Students examine how identity shapes the way people notice, experience, and respond to injustice by connecting ideas from The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora to real social issues in their own communities. Through identity self-portraits, research supported by a librarian or media specialist, and conversations with nonprofits and community advocates, they investigate how community membership can lead to civic action. They create an interactive Google Site that combines research, identity connections, credible sources, and a call to action, then refine it through critique circles and peer walkthroughs. The learning experience culminates in a public expo and oral explanation where students show how identity, community, and action work together.

Students will analyze how identity, community, and civic action are developed in a novel and use text evidence to connect those ideas to a student-chosen social issue. They will identify and explain visible and invisible parts of their own identities through a self-portrait and identity-to-action map, showing how identity can shape experiences, perspectives, and responses to injustice. Students will research a social issue using credible sources with support from a librarian or media specialist, compare viewpoints, and collaborate with community partners to strengthen accuracy and relevance. They will create, critique, revise, and publicly present an interactive Google Site with a clear call to action, then explain in an oral defense or creator’s statement how their thinking changed and how their project answers the essential questions.

Students will create identity self-portraits, reading response notes with text evidence, and a mid-project identity-to-action map that connects visible and invisible traits to a chosen social issue and a realistic community action. As research develops, they will produce source trackers, interview notes from the nonprofit, librarian or media specialist, and community advocate, plus draft storyboards or scripts for a podcast, video, or Google Site. Through critique circles and peer walkthroughs, students will revise a polished interactive Google Site that includes research findings, identity connections, credible sources, and a clear call to action; the site may embed a student-made video or podcast. For the final showcase, each student or team will present the site at an interactive station and share a brief oral defense or creator’s statement explaining how identity, community, and action connect in their work.

Begin with a “Mirror and Window Launch Lab” in which students create quick identity self-portraits showing visible and invisible traits, then share in small groups to notice how identity shapes perspective. After reading key moments from The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora, students trace how Arturo’s identity connects to a community issue and leads to civic action, then make a simple identity-to-action pathway for their own lives. Invite a community advocate or organizer for a short kickoff talk or video message about how identity affects real neighborhood issues, and have students generate questions they want to investigate. Close with a gallery walk of portraits and pathways so students can spot shared concerns, possible social issue topics, and ideas for action.

Host a Voices for Justice Expo with rotating interactive stations where students display their Google Sites, videos, or podcasts and talk with visitors in small groups about their issue, identity connections, and call to action. Invite families, classmates, the librarian or media specialist, the nonprofit partner, and a community advocate or organizer so students can share research with authentic audiences and answer questions. Include a brief oral defense or creator’s statement at each station in which students explain how their thinking changed, how feedback shaped revisions, and how their work responds to the essential questions. Set up a visitor feedback wall or digital form so guests can leave comments about what they learned and what action they might take.