Identity: What We Can See and Not See

GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School

Overview

There are many parts to a person’s identity, including the social identity groups to which they belong (race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc.). Some parts of identity—and the differences between people—are easy to see and some are not. When you first meet a person, you may think you can see and know the various aspects of their identity. However, many aspects of one’s identity are not visible when you first meet or engage with another person. An iceberg is a helpful metaphor to use when exploring this with children. You can only see a small part of an iceberg (about 13%) that is above the waterline. Like an iceberg, there is only a small part of someone’s identity that is clearly visible and apparent. The iceberg helps us understand that we must go “below the waterline” to see the fullness of who people are.

In this activity, students will:

• Explore the various parts of identity that make up who we are.
• Understand that when you first meet someone, you can only see certain parts of their identity.
• Reflect on their own identity and create an identity iceberg about themselves, or as a class/group.