Essential+Question-THOMS

What makes you who you are?
 * Essential Question: **

Our essential question asks what aspects of our life shape us or what aspects of our life we use to identify ourselves. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza is exploring how her neighborhood, her culture, her family, her gender, her name, her friends, and her experiences make her who she is. She is resistant to some of the forces shaping her identity, but comes to a realization that personal choice coupled with all of the other forces is what makes her who she is. Ninth graders are coming from middle school where they were at the top of the pyramid to high school where they are at the bottom. This is an identity transition point in their lives. They are joining new activities, finding new friends, and facing new experiences. This will be an important time for them to go through a guided exploration of what makes them who they are and in what ways do they get to choose who they are.
 * Rationale: **

The final assessment will be an autobiographical booklet. This booklet will include a number of things, but it is intended to be a culmination of discoveries students make about who they are. The booklet will include: a personal vignette, a family history, an abstract art piece, an I Am poem, and a reflective essay about the importance of these things. Students will present it to the class.
 * Final Assessment: **