Beyond Borders:
Exploring the Self through Diverse Perspectives
An English Unit for Year 9
AIS English Conference 2012
Hugo Grieve, Loreto Kirribilli
Maura Manning, Pymble Ladies’ College
©Maura Manning, Pymble Ladies College and Hugo Grieve, Loreto Kirribilli
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In this booklet you will find:
1. Outline of unit for students
2. Sample program using existing NSW Board of Studies Syllabus
3. Sample program using draft Australian Curriculum/NSW Board of Studies Syllabus
4. Series of proposed activities
5. Suggested reading list
6. Article on cooperative readings strategies
7. Articles on Harvard Visible Thinking Routines
8. 8 Cultural Forces that Define our Classrooms
9. Sample of short stories and non-fiction which could be used in this unit
©Maura Manning, Pymble Ladies College and Hugo Grieve, Loreto Kirribilli
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Overview of Unit
Rationale:
The purpose of this unit is to explore the complexities that inform contemporary
Australian adolescent identity which is no longer bound by traditional national borders.
Students will look beyond themselves and develop a critical awareness of others’
perspectives to enrich their understanding of themselves and our world. The unit will
meet Australian Curriculum requirements through its exploration of the central concept
of perspectives using contemporary texts from Australia, Asia and America. The Project
Zero Teaching for Understanding framework will underpin the unit encouraging
students to think deeply and creatively. The unit will also address the Global Education
framework’s learning emphases interdependence and globalization and Identity and
cultural diversity.
Essential Questions:

How does Asia influence our Australian identity?

Why should I want to know more about literature in Asia?

Why adopt a global perspective?
Structure of Unit:
Students will work independently and in class groups to establish what factors contribute to
our understanding of identity. Students will then be issued a passport to travel from country
to country examining how the literature of a place contributes to our understanding of our
own identities. The first trip will be a guided tour hosted by the class teacher. Students will
explore India and its culture through short stories, popular culture and non-fiction texts.
Following this scaffolded experience, students will be released to discover and experience for
themselves a range of other cultures through the literature of the places. Different classrooms
will be set up as different countries. Students will move from classroom to classroom
experiencing the literature, engaging in discussion and other learning activities and reflecting
on their experiences in their passports as well as contributing to a class Facebook page which
will serve as a travel log of their journeys and experiences.
©Maura Manning, Pymble Ladies College and Hugo Grieve, Loreto Kirribilli
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Activity 1: Defining Self in Global World
Visual Representation – Students construct a collage that represents their identity. This pretest activity will help you to get a sense of the aspects students believe contribute to their
sense of who they are.
Some questions which may help to prompt their visual representation may be:
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How do I describe this world in which I find myself?
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Who and what am I?
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Why am I here?
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What should I be doing?
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How do I work out how best to live my life?
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How do I work out what is right and wrong?
Students might individually present their collages and all collages are displayed in the
classroom throughout the unit. The amalgamated class collage becomes a representation of
the class’s identity.
Activity 2: See Think Wonder
Using a Visible Thinking routine, students will reflect on and challenge the assumptions and
beliefs represented in the class collage. From this activity, a series of questions or “wonders”
will emerge that will guide students’ inquiry throughout the unit. These questions should be
displayed around the classroom.
I SEE / I THINK / I WONDER
A routine for exploring works of art and other interesting things
What do you see?
What do you think about that?
What does it make you wonder?
WHY
To help student make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations; to stimulate
curiosity and set the stage for inquiry
WHEN
Use this routine when you want students to think carefully about why something looks the
©Maura Manning, Pymble Ladies College and Hugo Grieve, Loreto Kirribilli
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way it does or is the way it is.
HOW
Ask students to make an observation about the artwork or topic and follow up with what they
think might be going on or what they think this observation might be. Encourage students to
back up their interpretation with reasons. Ask the students to think about what this makes
them wonder about the artwork or topic.
The routine works best when a student responds by using the three stems together at the same
time, i.e., ?I see?, I think?, I wonder ?. ? However, you may find that students begin by using
one stem at a time, and that you need to scaffold each response with a follow up question for
the next stem.
The routine works well in a group discussion but in some cases you may want to have
students carry out the routine individually on paper or in their heads before sharing them out
as a class. Student responses to the routine can be written down and recorded so that a class
chart of observations, interpretations and wonderings are listed for all to see and return to
during the course of study.
Activity 3: Socratic Circle – Should a person have only one identity?
Using the statement below by Mark Zuckerberg as stimulus, students engage in a Socratic
Circle discussing the complexities of this idea.
“You have one identity,” Zuckerberg emphasized three times in a single interview with David
Kirkpatrick in his book, “The Facebook Effect.” “The days of you having a different image
for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming
to an end pretty quickly.” He adds: “Having two identities for yourself is an example of a
lack of integrity.”
http://michaelzimmer.org/2010/05/14/facebooks-zuckerberg-having-two-identities-foryourself-is-an-example-of-a-lack-of-integrity/
For more details on conducting Socratic Circles see:
http://www.ksde.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=KnyfYA84nHA%3D&tabid=145&mid=4737
Activity 4: Deriving Key Concepts that Inform Identity
Following the discussion of Zuckerberg’s statement, students engage in a whole class
discussion of the elements that inform identity. From this discussion, extract the essential
question of unified identity.
Possible elements might be:
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Ethnicity
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Nationality
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Gender
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Age
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Moments in history
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Family
Essential Question: In our shifting world can we have a unified identity if we have all of the
incompatible influences? Let’s see how our writers answer that question.
Is Facebook a sufficient means of expression of who we are? If we are hiding part of our
identity that genuinely reflects an integrated identity?
Vote as a class whether students would like to show their Facebook pages. Why do some
people want to and others do not?
Can having more than one identity be an enriching thing rather than a bad thing? From this
question we launch into our study of the complexities of identity in our globalised world.
Activity 5: First Story: “Sticks and Stones and Such-like” by Sunil Badami from
Growing up Asian in Australia
Students read the story independently and then choose one of the following small tasks to
complete for this story.
Choose one of these:
Explain why names are important.
Grid of where he is switching between cultures.
How does Badami use the techniques of persuasive language to express his identity?
Paragraph p. 14
Activity 6: “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri
Pre-reading activity – 1 + 2 + 4 Think Pair Share
What are tourists interested in when they arrive in a new country?
What do they learn about themselves?
What do we think of them when they come to our country?
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What inner conflicts might occur for people who travel to the country of their parents’ origin
for the first time?
Homework: Students choose one of the following topics on which to write 200 words.
Dialogue between a husband and wife at an airport. Wife doesn’t want to be there, but
husband does.
Description of arriving at a foreign airport.
Afternoon tea with relatives you don’t know.
Taking a taxi from the airport. Dialogue with taxi driver.
Students try to create striking images and use interesting and original vocabulary. Then peer
edit. Highlight the two best sentences and good vocabulary. Write one question you have for
the author.
Reading of the Story - “Interpreter of Maladies” – Cooperative Reading Strategies
Students work in groups of four. They are each assigned a role and have specific
responsibilities to fulfil. The students read the story progressively in sections, and then
share their insights and questions as they read. Each of the roles below contributes to
the collective understanding of the text.
Roles:
Predictor
The role for this student is to set the pace for the group assist the group in orienting
themselves with the text. The student in this role starts by asking the other students what they
think the title means and what the story might involve. Each of the students should comment
on each other’s predictions. The predictor might then ask the group to read the first
paragraph and again lead a discussion of predictions. The predictor should always ask why
the others predict the story in the way they do. The main purpose of this role is to assist the
whole group with their abilities to infer, predict and anticipate. It can often be appropriate for
this student to play the role of scribe.
Clarifier
The role of the clarifier is to assist the group with word level reading strategies. Many of the
texts chosen include vocabulary which is specific to the cultural context of the story, so the
clarifier could assist in building up a glossary of these terms. But more importantly, the role
of the clarifier is to ask questions about unfamiliar vocabulary, so that as a group they can
guess the meaning from its context.
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Analyst
It is the role of the analyst to ask the group questions about character motivation, rising
tension, narrative structure, figurative language and syntax. The analyst is trying to help the
group find the “best” moments, the “best” sentences and the “most effective” phrases. The
focus for this student is on how the author has written the narrative.
Summariser
This student asks questions related to purpose. He / she should help the group put the pieces
together and identify how the group’s understanding has developed. It is the role of this
student to decide that it is time to move on. This student will also be the one to present the
group’s ideas to the class as a whole.
It is anticipated that this reciprocal reading strategy will be used for reading the first two or
three pages of the narrative only. The students will finish reading the whole story at home
and then reconvene next lesson.
Panel:
Each of the sumarisers sits at the front of the class. The teacher then asks questions of the
whole panel to be answered in Q and A style format.
Model Paragraph on Synthesis Question:
How has your reading of Interpreter of Maladies informed/challenged your understanding of
Identity?
Activity 7: Segue from short story to popular culture
Students view video clip from Bollywood film set in “exotic” Melbourne and discuss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLuRKGqS04&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEypRpnQBDQ&feature=relmfu
Prompting Questions:
What do we know about Bollywood?
Does anyone recognise the setting?
Prediction: This is the theme song of the film. What do you think are the plot and scenario
of the film? Write it down. Then tell the students the real plot.
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How does this challenge our assumptions about contemporary construction of Indian
identity?
Creative Writing activity: What are the lyrics of the song?
Activity 8: Non-Fiction text – “India’s Youth”
Comprehension questions
Analyse structure and technique of the article: use of subheadings, anecdote, expert opinion,
nominalisation.
Compare perspective and context with ‘Salaam Namaste’ Clip and ‘Interpreter of Maladies’.
Use this article as stimulus to prompt some research/wide reading of their own.

Youth culture in India

Economic disparity in India
Activity 9: Identity Travel Log
India is just the first stop on the students’ journey through a range of texts from Asia. Having
discussed the merits and pitfalls of Facebook, students are invited to contribute to a “Class
Facebook Page” that provides a forum for their continued questions, comments and ideas as
they travel through this unit of work. While this forum is not appropriate for their sustained
written reflections, it will serve as evidence of their learning as they progress. Student are
invited to post quotations, ideas, clips, articles, comments gleaned from their studies. Page
could be organised country by country or could be more organic. It will capture student
thinking and provide a forum for discussion as class members travel through different texts.
Activity 10: Synthesis using Circle of Viewpoints
Once students have “travelled” through a few countries (how many will depend on the ability
of the students) bring students back together in their class groups to complete the following
activity which will encourage students to explore the perspectives they’ve encountered in
their studies. The perspectives could be any character or individual in any of the texts
they’ve read. The idea the students explore in the Circle of Viewpoints is identity.
©Maura Manning, Pymble Ladies College and Hugo Grieve, Loreto Kirribilli
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Circle of Viewpoints
A routine for exploring diverse perspectives
Brainstorm a list of different perspectives and then use
this script skeleton to explore each one:
1. I am thinking of ... the topic... From the point
of view of ... the viewpoint you've chosen
2. I think ... describe the topic from your
viewpoint. Be an actor - take on the character of
your viewpoint
3. A question I have from this viewpoint is ... ask
a question from this viewpoint
Wrap up: What new ideas do you have about the topic
that you didn't have before? What new questions do you
have?
Purpose: What kind of thinking does this routine encourage?
This routine helps students consider different and diverse perspectives involved in
and around a topic. Understanding that people may think and feel differently about
things is a key aspect of the Fairness Ideal.
Application: When and Where can it be used?
This routine can be used at the beginning of a unit of study to help students
brainstorm new perspectives about a topic, and imagine different characters,
themes and questions connected to it. It can be used after reading a book or
chapter. Provocative topics and issues are encouraged and the routine also works
especially well when students are having a hard time seeing other perspectives or
when things seem black and white. The routine can be used to open discussions
about dilemmas and other controversial issues.
Launch: What are some tips for starting and using this routine?
After identifying a topic, ask students to brainstorm various viewpoints about this
topic. This can be done solo, or as a class, but make sure to give the initial
brainstorm enough time for students to really stretch and explore diverse ideas. If
students need help thinking of different viewpoints, try using the following
prompts:



How does it look from different points in space and different points in
time?
Who (and what) is affected by it?
Who is involved?
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
Who might care?
After the brainstorm, ask each student to choose one of these viewpoints. Give
them time to prepare to speak about the topic from that perspective and to embody
the viewpoint using the script skeleton to structure what he or she says.
Once students have prepared their “characters”, the class should be ready to go
around the circle and act out their various perspectives.Taking turns, ask students
to speak briefly about their chosen viewpoint using the script skeleton. Invite them
to stand up and use gestures and movement if necessary. The discussion at this
point might move fairly quickly, capitalizing on the immediacy of the experience
as each student goes through the script and presents a perspective. The array of
responses will hopefully be broad and distinct, as each student should strive to
produce a unique viewpoint. If some students choose the same character,
encourage them to perform differently. For example, if several students choose the
viewpoint of an explorer, one may be trying to seek out wealth through trade,
another explorer might be adventurous or want to become famous. Ask them to
raise different questions in order to elaborate their viewpoints.
Viewpoints connect to the idea of physical perspective taking and you may notice
that your students interpret this literally at first by naming and describing what
their characters see. While it is fine to help students get started with concrete
examples, try to move your students to consider thoughts and feelings of
characters, rather than describing a scene or object.
As students perform their viewpoint in the circle, their ideas can be recorded or
written on the board so that a class list of perspectives is created. The last question
of the routine asks students to think of a question they might have from their
chosen viewpoint. Collect these questions or ask students to write them down and
answer them as they think more about the topic as it is studied in class. Once
everyone in the circle has spoken, the teacher can lead a discussion by asking:
“What new ideas do you have about the topic that you didn’t have before?” and
“What new questions do you have?
Formal Assessment (summative):
At the end of the unit once students have “travelled” to a range of places and experienced a
range of perspectives they will be asked to complete a formal written task using persuasive
language.
Students will write an editorial for publication on their school website about: Why adopt a
global perspective?
©Maura Manning, Pymble Ladies College and Hugo Grieve, Loreto Kirribilli
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Reading List:
Story-wallah: Short Fiction from South Asian Writers, Shyam Selvadurai, ed. 2005 Houghton
Mifflin: NY.
Growing Up Asian in Australia, Alice Pung, ed., 2008, Black Ink books, Melbourne.
Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri, Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Games at Twilight, Anita Desai, Vintage Books, London, 1978
Voices Nearby: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Writing, Paul Grover, Ed., Pearson, Melbourne
1997
Words Without Borders: The World Through the Eyes of Writers, Samantha Schnee, Ed.,
Anchor Books, New York, 2007
From Kinglake to Kabul, Neil Grant and David Williams, Ed. Allen and Unwin, Sydney 2011
Granta The Magazine for New Writing 112 Pakistan, Autumn 2010
In the Sea there are Crocodiles: The story of Enaiatollah Akbari, Fabio Geda, David Fickling
Books, New York, 2011
20 under 40: Stories from the New Yorker, Deborah Treisman, Ed. New Yorker Magazine,
2010
Literature from the Axis of Evil: Writing from Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Other Enemy
Nations, Alane Mason, Words without Borders, 2006
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Moshin Hamid, Penguin, London, 2007
Hulabaloo in the Guava Orchard, Kiran Desai
Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai
Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie
Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie
Luka and the Fire of Life, Salman Rushdie
Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok
Unpolished Gem, Alice Pung
The Happiest Refugee, Anh Do
The Boat, Nam Le
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