grade” or “positively assess” a peer on their work using a rubric or pre-planned feedback sheet.

9) BEYOND THE CLASSROOM:

Create an experience for the student work to live beyond the four walls of the classroom. Consider compiling a photocopied “chapbook” of the poems, asking an artistic student to illustrate the cover, or a blog where the poems can live and be shared with parents, school administrators and peers. Another option may be a lunch time “poetry open mic” where the students act as the “feature,” having a few brave class members share out their class pieces to a wider audience.

Related Article: Searching for The Lost Jews of Alexandria by Elana Bell

Written and Developed by Caits Meissner for Well&Often

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2.5 Writing Process: Thinking Critically about How Identity Is Constructed Through Writing

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Explain the importance of communication in various cultural, language, and rhetorical situations.
• Implement a variety of drafting strategies to demonstrate the connection between language and social justice.
• Apply the composition processes and tools as a means to discover and reconsider ideas.
• Participate in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.
• Give and act on productive feedback to works in progress.

Now it’s your turn to join this cultural conversation. As you write, keep your audience in mind as well as the principles of inclusivity and anti-racism that you have learned about. Consider how you can share your personal experiences, ideas, and beliefs in a way that is inclusive of all and shows sensitivity to the culture of your readers.

Summary of Assignment: Cultural Artifact

Choose an artifact that symbolizes something about a culture to which you belong. This might be a physical object that you have, or it may be a metaphorical object, such as Du Bois’s color line or veil, that represents something larger about your culture. Write approximately 350–700 words describing it, using sensory detail and explaining its meaning both to you personally and within your culture. To begin your thinking, view this TEDx Talk for a discussion of cultural artifacts and narrative led by artist David Bailey.

Another Lens 1. Choose a space that is important to a cultural community to which you belong. While visiting this space, conduct an hour-long observation. Respond in writing to these items: Describe the space in detail. What do you see permanently affixed in the space? What activity is going on? How is the space currently used? What is the atmosphere? How are you feeling while conducting your observation? Then, do some brief research on the space (using the Internet, the library, or campus archives), and answer these questions: What is the history of the space? When was it established, and under what circumstances? How has this space been used in the past? What is your response or reaction to this history? Then write a passage in which you highlight a unique feature of the space and your cultural relationship to it.

Another Lens 2. Considering Du Bois’s theory of double consciousness, explore the ways in which you may experience competing identities or competing cultures in your own life. What experiences have you had or witnessed where language clashed with or supported your identity or culture? What happened? How did others react? How did you react? What insight does your experience offer on this discussion of rhetoric and the power of language to define, shape, and change or give birth to identity or culture?

Quick Launch: Joining the Dialogue

You may choose to use journaling to develop your language use and voice. Journaling, or keeping a written record of your thoughts and ideas, can clarify your thoughts and emotions, help you better understand your values, and increase your creativity. The following two journaling techniques should help you get started.

Character Sketch and Captured Moment

Because your cultural artifact may be tied to a person, a character sketch might help you think about its significance. A character sketch is a brief description of a real or fictional person—in this case, likely someone you know or even yourself. In it, you describe the character’s personality, physical traits, habits, history, relationships, and ties to the cultural artifact. You may include research about the character to introduce readers to them. Use the following format if you need more guidance:

Character Sketch

• Anecdote about the character
• Most important traits
• Physical appearance
• Ties to cultural artifact

A character sketch of your grandmother might read as follows.

student sample text My first memory of Nonna materializes in the kitchen, where we are baking Swedish cookies together. She carefully shows me how to measure ingredients, stirring with her hand over mine in her deep “cookie-making” bowl. Nonna is a slight woman with a big heart full of kindness. She teaches me many skills, both in and out of the kitchen, that I still use today. Some have proven to be life lessons. She never met a stranger she didn’t like and often said it takes more effort to be unkind than kind. Because of Nonna, the Swedish cookie has become a metaphor for my life. The ingredients of one’s life make up an identity, and the combination is always delicious. end student sample text

Another journaling technique is to record a captured moment through the examination of a cultural artifact. This exercise lets you use an artifact as a means to look at an event in your life and create a written piece that captures its importance, emotion, or meaning. Select an artifact and an experience. Think about what they mean to you. What do you remember, and why? Then go deeper. Analyze the long-term meaning of it in your life. Try to recreate the artifact and then the experience in your mind, and relive the sensations you experienced in the moment.

Choose the Artifact

Begin your assignment by choosing your artifact. You may take inspiration from W. E. B. Du Bois’s image of the veil in the annotated sample in the previous section. Or, going back to the beginning of this chapter and Sequoyah ’s syllabary, you may choose to take inspiration from something linguistic, an expression or a way of talking that is associated with your culture. You may choose an artifact that, like the veil, has metaphorical significance. Or you may choose a more tangible artifact, such as a religious symbol, a traditional clothing item, or any number of objects related to your chosen culture.

Once you have chosen your artifact, do a prewriting exercise called a freewrite . In this activity, set a time limit (say, 10 minutes), and write whatever comes to mind about your object within that time. Don’t worry about organization, flow, grammar, punctuation, or whether your writing is “good”; just write. This exercise not only gets your creative juices flowing but also allows you to put pen to paper and opens your mind to what may be subconscious thoughts about the object as it relates to culture.

Next, it is time to take a more refined approach to planning your writing. Think back to The Digital World: Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically , which addresses the different purposes for writing. To help shape your writing use a separate sheet of paper to answer the questions in Table 2.1 .

Drafting: Critical Context

In your writing, try to incorporate and respond to the current cultural climate. Context is information that helps readers understand the cultural factors that affect your ideas, actions, and thoughts. Context helps build the relationship between you as a writer and your audience, providing clarity and meaning. For example, Du Bois’s veil means very little until readers understand the deep racial divide that existed during his lifetime, including Jim Crow laws , segregation , and violent crimes committed against his fellow Black Americans.

Cultural Context

Sharing cultural context helps your readers understand elements of culture they may be unfamiliar with. Consider what background information you need to provide, especially information that is integral to readers’ understanding of the traditions, beliefs, and actions that relate to your artifact. Essentially, you will need to close the gap between your own culture and that of your readers.

Armed with your freewrite and your answers to the questions as a starting place, create your first draft. As you write, embed cultural context and explain the significance of your artifact in a way that is relatable and meaningful to your audience. Like Du Bois, try to use figurative language, such as similes or personification, in your description, and include the relevant sensory elements of the artifact: its appearance, taste, smell, sound, and feel. See Print or Textual Analysis: What You Read for definitions and examples of some figurative language, or consult this site . Consider using a graphic organizer like Figure 2.6 as a guide. Add more outer circles if needed, and be mindful of writing in a way that it is accessible and inclusive.

Remember that your first draft is just a starting point. The most important thing is to get your ideas on paper. This draft can be considered a test of sorts—one that determines what should and should not appear in the final paper.

Consider the following sensory description of Broadway in New York, written by British novelist Charles Dickens (1812–1870) in his book American Notes for General Circulation (1842). What does Dickens, as a British observer, note about this street in America? How does he use language to convey what he sees, hears, and smells? In what ways does he use language to convey a British viewpoint?

public domain text Warm weather! The sun strikes upon our heads at this open window, as though its rays were concentrated through a burning-glass; but the day is in its zenith, and the season an unusual one. Was there ever such a sunny street as this Broadway! The pavement stones are polished with the tread of feet until they shine again; the red bricks of the houses might be yet in the dry, hot kilns; and the roofs of those omnibuses look as though, if water were poured on them, they would hiss and smoke, and smell like half-quenched fires. No stint of omnibuses here! Half-a-dozen have gone by within as many minutes. Plenty of hackney cabs and coaches too; gigs, phaetons, large-wheeled tilburies, and private carriages—rather of a clumsy make, and not very different from the public vehicles, but built for the heavy roads beyond the city pavement. . . . [C]oachmen . . . in straw hats, black hats, white hats, glazed caps, fur caps; in coats of drab, black, brown, green, blue, nankeen, striped jean and linen; and there, in that one instance (look while it passes, or it will be too late), in suits of livery. Some southern republican that, who puts his blacks in uniform, and swells with Sultan pomp and power. Yonder, where that phaeton with the well-clipped pair of grays has stopped—standing at their heads now—is a Yorkshire groom, who has not been very long in these parts, and looks sorrowfully round for a companion pair of top-boots, which he may traverse the city half a year without meeting. Heaven save the ladies, how they dress! We have seen more colours in these ten minutes, than we should have seen elsewhere, in as many days. What various parasols! what rainbow silks and satins! what pinking of thin stockings, and pinching of thin shoes, and fluttering of ribbons and silk tassels, and display of rich cloaks with gaudy hoods and linings! The young gentlemen are fond, you see, of turning down their shirt-collars and cultivating their whiskers, especially under the chin; but they cannot approach the ladies in their dress or bearing, being, to say the truth, humanity of quite another sort. Byrons of the desk and counter, pass on, and let us see what kind of men those are behind ye: those two labourers in holiday clothes, of whom one carries in his hand a crumpled scrap of paper from which he tries to spell out a hard name, while the other looks about for it on all the doors and windows. end public domain text

Now, how might Dickens go on to provide context and make connections between British and American cultures so that readers understand both more keenly? Although American Notes is generally critical of the United States, this description creates a positive mood, as if Dickens recognizes something of home during his visit to Broadway—a cultural artifact. This recognition suggests that moments of unexpected joy can create connections between cultures.

Peer Review:

One of the most helpful parts of the writing process can be soliciting input from a peer reviewer. This input will be particularly helpful for this assignment if the peer reviewer is not a member of the culture you are writing about. An outsider’s view will help you determine whether you have included appropriate cultural context. Peer reviewers can use the following sentence starters to provide feedback.

• One piece of your writing I found meaningful was ________.
• Something new I learned about your culture is ________; you explained this well by ________.
• Something I was confused by was ________; I don’t understand this because ________.
• A major point that I think needs more detail or explanation is ________.
• In my opinion, the purpose of your paper is ________.
• To me, it seems that your audience is ________.
• I would describe the voice of your piece as ________.
• I think you could better build cultural context by ________.

Writing is a recursive process; you will push forward, step back, and repeat steps multiple times as your ideas develop and change. As you reread, you may want to add, delete, reorder, or otherwise change your draft. This response is natural. You may need to return to the brainstorming process to mine for new ideas or organizational principles.

As you reread and prepare for revisions, focus on the voice you have used. If a friend were to read your draft, could they “hear” you in it? If not, work on revising to create a more natural cadence and tone. Another area of focus should be to explain cultural context and build cultural bridges. Use your peer reviewer’s feedback to develop a piece that will be meaningful to your audience.

While describing your artifact is likely a deeply personal endeavor, an important part of writing is to consider your audience. Composition offers a unique opportunity to build and share cultural understanding. One way to achieve this goal is by using anti-racist and inclusive language. Try to view your composition from outside of your own experience.

• Is any language or are any ideas harmful or offensive to other cultures?
• Are you using the language of preference for a specified group?
• Can people of various abilities read and understand your writing?

One overarching strategy you can use for anti-racist revision is to constantly question commonly used words and phrases. For example, the word Eskimo is a European term used to describe people living in the Arctic without regard for differentiation. The term was later used to describe a popular frozen treat known as an Eskimo pie . Today, the term is considered offensive to Inuit communities—Indigenous people living in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. You can also make yourself aware of the evolving preferences for language use. For example, the term Negro gave way to African American , which is now giving way to the term Black . Finally, consider the use of the word see , for example, to mean “to understand”: Do you see what I mean? Is the use of see in this way inclusive of a visually impaired person who may be reading your text? To start, determine one or two places to include anti-racist or inclusive language or ideas in your writing, and build those into your piece.

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Examining Identity and Assimilation

In the essay "Magic Carpet," Mitali Perkins writes about learning to see her rich heritage through critical colonial eyes as a young girl in New York and her struggle to reclaim her history as an adult.

Get Started

1. Download the essay, " Magic Carpet, " and distribute a copy to each class member.

2. Explain that the essay describes the author’s experience of boundaries within her own identity.

3. Use the following discussion questions and writing activities to help your students explore identity and assimilation in the essay and their own lives.

Discussion Questions

• Describe the author’s childhood experience of cultural boundaries. How did she respond to these boundaries? How would she respond differently now? What might have happened to cause her to write about these experiences?  
• Have you ever been made fun of because of a cultural trait, such as your home language or traditional clothing or food? Describe the experience.  
• Have you ever made fun of someone — or witnessed others doing so — because of a cultural trait? Describe the experience.  
• What situations can you think of that force or encourage people to give up parts of their identity? Explain.  
• What does the author mean by "magic carpet"?  
• Do you have a "magic carpet" that you and only a few others share? What are the qualities of that "magic carpet"? With whom do you share it? What would enable you to share this secret part of your identity with more people?

Writing Activities

• Share the essay with a parent, grandparent or other elder and discuss questions 1-6 with them. Prepare a written report on what you discover.  
• Have you ever tried to hide your home language, religion or any other aspect of your family’s culture from your friends or classmates? If so, why? Write an essay describing the experience, how it felt, and what, if anything, about the situation you would change if you could.  
• Have you ever discovered that one of your friends or classmates has been hiding some part of his or her cultural identity from you? If so, write an essay describing how the discovery felt, how you responded, and what, if anything, about the situation you would change if you could.  
• Imagine that a trait you "disown" now (a physical feature, a custom, a bit of family history, personal ties) will be gone forever at the end of today. Write a story, song or poem to say goodbye to this part of yourself. What do you remember about "it" and its role in your life? Describe your feelings. What advice would you offer to someone who feels forced to give up a part of his or her identity?
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These essay examples and topics on Cultural Identity were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on September 12, 2024 .

Essays About Identity: 18 Writing Prompts for Students

Get inspiration for your essays about identity with these 18 inspiring writing prompts.

There are many times when a student needs to write an essay. Many colleges will ask for a personal essay when entering college, and the topic may be open-ended for these projects. You may also be asked to write a “who am I” essay for this.

Who am I essays are a great opportunity for self-reflection. You can delve into what makes you tick and what actions have defined your character over the years. Writing these essays also allows you to showcase your writing skills. However, this is one place where you have to do the writing yourself, not ask for help from a writing service with professional writers because you need to write about your own life and your experiences. Someone else cannot do this for you.

Essays about who am I can be challenging to write because they are so open-ended. Unless you have a clear direction from the assignment, you may need to get a little creative with the direction you take this essay. Here are some sample essay topics that deeply explore “who am I.” Consider using one to start your ideas flowing as you create an excellent personal essay.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

1. I Am a Good Leader

2.  exploring my future, 3. who i want to be, 4. who i am and how i change, 5. my likes and dislikes, 6. my worldview, 7. how i am similar to my father/mother, 8. who i am in three words, 9. i am a survivor, 10. my ethnicity, 11. i am more than just good grades, 12. my bravest moment, 13. how my childhood experiences made me, 14. i am a good friend, 15. why i will succeed, 16. i am a product of my choices, 17. i am a failure (and what i learned from it), 18. i am my role in the family.

Depending on the purpose of your who am I essay, describing your leadership skills could be a great option. You could explain how your life experiences have transformed you into someone with strong leadership potential. You could explore the character traits that lend themselves well to leadership.

This essay topic has a lot of room for interpretation. For example, even if you don’t see yourself as a leader, you might have much leadership potential when you dig into your character. So, pull out that leadership and build it into a personal essay.

This personal essay topic allows you to explore what you anticipate for your future. If you are writing an essay in high school as part of the college application process, you can incorporate why you are a good fit for the school into this essay to help your essay stand out.

When exploring your future in an essay, be sure to explore who you are as a person and why your future goals make sense based on your character traits and passions. This self-reflection will make for a powerful essay.

Not all who I am essays need to be about who you currently are. Instead, you can write a powerful essay about the person you hope to become. Every human being has tremendous potential, and you can showcase that potential in an essay sample.

Think about your character traits and life goals. What could you do with those traits to reach those goals? Exploring these ideas could create a strong essay example.

The human experience is all about change. We change as we grow and develop into more mature individuals. You could explore how you change in an essay that would talk about how your growth and development make you into a better person.

Exploring things that are the catalyst for change in your life can be a good starting point for a personal essay. Since you are unique, your changes will come from a different place than other people. There is quite a bit to talk about with this topic.

Your likes and dislikes are what make you who you are. If you are focused on personal essay writing, this can be a good place to start. Because you have many things that you like or do not like, this can be a lengthy essay topic idea.

Go beyond the surface here. While you could talk about foods you like and dislike, is there something deeper you could explore? Are there particular topics that inspire you and others that turn you away? The answers to these questions will help you explore this essay topic.

A worldview is a platform through which you view the world, politics, and social concerns. It could be religious, sociological, or even ethical. Spending time figuring out your worldview helps you understand your way of relating to the world.

Once you know what your worldview is, you will be able to expound on it in your essay. Explain what you believe, but also explain why. Being able to support your reasons with self-reflection and logic will make your final essay exceptional.

Do you take after one of your parents? Compare your character traits to theirs to see how you connect. Seeing yourself in another person is a great way to reflect on what makes you, you.

Again, this is a place to dig deep. Look beyond the surface like physical characteristics and look at your character traits and how they are similar to your parent. You might find that you have quite a bit in common as you start analyzing the answer to this question.

Can you describe yourself in just three words? This essay topic is an exercise in brevity, giving you the chance to hone in on who you are. But, of course, an essay is not just three words.

Once you decide what your three words are, you can expound on them. For example, if one of your words is “student,” you can explore what that means. Likewise, if you choose to state your race, you can discuss why that is a defining feature.

Have you survived something traumatic in your life? If so, you could write an engaging essay about how you are a survivor. Many people who go through traumatic circumstances suffer a victim mentality, but you could focus on how you are choosing to be a survivor, not a victim.

Focus on the trail a little, but discuss how the trial has grown you as a person. You can show in your essay how you can move past difficulties and embrace the change that they bring. This essay can clearly show your resistance as a human being.

A person’s ethnicity is an important part of who they are. This can be an engaging essay topic, as it gives you the chance to celebrate your ethnicity, beliefs, and family history.

This topic is quite fascinating to delve into, but be careful. You do not want to come across as being fully defined by your race alone. Be sure to weave other character traits into this particular essay topic so that you come across as a well-rounded, balanced person. Remember, your ethnicity is just a portion of who you are as a whole person.

The academic world often gets too focused on grades and reports. While grades are important, you should be more than just a grade card. Hard work should matter just as much as the actual score, especially if you have some challenges that make learning and test-taking more difficult.

If you are more than just good grades, what does define you? When writing this essay, make sure you define your character traits in a positive light. Keep the essay upbeat and show how your hard work will define you even when grades do not.

Is there a time when you expressed a significant amount of bravery? It does not have to be a mountaintop rescue or a near-death experience. It could be as simple as standing up in front of a class for the first time to deliver a speech.

Find an example of bravery from your life and expound on it in your essay. Explain what made you feel afraid and how you overcame the fear to do something truly brave. Use this exploration to showcase some characteristics that help you act bravely in frightening situations.

Most people have quite a bit of development from their personal childhood experiences. Can you find some of these and point to specific ways they influenced your character as an adult? This idea could be a great way to explore who you are today.

Are you a social person because you spent a lot of time with people when you were young? Are you more introverted because you did not? You might find that your childhood significantly impacts your character, giving you an engaging essay topic to explore.

If you are a good friend to others, it says quite a bit about your character. Can you showcase how you are a good friend to others in your essay? What makes you someone people want to spend time with?

Character traits that make you a good friend can also make you a good student. Are you trustworthy or particularly friendly? These traits will help you in the classroom and your social life, so highlight them in your essay.

Do you picture yourself as a success in the future? If so, explain why in your essay. For example, you may think that you will succeed in starting your own business . Or maybe you have specific skills that make you confident of your abilities in the classroom.

Showing your confidence in your essay is helpful as you try to promote yourself to your potential college or your high school teacher. First, spend some time evaluating what it is about you that means you are likely to succeed, then compile that into an essay that shows your skills in the best possible light.

Our choices define us. Can you turn that into an essay topic? Can you showcase how your choices have created the person you are today, or can you write about one particular choice that was defining in your life?

This essay topic gives you quite a bit of time for self-reflection. You can easily highlight a particularly good choice you made or focus on a mistake and how you overcame the consequences of that mistake. Either way, you can use the choices in your life to outline who you are and why.

We all have failures in our life. This essay topic shocks the reader and gets their attention, which can make it powerful, but it also gives room to discuss failure positively. Talk about one of the biggest failures you have had in life and what you learned from it.

You can use this essay topic to transform something negative into something positive. First, think about how that monumental failure defined you and how the lessons you learned from the failure have made you a better person today.

Are you a parent, sibling, or child? Are you the only child or one of many? These family dynamics can significantly impact who you are as a person, so consider exploring them as part of your essay.

Discuss how your role within your family has defined you and what it means for your future. Focus on the strengths that your role gave you rather than any drawbacks. Remember, your essay promotes you as a person and a writer, so keep it positive.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

Who am I? Exploring Identity Through Self-Portraits ( lesson plan )

Students will analyze the impact of world and cultural events on individual and perceived identity as portrayed in self-portraits. Students will create dramatic monologues as a way to unpack Silence of Thought #2 by Lalla Essaydi and explore and analyze world and cultural events related to the time period. Students will then create self-portraits that reflect how historical and cultural events have impacted their lives.

Created by A+ Schools of NC

Artwork Related to this Lesson

Silence of Thought #2 , by Lalla Essaydi

Student Learning Objectives

• Students will be able to analyze character, setting, author’s craft, and author’s purpose in a photograph.
• Students will embody abstract ideas in a dramatic monologue.
• Students will craft an analytical response using research, performance, and information from a non-print text as evidence to prove arguments.
• Student will plan and create an autobiographical photograph that conveys the cultural, historical, and world impacts on their lives.

Assessments

Lesson resources, related content.

Pre-assessment – Instructions to Students: 

In your group, examine the photograph and create a one minute dramatic monologue in the voice of one aspect of the photograph. Use the questions below to guide your monologue’s creation. Your monologue, voice volume, facial expressions, and body posture should reflect the aspect of the photograph you are embodying. Take 3-5 minutes to prepare your monologues and present them to your small group. Your group members may ask you clarifying questions after your monologue that you will need to answer in character. Choose one:

• The character in the photo : From what you see in the photograph, who am I? How old am I? What do I do every day? What is my life like? What volume of voice do I speak in? Am I dramatic or reserved in my actions? Why? What facial or body expressions do I display while speaking (I am the character, and I am ___ years old, I like___, I dislike___ etc.) 
• The character’s actions : How is the character acting? What feelings do these actions convey? What volume of voice do the actions speak in? Are they boisterous or demure? Why? What facial or body expressions do the actions display while speaking?  Why? (I am the character’s actions, and I am ___ing, ___ing, and ___ing. I feel ___, etc.)
• The setting of the photo : Where is the character? Why might the character be there? How does the setting feel? What volume of voice does the setting speak in? What is its energy when it speaks? Why? What facial or body expressions does the setting have while it talks? (I am the setting, and I am created from___, when someone walks into me it feels___because___)
• The artist’s purpose : What is the artist’s purpose for creating the photograph? What message is she sending? How does that message feel? Why? What volume of voice does the purpose or message speak in? Why? What facial or body expressions does the purpose/message of the photograph have while it talks? (I am the author’s purpose, and I am here to reveal that___because___)
• The artist’s craft : How did the artist craft the picture? Through what medium? Where did the artist place the objects in the picture? Why? Why is there writing on the character? What kind of lighting did the author use to create the picture? Why? What are the colors?  What volume of voice does the artist’s craft speak in? Why? Why did she choose to use these colors? What facial or body expressions does the artist’s craft have while it talks? Is the craft joyous or somber? (I am the artist’s craft, and I am made up of___the reason for this is to make the viewer feel___)

Research and Creation:

• In their performance groups, direct students to utilize at least three reliable sources (see the resource section of this lesson plan) to research Lalla Essaydi’s life and create a timeline depicting the major events from 1993 to 2013 (the decade before and after the photograph was created) that may have shaped her identity. Students should list the sources they use on the back of their timeline.  
• Next, ask students to utilize at least three reliable sources to research the major world and cultural events from the early 1900’s until 2003 in the regions Essaydi lived and grew up. Students should decipher the events that may have impacted Essaydi’s identity and the creation of her art, then add these events to the timeline. The sources students use should be detailed on the back of the timeline.   
• Ask students to write individual analytical responses interpreting and analyzing how cultural and historical events impacted Essaydi’s decisions for crafting her art. Students may use information from the research, timeline, and dramatic interpretation of the photograph as evidence to prove the arguments in their responses. Prompt students: What historical and cultural events influenced Essaydi’s craft, and what impact is created through these choices? Now that you’ve researched the artist’s life and major events from the area she is from, how would you change the monologue you created?
• Tell students that they will now model the process of making autobiographical art that reflects historical and cultural influences. Ask students to create a personal timeline that pairs relevant historical and cultural events with milestones in their life. Students may wish to consider the places they’ve lived and the local or world events that have impacted them the most.  
• What three historical or cultural events have had the greatest impact on your identity?  
• How has each event impacted you?    
• What three props might reflect each event or how it has impacted you?
• What setting best symbolically reflects the meaning and feelings of the impacts of the world events on my life? (For example: is your setting blue sky to reflect freedom and happiness or a crowded room to reflect confinement?)
• What sort of lighting might you use to convey the impact of the events on your life?  
• What texts might you write on your body that reflect the cultural and historical impacts on your life?  
• Have students take a photo of themselves in which the setting, body posture, and props reflect how historical events have impacted their life. (Note: you will need to print photos for your students for the final step) .
• Once they receive their photograph, direct students to emulate Essaydi’s work by writing the stories or texts reflective of their or culture directly onto the photograph. Students may write this text using language that feels comfortable to them.    

Have students take a walk around the displayed gallery observing each picture. Ask students to choose a picture that speaks to them or affects them in some way. 

Post-assessment:

Students write an analytical response to the photograph they chose. Prompt students: What historical and cultural events influenced (Student’s Name) craft, and what impact is created through their choices?

Written by A+ Fellow Heather Barto Wiley

• Pre-Assessment :Teacher will circulate during dramatic monologue preparation and performance clarifying any questions. Students should display a symbolic voice volume, facial expression, and body language while conveying their monologue. They should answer all questions in character when interviewed by their group members.  
• Students will utilize three reliable sources and analyze the validity of the sources to research Essaydi’s life and the world/cultural events that occurred that may have affected her during her lifetime. Six reliable sources will be listed on the back of the timeline.  
• The written response will define the impacts of the cultural and historical events from Essaydi’s life and use evidence from the research, performance, Silence of Thought #2, and the timeline to prove and explain the argument.
• The brainstorming questions should be reflected in or have evolved into the autobiographical photograph. The teacher will circulate, assist, and assess students’ answers to the pre-crafting questions. The teacher will encourage students to deepen their thoughts about composing their photograph in the pre-planning stage.
• The photograph should be assessed for: craftsmanship (framing/rule of thirds/focus/lighting/creativity; clear evidence of text to image correlation through choice of setting and subject matter; completion (a parts of the project are completed).
• Post-Assessment :The written response will define the impacts of the cultural and historical events from the student’s life and use evidence from the student’s photograph to prove and explain the argument.

Vocabulary defined

Identity, Craft, Analyze, Gauge, Impact, Medium, Dramatic Monologue

Materials with specifics

• One NCMALearn print of Lalla Essaydi’s Silence of Thought #2 
• Two pieces of lined paper per student for creating the written responses
• One pencil per student for creating the written responses
• One black pen or fine-point sharpie per student for writing on the autobiographical photograph
• Cell phones, digital cameras, or computers to take the self-portraits
• Devices on which to complete research
• One pack of printer paper on which to print student photographs
• Teacher example self-portrait for modeling the creation process and creative choices

Advance prep

In advance of the lesson, the teacher should: 

• Divide students into small groups
• Become familiar with Essaydi’s art, biography, and the major historical impacts that may have affected her art
• Create model answers to the questions that students will answer to craft their photograph 
• Create a model photo of the project
• Create a model piece of writing that analyzes the autobiographical photo
• Prepare a process for the students to submit their photographs so they might be printed (email, digital submission, etc)
• Determine the best way to print the photographs
• Create a rubric for assessing the written responses

Set-up on day of lesson

• Display the poster print of the photograph in a central location in the classroom in a way that piques students’ interest.  
• Have pencils, pens, and devices readily available for use

Resources for researching Essaydi’s life and art

• https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/evaluating-reliable-sources
• http://lallaessaydi.com/  
• http://www.artnet.com/artists/lalla-essaydi/  
• https://www.houkgallery.com/artists/lalla-essaydi  
• https://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/lalla-essaydi  

Resources at the Met on understanding calligraphy in Islamic art

• https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cali/hd_cali.htm

Lesson extensions

• Explore and define Arabic art
• Mary Cassatt
• Women artists’ work from NCMA
• Define the role of women in various world cultures and how women’s roles have changed over time
• Explore the role and purpose of calligraphy in Islamic art

Grade level adaptations

• American History II: Consider the role of Arab-American Women in American society, or the impact of immigration on shaping identity

Silence of Thought #2 by Lalla Essaydi ( work of art )

A+ Schools of NC: Partnering to Learn through the Arts ( story )

Learn about how A+ Schools of NC and NCMA partnered to support Arts Integration Summer 2019.

High School: Self-Portrait (SM18) by Samuel Fosso ( art card )

Art Cards are engaging and ready-to-use learning activities that help you integrate works of art into your...

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Curriculum  /  ELA  /  9th Grade  /  Unit 1: Me, Myself, and I: Examining Personal Identity in Short Texts  /  Lesson 1

Me, Myself, and I: Examining Personal Identity in Short Texts

Lesson 1 of 20

Readings and Materials

Target task, enhanced lesson plan.

Lesson Notes

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Understand the definition of personal identity and social identity, and use that understanding to create an Identity Chart.

Resource:  Identity Charts  

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Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.

Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved

Discussion & Writing Prompt

Create an identity chart that reflects your personal and social identity markers. On the back of your identity map, choose 3 parts of your identity that are most significant to who you are, and explain why.

Sample Response

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Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.

Excerpt:  Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain  pp. 1 – 15 — "Introduction"

While reading, answer the following questions.

How was Rosa Parks described by those who knew her? Why does that surprise Cain?

What is the most important aspect of our personality? Why?

What percentage of Americans are introverts? Was this surprising to you? Why or why not?

What is the "Extrovert Ideal"?

Who are some of the famous introverts Cain mentions?

How did Laura handle herself in the meeting with the bankers? What was the result of this meeting?

What are some characteristics of extroverts? Introverts?

What is shyness, and how is that different from introversion?

Who was Cain's first client, "Laura"?

Annotation Focus

• What are the qualities/characteristics of an introvert? extrovert?

Notes for Teachers

Discussions about personal identity, especially early in the year, can be challenging for students. While some students might be comfortable sharing aspects of their personal and social identities, others might be hesitant to do so. It is important that students know that they will not be required to discuss the details of their Identity Chart unless they want to.

Bring your most engaging lessons to life with comprehensive instructional guidance, detailed pacing, supports to meet every student's needs, and resources to strengthen your lesson planning and delivery.

Reading Standards for Informational Text

RI.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Speaking and Listening Standards

SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Writing Standards

W.9-10.10 — Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Supporting Standards

Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit

Language Standards

L.9-10.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.9-10.2 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

L.9-10.6 — Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

W.9-10.9 — Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 SL.9-10.1 W.9-10.10

Analyze how Susan Cain's structure and tone relate to her argument and purpose.

RI.9-10.4 RI.9-10.5 RI.9-10.6

• “I'm Nobody! Who are you?”
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking pp. 1 – 15 — "Introduction"

Analyze how the speaker's word choice reveals her perspective on being a "nobody."

RI.9-10.2 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.4

Analyze how Rudy Francisco uses specific details and figurative language to develop his central idea.

L.9-10.5 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4

Narrative Writing

• “My Honest Poem”
• Narrative Writing: My Honest Poem Rubric (G9)

Plan and write a free verse poem that explores your personal identity.

W.9-10.3 W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5

• Counting Descent p. 13 — Poem: "Soles"
• Counting Descent p. 25 — Poem: "Counterfactual"

Analyze how diction establishes and shifts the mood in a poem to convey meaning.

RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4

Analyze how narrative perspective, structure, and characterization shape the reader's understanding of a story's ending.

RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.5 W.9-10.10 W.9-10.3 W.9-10.9

Analyze how the author uses literary devices to convey the boy's complex experience as a child of immigrant parents.

L.9-10.5 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.4 RL.9-10.5

Analyze how the motif of dreams communicates an important theme from the story.

• “(citizen)(illegal)”
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking — "Introduction"
• Fresh Ink: An Anthology pp. 194 – 209 — Short Story: "Super Human" by Nicola Yoon
• How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity pp. 63 – 72 — Short Story: “Trev” by Jacqueline Woodson

Engage in a small-group hexagonal discussion to make connections between texts read so far in the unit. 

RI.9-10.1 RL.9-10.1 SL.9-10.1.a SL.9-10.1.b SL.9-10.1.c SL.9-10.1.d SL.9-10.6 W.9-10.1 W.9-10.10 W.9-10.9

Analyze how the author uses symbolism and structure to reveal the story's meaning.

RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4 RL.9-10.5

Analyze how an author's choice of narrative perspective, structure, and tone contribute to overall meaning in a story.

RL.9-10.4 RL.9-10.5

Analyze how the mother's character reveals an important message from the story.

RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.5 RL.9-10.6

• “Hair”

Analyze how the author uses diction and figurative language to show contrasting perspectives on the speaker's hair.

• “Our Fight for Disability Rights and Why We're Not Done Yet”
• “Judy Heumann Reads an Excerpt from Her Memoir Being Heumann ”

Identify a speaker's purpose in two digital texts, analyzing the rhetorical choices the speaker makes to achieve that purpose.

RI.9-10.6 RI.9-10.7 SL.9-10.3

Socratic Seminar

Prepare for a Socratic Seminar on overarching questions about Unit 1.

RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 W.9-10.1 W.9-10.10 W.9-10.9

Assessment: Socratic Seminar

Formulate and share unique arguments about meaning in and across all texts from Unit 1. Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a summative Socratic Seminar.

RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 RL.9-10.1 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 SL.9-10.1.a SL.9-10.1.b SL.9-10.1.c SL.9-10.1.d SL.9-10.6

Performance Task: Narrative Writing

• All unit texts
• “In 'Turning Red' I Finally Saw Myself Reflected in a Main Character”

Brainstorm and outline a personal reflection essay in which students consider how the texts in Unit 1 have been a window into another's identity and/or mirror of their own identity.

RI.9-10.4 RI.9-10.5 W.9-10.2 W.9-10.4

Performance Task

• Unit 1: Personal Reflection Essay Rubric (G9)

Outline and begin to write a personal reflection essay in which students consider how the texts in Unit 1 have been a window into another's identity and/or mirror of their own identity.

W.9-10.2 W.9-10.4

Write a personal reflection essay in which students consider how the texts in Unit 1 have been a window into another's identity and/or mirror of their own identity.

L.9-10.1 L.9-10.2 W.9-10.2 W.9-10.2.d W.9-10.4

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10 Themes: Part 4: Individual Development and Identity

What makes you, you? In this lesson plan, students will explore the concept of personal identity and how it shapes our interactions with others. They’ll learn that self identity is fluid, changing over time and experiences.

This lesson is perfect for helping students understand the great diversity in the world. Everyone is different, and that’s a good thing! With this lesson’s activity, students will take a personality test and have fun learning more about themselves. Get your class started on this important social studies lesson today!

Description

Additional information.

It’s important for students to learn about personal identity and how it shapes our interactions with others. This lesson plan is a great way to teach students about these concepts.

In this lesson, students will take a personality test to help them understand more about themselves. They’ll learn that self identity is fluid and changes over time. This is an important lesson for helping students understand the great diversity in the world. Everyone is different and we can learn from each other by engaging in social studies.

This lesson plan is creative and engaging. It’s a great way for students to learn about personal identity and how it affects our interactions with others.

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About This Lesson

This lesson is part of the unit Identity & Community: An Introduction to 6th Grade Social Studies

“Who am I?” is a question we all ask at some time in our lives. It is an especially critical question for adolescents. As we search for answers we begin to define ourselves. How is our identity formed? To what extent are we defined by our talents and interests? by our membership in a particular ethnic group? by our social and economic class? by our religion by the nation in which we live? How do we label ourselves and how are we labeled by others? How are our identities influenced by how we think others see us? How do our identities inform our values, ideas, and actions? In what ways might we assume different identities in different contexts? How do we manage multiple identities? Answers to these questions help us understand history, ourselves, and each other.

As students study world history, they will explore how individuals and groups over time and across continents have answered questions about identity. They will learn that many of the same factors that influence their identities—factors such as religion, gender, and geography—also shaped the identities of the ancient Greeks, the Mayans, and the Chinese. Thus, this lesson establishes an important social studies theme that will resonate throughout the year.

At the same time, beginning the year by having students examine and share their own identities is a way to build relationships in your class. When sixth grade students begin a new school year, often with unfamiliar classmates and teachers, it is particularly important for them to have the opportunity to get to know their new community and to become known by others. The activities suggested in this lesson begin this process of relationship building.

Learning Objectives

• Students will be able to define the word identity
• Students will be able to identify various factors that shape their identity

What's Included

This lesson is designed to fit into one 50-min class period and includes:

• 3 activities
• 2 extension activities

Preparing to Teach

A note to teachers.

Before you teach this lesson, please review the following guidance to tailor this lesson to your students’ contexts and needs.

Create an Identity Chart

In preparation for this class, you may want to create your own identity chart. Not only will this model the assignment for students but it also provides a way for students to get to know you. Throughout this unit there are opportunities for you to work alongside the students to reinforce the idea that you are a member of their classroom community too.

Teaching Strategies

Identity Charts

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Lesson plans.

When students begin a new school year they may hold contradictory feelings. On one hand, they may think they know a lot about their classmates just by looking at them. They may have formed judgments about who will (or will not) be their friends based on the clothes people wear or how they speak. On the other hand, students may feel they are in the company of strangers; they may feel that nobody really knows them and that they don’t really know their classmates. To help students push beyond judging their peers based on simple stereotypes, you can have them participate in a “How well do we know each other?” activity.

First, distribute an index card to each student. Ask students to write one little-known fact about themselves on this card. It should be something that people could not know just by looking at them. Their names should not appear on the cards. Then collect the cards.

Read a card and ask the class to guess who the fact describes. You might read several cards at the beginning of each class period throughout this unit. Through this activity students often learn that they have something in common with a classmate or they learn something interesting about someone that might otherwise have taken all year to discover.

Main Activity

In the next several lessons, students will focus on the concept of identity. Write the word identity on the board and ask for volunteers to share their thoughts on what it means. Or

you can share this definition with students: Identity is the answer to the question, “Who am I?” The fact students wrote on their index cards in the warm-up activity represents one part of students’ answer to this question.

Next, read “My Name,” a chapter from Sandra Cisneros’s book The House on Mango Street . In this excerpt a young girl, Esperanza, reflects on her name. In the process she reveals information about her identity—how she perceives herself, what she values, where her family is from, and so on. Ask student volunteers to read a paragraph of this excerpt to the class. As the text is read aloud, students can underline any words or phrases that give them information about how Esperanza would answer the question, “Who am I?”

In small groups, have students create an identity chart for Esperanza. The diagram on the next page is an example of an identity chart. Students can begin with the words orphrases they underlined in the passage that represent how Esperanza defines her identity.

You can also provide groups with some questions to guide them:

• Who is in Esperanza’s family?
• Where is her family from?
• What languages does she speak?
• What does she hope for her future?
• What does she think about her name? What does this reveal about her personality?

Alternatively, you can create Esperanza’s identity chart as a whole class activity.

Curriculum connection: Students can create identity charts for historical figures as well as for civilizations and nation-states. For example, have students create identity charts for Athens and Sparta or for Montezuma or Siddhartha.

The purpose of reading “My Name” is to help students think about the various factors that shape our identities. However, the text also introduces other interesting themes such as the concepts of stereotypes and prejudice. Later in this unit, students will have the opportunity to address questions such as, “How do we perceive and judge others?” and “How does it feel to be labeled?” For now, you can frame questions about the way Esperanza describes Mexicans, Chinese, and women in terms of what this says about her own beliefs and experiences.

Follow-through

Now students can create identity charts for themselves. Before beginning this activity, ask students to brainstorm a list of categories people use to help define themselves such as gender, age, physical characteristics, and hobbies as well as ties to a particular religion, ethnic group, neighborhood, and nation. Explain to students that they will be sharing their identity charts with the class so they should be cautious about including information that they want to remain private. In the next few lessons, students will have the opportunity to think more deeply about their own identities. As they gain a deeper understanding of identity, they will add to their identity charts. Their identity charts willalso serve as useful prewriting tools for future assignments such as students’ bio-poems.

• Students can complete their identity charts for homework. You could also ask students to write a brief journal entry about their identity charts. Here is a prompt to help structure students’ reflections: Look over your identity chart. What aspects of your identity are most important to you? Select one characteristic from your identity chart and write about why it is an important part of defining who you are.
• Following Esperanza’s example, students could write a personal essay about their own name. Students could share their essays in class the next day as a way to begin to introduce themselves to each other.

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10 questions for the future: student action project, #iftheygunnedmedown, the impact of identity, the power of images, preparing students for difficult conversations, social media and ferguson, 10 questions for the present: parkland student activism, verifying breaking news, facing ferguson: news literacy in a digital age, what aspects of our identities do we show to others, how do communities define we & they, how do rules & traditions shape communities, unlimited access to learning. more added every month..

Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.

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