Shedding False Images Through Art and Poetry

The intention of this unit is to encourage students to understand the roles they play in daily life and to critically review the imposed identities that have been given by others, or ones that they have assumed over time from conditioning and cultural influences. This curriculum unit can be adapted for all age groups and is only limited by the constraints of time, available resources, and teacher/student interests. The ideas and concepts can be broken down into single class units (mini-lessons) that can easily be interjected into core curriculum materials and literary selections without interfering with time lines and benchmark materials. This unit will give students ample opportunity to research and analyze literature and art that incorporates examples of role-playing, masks, stereotypes and identity fragmentation. If time permits the students would conclude with a project that would include visual and verbal presentations.