CEP Lesson Plan Form

Teacher: Amelia Simmons Date: 13/32

School: Rocky Mountain HS Grade Level: 12 Content Area: English 12

Title: History of the N-word Lesson #: ? of ?

Identify which part of the lesson meets 1 or more of the 4 part Mission of the National Network for
Educational Renewal (Equal Access and Excellence, Stewardship, Nurturing Pedagogy and
Enculturation.): What are you and your students doing today to advance the 4-Part Mission? Does this
lesson connect to one or more parts of the Mission? Please briefly explain.

Equal Access- Students read at own pase, multiple forms of media are used, transcripts/subtitles
provided for videos.

Stewardship-

Nurturing Pedagogy-

Enculturation- Learning a not often talked about subject and history that is important to modern
understandings of race interactions and racism.

Lesson Idea/Topic and Rational/Relevance: When reading African-American Literature, the n-word is
What are you going to teach and why is this a prevalent and piercing word. There will be works
lesson important to these students? What written by African Americans that include the n-word.
has already happened in this classroom Why is this word harmful? Who gets to use the n-word?
surrounding the subject you will be Why? How did the n-word come to be? Why is it still
teaching? What do students already know? used?
Why are you going to teach this topic now
(how does it fit in the curricular sequence)?
What teaching methods/strategy will you
be use and why?

What is the key vocabulary necessary for slur

students to know in order to learn the
material? racism

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson: (Write Content Standards directly from the standard)

Standard 1.1 Follow collaborative guidelines to ensure a hearing of a full range of positions on a topic or
issue, and evaluate responses.

Standard 2.1 Interpret and evaluate complex literature using various critical reading strategies.

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

Standard 2.2 Interpret and evaluate complex informational texts using various critical reading strategies.

Standard 2.3 Understand how language influences the comprehension of narrative, argumentative, and
informational texts.

Understandings: (Big Ideas)-(Learning Target) SWBAT explain why the n-word is harmful.

Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction, select
applicable questions from standard)

Why is the n-word harmful?

Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets) AND (Success Criteria) Next to each Learning Target OR
Objectives, state how you are addressing literacy AND numeracy within this lesson.

I can: Explain why we will never say the n-word in class.

This means: I know the history of the n-word. I know the impact the n-word has on people in my
community. I understand that the n-word should only be used by Black people if they feel comfortable to
do so.

List of Assessments: (Note whether the assessment is formative or summative?)

Reflection of reading (formative)

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Planned Lesson Activities

Name and Purpose of Lesson
Should be a creative title for you and the students to What is the n-word?
associate with the activity. Think of the purpose as
the mini-rationale for what you are trying to (before teaching this lesson, i will check in with my Black and brown students and explain
accomplish through this lesson. what/when this lesson is, why I am teaching it, and asking if they feel comfortable being
in the classroom that day or if they’d rather be outside that space (in the library or
similar))
Approx. Time and Materials
How long do you expect the activity to last and what 90 minute (ish) lesson
materials will you need? slideshow, printed pdfs and articles below, post-it notes, half sheets of paper

Anticipatory Set What is Biased, Offensive and Harmful Language?

The “hook” to grab students’ attention. These are 1. Begin the lesson by asking students: What is biased, hateful or offensive words or
actions and statements by the teacher to relate the language? (Turn and talk) Have some students share their thoughts aloud.
experiences of the students to the objectives of the 2. Explain that in this lesson, we will discuss slurs, which is one type of biased and
lesson, To put students into a receptive frame of offensive language. Share that we will specifically be talking about the N-word,
mind. which is a racial slur. Ask: What is a slur? (Turn and talk) Elicit and explain that a
● To focus student attention on the lesson. slur is: “an insulting, offensive or degrading remark, often based on an identity
● To create an organizing framework for the group such as race, ethnicity, religion, ethnic, gender/gender identity or sexual
ideas, principles, or information that is to orientation.”
follow (advanced organizers) [Note to Teacher: If you want to provide an anonymous option for students to share their
An anticipatory set is used any time a different thoughts about what biased language and slurs are, use notecards or Mentimeter to
activity or new concept is to be introduced. collect their thoughts rather than having students shared aloud.]
3. Ask students: Where do we see and hear slurs and other biased/offensive
language? Record their responses on the board, which could include the
following:
● Music lyrics, Movies and TV, Online/digital spaces, social media and texting,
Books/literature, Said out loud to someone to demean and insult them, Said out
loud to show connection to others in same identity group, Written out in public
or private places as a hate symbol, Private conversation we’re in or ones we
overhear, Public conversations: celebrities, comedians, politicians, other famous
people

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4. Ask students: What are the main qualities of a slur? How do you know something
is a slur? Students respond on distributed post-it notes; each student writes
words and phrases which they return to you to place on a wall or
board/smartboard. After capturing and sharing their responses, engage students
in a brief discussion by asking: What patterns do you see in the responses? How
would you explain the main qualities of a slur?
5. Ask students: When you see or hear slurs, what thoughts and feelings come up
for you? (Post-it notes again, anonymous as possible) As results come in and they
are shared with the class, engage students in a brief discussion by asking: What
do you notice? What do you wonder?
Procedures Students will explore the history and use of the n-word through multiple articles and
(Include a play-by-play account of what students and videos.
teacher will do from the minute they arrive to the White and Wondering Why You Can’t Use the N-Word? Watch This - CNN, video
minute they leave your classroom. Indicate the How the n-word became the atomic bomb of racial slurs - PBS, video or transcript
length of each segment of the lesson. List actual The N-word in the Classroom - TED, video
minutes.) How the n-word became unsayable - New York Times, article
Indicate whether each is: NAACP Official Position on the Use of the Word "Nigger" and the "N" Word - NAACP,
-teacher input article
-modeling The articles will be printed out and the videos will be linked in the online classroom.
-questioning strategies
-guided/unguided: Students will individually be asked to summarize and reflect on their learnings from the
-whole-class practice provided materials in some written form.
-group practice
-individual practice To wrap up learnings, the teacher will pass out half sheets of paper. The teacher will ask
-check for understanding the students if they are comfortable and willing, to write an experience they had with the
-other n-word. The teacher will also stated that they (the teacher) will read out these
experiences to keep it as anonymous as possible. If students do not have an experience
they wish to share, they will be asked to write to the prompt: how would you react to a
non-black friend using the n-word while singing along to a song. (This is so those not
sharing an experience will not be writing supstancially less than those that are.)

Closure End by explaining that the n-word appears often in literature, even literature written by
Those actions or statements by a teacher that are Black people. Understanding the history and impact of the word before we read it will
designed to bring a lesson presentation to an allow our classroom community to support each other and not cause additional trauma.

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CEP Lesson Plan Form

appropriate conclusion. Used to help students bring

things together in their own minds, to make sense Close by reminding students that while we will see the n-word or even hear it in
out of what has just been taught. “Any Questions? recordings and songs, in our classroom, we will always refer to it as the “n-word.”
No. OK, let’s move on” is not closure. Closure is used:
● To cue students to the fact that they have
arrived at an important point in the lesson or
the end of a lesson.
● To help organize student learning
To help form a coherent picture and to consolidate.
Differentiation: Reflection after reading the articles and videos:
Require fewer of the texts to read.
Differentiation should be embedded
throughout your whole lesson!! Have students specifically quote texts and breakdown the points of those quotes in their
This is to make sure you have met the reflection
needs of your students on IEPS or 504
To modify: If the activity is too advanced for a child,
how will you modify it so that they can be successful?
To extend: If the activity is too easy for a child, how
will you extend it to develop their emerging skills?
Assessment Reflection: (data analysis)
How will you know if students met the learning Students will have met the learning targets if in their reflections they acknowledge the
targets? Write a description of what you were trauma and hurt the n-word holds to people and understand why not to use it.
looking for in each assessment.

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