Lesson 01 — My Many Shifting Parts

Learners return to the many-parts identity map they began earlier in the year and now see how those parts shift by context — at home, at school, at a celebration. They write a "who I am becoming" reflection that names their parts, notices which come forward where, and records how they have grown this year, opening the unit's year-end portfolio.

D01 P1: Emotional & Social Awareness D01.S2 50 minutes Draft

Objectives

D01.S2.06.01 Describe their identity as made of many parts that can shift by context, such as family, culture, language, interests, and beliefs.

Essential question

Who am I, with my many shifting parts — and how have I grown this year?

identitypartcontextfamilyculturelanguageinterestsbeliefs

Materials

Standard materials

Shifting-parts poster · 1 A poster of one "me" connected to three contexts — at home, at school, at a celebration — each listing which parts come forward there
My shifting parts reflection page · 1 per learner A page with a center "me" and three empty context boxes for the learner to fill in which parts show up where, plus a "how I have grown" line
Pencils and crayons · per learner

Low-tech / no-cost

A map drawn in the dirt or sand Draw a center "me" and three context circles on the ground, placing a stone in each while naming the parts that show up there
A spoken map Say your map aloud — center "me," then each context and its parts — no paper needed

Enriched / lab & device

A reusable laminated shifting-parts map with dry-erase markers · 1 per learner A map the learner can update across the year and into Grade 7
A class year-end gallery wall · 1 A wall of reflections read side by side, celebrating the many family shapes, languages, and beliefs in the room

Works in different contexts

large-group Build one shared map together, then have learners fill their own in small groups and post them for a gallery walk
multi-age Younger learners draw each part while older learners label it and write a sentence about how one part shifted across the year
self-directed A learner fills their map, then writes two sentences — one naming their shifting parts, and one naming how they have grown this year
level-grouped Learners ready to extend write about a moment two of their parts felt in tension, and how both can still be true
outdoor-only Build the map on the ground with stones and sticks, each object standing for a part of you, then walk from one context spot to another naming what comes forward; no paper needed

A diagram of one person in the center labeled "me," connected to three panels — "at home" (my family, my language), "at school" (my interests, my beliefs), and "at a celebration" (my culture, my interests) — with the caption "The same me — different parts in front in different places."

Lesson 1 — My Many Shifting Parts

Summary

Learners return to the many-parts identity map they began earlier in the year and now see how those parts shift by context — at home, at school, at a celebration. They write a “who I am becoming” reflection that names their parts, notices which parts come forward where, and records how they have grown this year. This is the opening artifact of the year-end portfolio.

Objectives

Describe their identity as made of many parts that can shift by context, such as family, culture, language, interests, and beliefs. (D01.S2.06.01)

Connection

Think of one person you know well — maybe yourself. At home they are a grandchild, a sibling, a cook of the family’s food. At school they are a teammate, a question-asker, a keeper of fair rules. At a celebration they are a dancer or a drummer, a speaker of the family’s first language, a believer in something that matters. It is the same person — but different parts come forward in different places. That is identity: not one fixed label, but many parts that shift by context, while the whole person stays whole. A child who moved across the sea, a child who signs with their hands, a child who is new to the neighborhood — each has a set of parts that is complete and true, and none is more “real” than another.

Materials

Shifting-parts poster
My shifting parts reflection page
Pencils and crayons

Preparation

Print or draw the shifting-parts poster (a center “me” connected to three contexts: at home, at school, at a celebration).
Copy a “my shifting parts” reflection page for each learner.
Arrange a space for a year-end gallery walk.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). It opens the year-end unit by retrieving the many-parts identity map learners built earlier in the year (see L.06.001.05) and adding the new idea that parts shift by context — a spiral, not a repeat. The tone is celebration and honoring: every family shape, culture, language, and belief system is ordinary and whole. Be explicit that beliefs are personal and optional to share; never rank any belief system or any family shape. The gallery walk must celebrate difference, never compare maps as better or worse. Keep the “how I have grown” line private if a learner prefers; it is their reflection to keep or share. See docs/facilitation.md and docs/art-style.md.

Procedure

Gather and remember (5 min). Earlier this year you drew your identity as many parts — family, culture, language, interests, beliefs. Quick recall, no page needed: from memory, name three parts of you. (Retrieval practice: try before you look.)
Meet “shifting by context” (10 min). Look at the poster. It is the same me in three places. Worked example: at home my family and my language are in front; at school my interests and my beliefs (like “everyone should be treated fairly”) come forward; at a celebration my culture and my interests show. Not one of these is the “real” me — they are all me, and the place decides which parts step forward.
Draw your shifting parts (20 min). On your reflection page, write me in the center. Then draw three context boxes — home, school, and one more of your choosing (a team, a celebration, online, a place of worship, a friend’s house). In each box, write the parts of you that come forward there. Add any part that matters — an ability, a dream, a language you are learning. Then finish one sentence: “This year I have grown by…”
Gallery walk (10 min). Walk quietly and look at the reflections. Notice: how many languages? How many family shapes? How many beliefs? Each map is whole and true. Find one thing on someone else’s page you admire. (Learners who do not stand or walk can stay seated and have pages passed hand to hand around the circle, or posted at seated height — everyone sees every page either way.)
Close (5 min). You are many parts, one whole self, and those parts shift with where you are. That is who you are becoming — and it deserves honor. Carry that with you.

Differentiation

Support: Provide pre-drawn context boxes with a picture prompt in each; scribe labels as needed, and ask the learner to name just one part that comes forward at home.
Extension: Write about a moment two of your parts felt in tension (e.g., “at school my belief in fairness and my wish to fit in pulled different ways”) and how both can still be true.

Assessment

Formative (observation): Can the learner name several parts and place at least one part in each of two contexts, showing the shift?
Portfolio: The “who I am becoming” reflection, kept as the opening artifact of the year-end portfolio.

Home connection

Show someone at home your reflection and invite them to name one part of you they have watched grow this year — a skill, a kindness, a courage you may not have noticed yourself.

Resources

A many-part identity and positive belonging connect to CASEL’s self-awareness and social-awareness competencies; the idea that identity has multiple dimensions that shift by context is foundational in the study of identity development: https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/