Lesson Plan: Down Low
Subject/Course: Social Studies
Topic: LGBTQ+ identities and oppression
Grade Level: 10-12
Common Core Standards
Reading: (see additional resources): 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Writing: (see worksheets and activities): 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Speaking and listening: (see activities) 1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. 4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
Language: 3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. 4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
Episode: “Down Low” (Season 2) Full audio | Transcript
Lesson Length/Time Needed: 2-3 hours
Lesson Created by: S. Beer (Quebec)
Lesson Objectives
Understand institutional and interpersonal barriers to being openly queer.
Explore homophobia and masculinities as institutionalized, interpersonal, and internalized.
Self-reflect and recognize the lived experience of queer people.
Materials Needed
Audio
Material for writing (flip board/chalk board
Computers to research statistics and school policies
Activities
Intro:
Explore the acronym LGBTQ+ (including more expansive and inclusive acronyms such as 2SLGBTQIA+).
What do each of these terms mean? Can we think of examples of celebrities or tv characters who use these labels? Discuss representation and stereotypes; consider those terms that are rarely discussed or represented (see Worksheet A).
What percentage of the population identify as LGBTQ+? Compare student perceptions to actual demographic statistics. Were our perceptions accurate? Why might that be?
Consider examples of why people might not “come out” and openly identify as LGBTQ+.
Consider the connection between masculinity, homophobia, and transphobia. Explore each of these concepts, provide examples, and compare why the experience of being queer might be different depending on gender. (See resource #2 below on the connection between sexism, homophobia, and transphobia.)
Through:
Listen to the episode at home or as a group (if listening as a group, provide coloring books to doodle while listening). Warn students there is discussion of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and sexual violence.
Can you provide specific examples of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia that were expressed in the podcast (see Worksheet B)?
They say that no one is “out” in prison, why might that be? Is this comparable to our school culture?
Research our school policies and think about institutional discrimination. For example, what policies, student clubs, “out” teachers and staff, banned books, etc., create or prevent a culture of inclusivity at our school? For example, Mike Adams talks about a group he’s involved in: ACT (Acting with Compassion and Truth). Do we have comparable groups at our school?
Beyond:
Explore how to increase inclusivity in our own lives, such as assuming there are queer people in every space we occupy and showing openness and non-judgment, following positive role models on social media to learn more, starting a gay/straight alliance at our school, going to pride parades, calling out homophobia, toxic masculinity, etc.
As a class we could identify a positive role model or historical figure based on one of the labels (2SLGBTQIA+) and present them to the class, discuss the personal challenges they faced, and also discuss those that were easier/more challenging to locate (i.e. those that have been erased or written out of history, not “out”, changing terminology, etc.).
See additional resources below to incorporate additional activities.
Additional Resources
Consider this outline as homework reading: The Four I’s of Oppression:
What examples can we think of, from the podcast on prison culture and/or our school culture that illustrate ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized oppression related to LGBTQ+ identities?
Explore the connection between gender stereotypes and heterosexism and transphobia:
An alternative exercise is to give half the class a handout asking them to describe a “good man” and the other half describing a “real man.” Without telling the class, list their examples on the board, ask them what the other half of the group was asked to describe (they usually assume “good man” is describing a woman), and then consider the contradictions that men face in our culture, how it is almost impossible to be both a “real man” and “good man”; expand on the connections between sexism and homophobia.
Content Warnings
Discussion of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexual violence, and uses adult language (including gay slurs).