The Defense: Why the Unit Works

Body image is a constant struggle within our society. Many people fail to value
themselves due to the figures that are portrayed in the media. This struggle that many of us know
all too well can unfortunately begin in childhood, and especially as those children become
teenagers and reach puberty. I have personally struggled with such issues myself. I was never
content with my physical appearance and always devalued myself as a human-being. At one
point within my lifespan I was actually classified as obese. That label caused my self-esteem to
completely plummet. However, one day I got up and decided that it was time for a change. Since
that moment four years ago I have come a long way. There have certainly been many roller
coasters, but I have such a greater value for myself than I once did. That is the purpose for this
unit, You Are More Than Your Size. I want students to be happy with themselves. I certainly do
not want them to correlate happiness with weight-loss, but I want them to experience an
environment where they are not judged for their physical appearance and can just be happy. The
real-world is so cruel and if I can remove some of that stress from their lives for the forty-five
minutes that they are in my classroom, I will have definitely reached my goal as an educator.
I will be implementing this unit within the School District of Philadelphia in an eighth
grade classroom. I have developed a guiding question and core tasks that are attached to my
larger unit. The question that my students and I will explore for this 3-4 week unit is as follows:
In what ways can we combat the negative stigma surrounding certain body images in order to
create a community that will increase the self-esteem of both ourselves and others? The core
tasks that I have outlined for students require them to do various things throughout the unit such
as: have self-knowledge of the various prejudices that exist surrounding the physical appearance
of an individual, empathize with those facing body image issues and encourage people to view

themselves in a positive manner, identify and explain various sources that discriminate against
certain body figures, and interpret and apply relevant information from various texts in order to
create pieces that will speak against the negative stigma around particular body figures. Even
though this unit is certainly theme-based, there is a primary text that connects all of the pieces.
Future Perfect written by Jen Larsen is an excellent novel about a senior in high-school
named Ashley Perkins. Ashley is an African American teenager who is classified as obese. She
seems to be comfortable with her weight, but there is one thing that is preventing her from being
happy- her grandmother. Every year for her birthday Ashley receives a bribery note from her
grandmom in an effort to get her to lose weight. She normally gets frustrated with them and tears
them up, but there is one that resonates with her- a full tuition to Harvard University. This text is
an excellent resource that serves the larger theme of the unit because it shows a protagonist who
is overweight and happy. I feel as though people may think that larger women cannot be happy,
but that is not the case what so ever. I want students to be able to see that and Ashley is a great
lens to view that concept through. This text is also great because Ashleys grandmom resembles
the media in the sense that she always finds something wrong with Ashley and tries to fix her.
There is nothing wrong with larger individuals and that is something else that I feel as though
students would benefit from discussing. Throughout this unit students will complete five genre
pieces that are lead students to answer the guiding question and complete core tasks.
The first assessment that students will be expected to complete is a half face art project.
The directions for this assessment are as follows: Create a visual representation that depicts the
physical appearance of an individual on one side, while outlining certain hobbies or activities
on the other. After you finish drawing, write a short journal prompt outlining whether or not you
think people view you more for the physical side of your drawing or the other side and tell me

how that makes you feel. We will do a gallery walk of the pictures when everyone is finished.
This assessment will engage students in interpreting the way in which people discriminate
against the physical appearance of an individual. Within our larger society many people judge
others by their body size without even saying one word to them. I want students to be able to
realize that this type of prejudice exists and it needs to stop. Through the gallery walk, students
will be able to look at some of the activities and interests of others without looking at their
physical appearance. This allows for them to see the commonalities that they have with one
another that they may not have noticed before. The content of this piece is powerful because it is
a simple activity, but it gets students to think about how they are judged and how they judge
others without being conscious of it. It allows students to put things into perspective and realize
how different the world is if they are viewing it from a different lens, particularly one that is not
so discriminatory. My goal for this assessment is for students to write using a somber tone,
because I want them to come to the realization of how quick we are to judge one another. I dont
want them to be proud of it but rather unhappy with the way society functions. The language that
I expect students to use is reflective of that somber tone. I want students to experience the feeling
of unhappiness and express that through words on a sheet of paper.
The second form of assessment that I chose to utilize within the larger unit is a diary
entry. Students will respond to the following prompt: Recall a time when you felt poorly about
your body. How did you react? Did you let it bother you? What did you do about it? I want
students to put their personal selves into this unit and think about how they are affected by the
size of their body. It is my goal for them to realize that they will be judged regardless of whether
they carry more weight or less weight. Those that are skinny are oftentimes picked out for being
too skinny, and those that are larger are oftentimes picked out for being too large. There is no

happy medium in this situation and I want students to be able to make that connection. The
content of this piece is strong because it feeds off of students experiences. I want them to
analyze and reflect on a situation in an effort to decide if there was a better way that they could
have reacted to it. I feel as though similar situations will oftentimes manifest themselves in the
future, and I want to try to prepare students for it so they wont feel so poorly about themselves
once again. It is important for students to gain perspective of the outside sources that make them
feel poorly about themselves, because if they are unaware of what makes them unhappy then
there is no way to fix the problem. The tone and language that I wish for students to use while
crafting the diary entry is one similar to that of the first assessment piece. At this stage in the unit
I want students to self-reflect and come to the realization of how other people around them shape
the way in which they view themselves.
The third form of assessment that students will complete is in the form of a digital poster.
Students will be expected to do the following: Design a digital poster pertaining to body image
that is visually appealing to an audience. Your goal for this poster is to bring awareness to the
prevalence of body image issues, especially within your age group. I also expect you to include
some information regarding who an individual can turn to if they are having trouble accepting
their body. Include your URL of your sources at the bottom. My primary goal for this task is for
students to include where their peers can get help if they are having severe body image issues.
Some adolescents are unsure of where to get help and afraid to ask in fear that others are going to
judge them even more; however, if the information is on a poster for all to see then they can take
a mental note of it. I also want students to do some research and discover that they are not alone
when it comes to dealing with body image issues. The statistics are absolutely shocking and I
want to expose students to that. As far as content is concerned, this assessment is geared in

providing students with useful sources of information, which will hopefully lead them down the
path of possessing a higher self-esteem. I also hope for students to gain a perspective of how
prevalent body image issues are within their age group and even younger. While creating this
piece, I want students to possess an uplifting yet disgusted tone. I hope for students to get across
the importance of being comfortable in your own skin, yet showing people how serious it is and
providing them with links for more information. I expect students to use language that is
reflective of the tone; therefore, students should be using statistics and links in order for others to
get more information regarding body image issues and seek assistance if necessary.
The fourth form of assessment is a formal piece of writing that students must create. We
will be spending multiple class periods constructing it. The instructions for this task are as
follows: Find a magazine cover that discriminates against certain body images. Write a proposal
to that particular company and argue against it with three valid points. This directly correlates
with the larger theme of the unit because it requires students to dissect where the negativity is
stemmed from. Through viewing magazine covers students are exposed to modeling and the
strive to be perfect. I want to teach students what a day in the life of a model is really like, and
that perfect is not healthy. Throughout this process students will be conferencing with both each
other and I in an effort to gain ideas and discuss concepts related to body image in the media.
The content of this assessment, as noted above, is right on target in terms of the long-term goals
of the unit. Students will come out of this assignment with self-knowledge of why and where the
negative stigmas come from. Students will also gain perspective of the pressure that models have
to be perfect. Students tone will hopefully reflect anger and frustration. I want them to be angry
at the media and express that through their writing. With that being said, I would also like the
language of students writing to be done in dialect that reflects anger and frustration as well.

The last form of assessment that students will complete for this unit is a positivity quilt.
This assignment is laid back and intended for students to enjoy and have fun with. The directions
for the assignment are as follows: Create and develop an index card filled with positive notes,
messages, images, etc. to promote a positive self-esteem and body image. When everyone in the
class is finished with their index cards we will combine them to make a quilt and then hang it
outside of the classroom for everyone to view. It is my hope that students are able to gain a sense
of self-worth through reading the positivity quilt. When students are finished constructing it, I
will place it in the hallways for all students to view and take advantage of. There is not much
content related to this task; however, I believe that the content is valuable and has the potential to
benefit the lives of students. If someone is having a bad day they can easily take a look at the
positivity quilt and gain a sense of happiness. Students will gain perspective of how easy it is to
create something that is so inspiring. Their tone and language will reflect positivity and
confidence, because overall, that is the message that I am trying to get across throughout this
unit.
After all assessments have been completed I hope that students will have gained what I
envisioned them to. I believe that the five assessments noted above correlate well with the
guiding question and core tasks, and encourage students to explore the topic throughout the
entire unit. This unit was driven through personal experience, and I feel as though I reflected that
throughout the unit. I want to provide students with a safe space where they feel comfortable
because I did not have that at times. No child should ever feel as though they are not accepted
and valued, and my goal as an educator is to ensure that that never happens.