1. March 9 & 10, 2016
World Literature &
Composition 2
Mr. Thomas

2. 60 Second Warm Up At your tables, review:
What is “ingroup vs. outgroup” or “us vs. them” thinking?
Why does this type of thinking lead to prejudice or discrimination?

3. Today’s Essential Questions/ Learning Objectives
What is ingroup vs. outgroup prejudice?
How does ingroup vs. outgroup thinking escalate conflicts and divide populations?
Students will understand how ingroup vs. outgroup thinking leads to conflict.
Students will reflect on specific instances where ingroup thinking has affected their own relationships or those of the people in their lives.

4. Today’s Agenda “Class Divided” Video & Discussion
2. “Us & Them” -Sedaris
3. Ingroup Reflection

5. “A Class Divided”
As you watch the video, play special attention to the escalation of conflict based on ingroup vs. outgroup prejudice.

6. For Discussion:
How were the students divided and why was this characteristic important to show the power of the students’ descent into prejudice?
How did the ingroup vs. outgroup thinking affect the students’ interactions with each other during the week?
How did this mentality affect their self-perceptions for the better or for the worse?
How would their attitudes have been affected if the stereotypes were reinforced at home and outside of school?

7. “Us and Them”
As you read along, pay special attention to how ingroup vs. outgroup thinking affects the narrator’s perceptions of others, his actions, and his sense of right and wrong.

8. “Us and Them” Reflection
Write your answers to the questions as a group:
What specific ingroup does the narrator belong to that makes him feel divided from an outgroup and how specifically does this affect his perception of others?
How does the narrator’s ingroup thinking affect his behavior? What result does that have on his perception of himself?
Why does the story end the way that it does? What message does that send about the power of ingroup vs. outgroup thinking?

9. 60 Second Closure
What is an area of your own life where you have participated in or seen ingroup vs. outgroup thinking?
How can becoming aware of these tendencies help you in your relationships with others?