One of my favorite lessons/units involves the graphic novel American Born Chinese.

Not only does the

novel introduce the theme of diversity but also of identity, assimilation, prejudices, and the struggle of
fitting in. The unit is about two weeks long including discussions, reflecting on, and working with these
various themes.
This unit demonstrates my ability to incorporate diversity into my classroom lessons in meaningful ways,
while also incorporating not only diversity but other issues of identity that affect all of my students.
Diversity coupled with identity issues could be taught in different ways in a multitude of mediums and to
also be reoccurring themes in class. The various ways in which we address the topics can make a lasting
impression on the students; while allowing them to explore the topics in more than one way and from
more than one perspective.
The novel itself is engaging. It is effective in introducing diversity in a fun and engaging way. The fact
that it is a graphic novel interests the students. Not only does the story engage and lead to great
discussions but so do the pictures. Because of this interest from the very first introduction to the novel,
the students were interested in close reading and discussing the graphic novel. The supplementary
material was standard based and we treated the novel similar to any other reading material or novel.
Student learning was assessed through journaling, whole class and small group discussions, constructed
responses, and then a final project where several options were provided for the students to display and
present what they had learned from the novel in a way they chose. Allowing for options kept the
momentum of interest high until the very end of the unit.