Exploring Identity

This handout from Ohio University CIRS provides an overview of intersectionality.

This handout from the APA is a good primer on the Do’s and Don’ts teachers can consider with students who are exploring gender identity.

This handout discusses an activity you can do with students to help them explore identity. Modify to fit the developmental level of your class.

This handout from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation provides an guide on pronouns.

This website highlights the power of storytelling and literature when exploring identity in a fourth-grade classroom.

This website from the University of Michigan contains useful resources and a social identity wheel activity.

“Because I’m Latino, I can’t have money?”; 4-minute video

Intersectionality 101; 3-minute video

How to facilitate the Spectrum Activity in your classroom; 12-minute video

Activities: 

Identity Circle – Children draw a large circle in the middle of their paper and five outer circles. They then draw a picture of themselves in the centre circle and write about the different aspects of their identity in each of the outer circles, starting with information about their name (meaning, origin, preferred name).

Who Am I – To do this, you will need to explore identity using different aspects to guide children’s thinking. The aspects could include: physical appearance (eye color, hair, glasses, etc.), facts about ourselves, and about things we don’t usually see (religion, age, hobbies, personality, etc.), our experiences (people and places), hopes and even fears.

When doing activities on identity, teachers can participate. If educators are willing to share their own experiences, students are more likely to feel open and willing to share their own. Discuss labelling and stereotyping with students and ask questions: What would another student’s answers look like? Would they like someone else to label them/choose their identity? Is it ok to label other people? What kind of effect could this have?