Race, Class and Gender Units: Slides, Activities, Handouts - High School Lessons

Race, Class, and Gender — together at last! Comprehensive thematic units on Race and Anti-Racism, Gender and Sexual Orientation, and Social Class and Social Stratification with super-engaging activities. These resources will help you integrate complex social justice issues with your content. The interactive lessons are LOW PREP (print and go). Each unit includes plans, slides with activities, PDF worksheets, and assessments. This is a High School resource that can be used for digital learning.

These compelling units can be used in multiple subjects such as ELA, History, Government, Economics, Sociology, or Ethnic Studies. They provide analysis tools that you can pair with numerous topics. For example, in Social Studies they can be used as a foundation for examining industrialism, civil rights, or feminism. In English, they could be used to provide a framework for analyzing autobiographies, counter-narratives, or dystopian literature.

Each resource uses a step-by-step approach to help students comprehend complex and critical concepts.

• To lay the groundwork, students are introduced to cultural identity terms and concepts.
• In Why Identity Matters, delve deeper into concepts such as intersectionality, media stereotypes, inequality, and social justice. Explore facets of identity through engaging activities.
• Engage student’s minds and hearts with race and anti-racism lessons. This unit addresses critical topics with sensitivity and respect and includes a positive exploration of ways to be proactive.
• Throw 100 pennies down and let students decide “Who Gets What?”—an experiential activity about economic systems and the distribution of wealth.
• Follow up with a comprehensive unit on social class and social stratification that ends with an examination of “allyship” and an essay on cooperation vs. competition.
• Students love to talk about gender and sexual orientation. Learn with them as they explore this constantly evolving topic.

The EXPLORING CULTURAL IDENTITY resource includes:

• A Guide with easy, step-by-step directions
• A PowerPoint with 50 slides that explains 12 facets of cultural identity and provides ample opportunity for discussions
• A handout of terms and definitions, including culture, subculture, nationality, race, ethnicity, class, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and religion
• A matching quiz and a fill-in-the-blank quiz (with keys) in PDF and a multiple-choice quiz in Easel
• Links to engaging and informative short videos
• A Close Watching: Video Response Notes handout
• Close Reading Annotations cards for a reading on “Creating a Latino Race"
• A reading and questions on “Why Identity Matters”
• A reflection in which students identify aspects of their own identity, rank their importance, and discuss their influence in both PDF and Easel versions

The WHY IDENTITY MATTERS resource includes:

• A PowerPoint with 45 slides
• Directions in the slide notes
• A Close Watching: Video Response Notes handout
• A “Media Stereotypes vs. Me” project with a rubric
• Close Reading Annotation cards for a reading and questions on “Why Identity Matters”

ALL the following Race, Class, and Gender Units include:

• An extensive Guide or Lesson Plans with easy, step-by-step directions that include objectives, essential questions, and standards
• Editable Terms and Definitions handouts
• Editable Multiple-Choice Tests with keys, including digital Easel versions
• Close Watching: Video Response Notes
• Close Reading Annotation cards for readings

The RACE AND ANTI-RACISM unit also includes:

• A PowerPoint with 80 slides that addresses concepts that include: race, ethnicity, nationality, racism, internalized racism, interpersonal racism, overt racism, microaggressions, colorism, interracial conflict, systemic racism, and anti-racism
• Guided Reading Notes (with a key) and an Essay Organizer based on Chapter 2 of A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
• An infographic project on systemic racism with a Research Worksheet handout
• A culminating activity in which students discuss the influence of different aspects of race and racism in both PDF and Easel versions

The SOCIAL CLASS AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION unit also includes:

• A PowerPoint with 61 slides that includes 25 terms and multiple activities
• A privilege statements survey
• An infographic project on the school-to-prison pipeline with a Research Worksheet handout
• Readings on “Allyship” and Cooperation vs. Competition
• An Essay Organizer for a 5-Paragraph essay on Competition vs. Cooperation

The GENDER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION unit also includes:

• A PowerPoint with 99 slides that includes 20 terms and multiple activities
• An infographic project on gender inequality with a Research Worksheet handout
• A culminating activity in which students discuss the influence of different aspects of gender and sexual orientation

The WHO GETS WHAT? ECONOMIC SYSTEMS AND WEALTH DISTRIBUTION lesson incorporates a Civil Deliberation—the respectful exchange of ideas with the goal of presenting and hearing multiple perspectives in order to understand an issue and answer a question. It includes:

• A PowerPoint with 32 slides
• An 8-page lesson plan with extensive directions
• A 9-page Civil Deliberation Guide with easy instructions and handouts that take student through the process step-by-step

*For copyright reasons, the materials in this resource are NOT editable with the exception of specific components that are labeled as editable. You ARE able to insert text boxes and images on slides, rearrange them, and add your own.*

The slides can be imported into Google Slides, Nearpod, or Pear Deck to enhance online learning and/or to add activities such as discussions and polls.

Directions are clear and concise, and the resource includes graphic organizers to help you serve students with special needs. The multiple-choice tests are editable so you can differentiate assessments.

I also have comprehensive thematic units on Privilege & Oppression, Bias & the Single Story, Intolerance v. Allyship

Save even more with a mega bundle of ALL the thematic units and plus extras! Social Justice Thematic Units—Infuse in History, Pair with Literature in English

I have taught various iterations of this content for over 25 years and this hard-to-find material has evolved as both society and I have evolved. The topic and content have proven to be deeply engaging and memorable for my students.

I care about these issues, and I would love to hear any questions or suggestions that you have. If you find the resource useful, I would appreciate it if you would write a review—you’ll receive TPT credits to apply to future purchases! Thank you.