Who Is an American?: Challenging Middle Schools Students’ Assumptions through Critical Literacy

The authors unpack a unit in which students were asked to consider the question, “Who and what is an American?” The activity originated with a discussion of 6 fictional profiles; students were asked to place these people along a continuum from “least American” to “most American.” The resulting discussions broadened perspectives, changed thinking, and helped students articulate assumptions that had previously gone unexamined.