In this lesson, students learn about important leaders and events throughout LGBTQIA+ American history. They hear stories about Francis Bacon, a noted gay man who coined the term “masculine love”(1623), brilliant trans women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who led the revolution at Stonewall (1969), and when Audre Lorde, a critically acclaimed novelist, poet, and fierce civil rights activist is named as the state poet of New York (1991). Students are each given a History Card with an important event from LGBTQIA+ history and are asked to guess their place in chronological order. This activity allows for the sharing of these often untold stories and also facilitates a much needed discussion about the erasure of LGBTQIA+ history in what is considered American history, and the value of critical thinking in history classes. After examining the LGBTQIA+ visibility (or invisibility) in their current history curriculum or textbooks, students proactively create newspaper articles to highlight the stories of LGBTQIA+ leaders and bring them into the classroom.
Subject
English Language Arts — Speaking and Listening, Writing • Social Studies — Current Events, Historical Thinking, US History
Grade Level
Grades 6-12, Professional Development
Resource Type
Activity, Handout
Attributes
Standards Alignment
Common Core State Standards
About
Resources
Standards
Reviews
Standards
Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.