Who is invisible? This slideshow lesson explores social justice, equality / equity, and anti-racism issues to help your students figure it out on their own.

Interactive critical thinking lesson to inspire student discussions about media representation, enhancing social-emotional learning skills and self-awareness.

Social Emotional Learning for Middle School students that isn't babyish!

Students analyze a series of goal-setting videos to explore stereotypes and representation.

• Students reflect on who they are

• while thinking about which groups of people are invisible.

If your students love discussion, they will love this critical thinking challenge!

The FREE version contains the slideshow lesson (220 minutes of content.)

• The FREE version is easy-prep: 1) Open slideshow. 2) Teach.

• Or, you can do some prep! Look at the 38-page lesson plan for script and discussion ideas.

• The FREE version has an estimated 3.5 hours of content, but you can go faster or slower depending on class discussions.

The PAID version contains everything in the FREE version plus handouts and an answer key / discussion guide. 

• The PAID version requires prep.

• There are 40 files. 43 pages of handouts, and 35 pages of answers. 

• The 66-page lesson plan provides more scaffolding to help students analyze / evaluate.

• The PAID version has 13 lessons and an estimated 13.5 hours of content (810 minutes).

• Lessons vary from 35 minutes to 105 minutes in length and are based on topic (as opposed to trying to have a standard classroom period in mind.) 

CONTENT WARNING! The "Who is Invisible" resource is designed to foster deep and meaningful discussions on media representation, stereotypes, and social visibility. However, not all classrooms may be ready for this type of important conversation, yet.

Thanks to Alexandra for pointing this out:

"Great resource, really thoughtful process to discuss big ideas with kids. Though, it's important that your classroom culture is ready for it." - Alexandra S (7th Grade Teacher)

• This critical thinking exercise delves into themes that may challenge students' perspectives and invoke strong emotional responses.

• While these important conversations are valuable for developing awareness and empathy, they require a classroom environment that is prepared for sensitive and potentially personal topics.

• Teachers are advised to assess the readiness of their classroom culture for such discussions and consider the diverse backgrounds and experiences of their students.

• Teachers are encouraged to consider their student population and to chat with their principal to ensure a supportive and respectful learning experience for all!

How teachers are using this diversity / anti-racism lesson:

"This resource was great for Native American Heritage Month and engaging my students in dialogue about what the month means. Very easy to use!"

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Erin S (6th Grade)

"This is a great resource to use ANY TIME! Love the critical thinking part of this."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Justice S (10th Grade)

Why do we need months like Black History Month or Women's History Month?

• The "Who is Invisible" Critical Thinking challenge will help students figure out the answer for themselves.

• The slideshow lesson asks guiding questions to help students analyze videos.

• How are women portrayed? How are people who are Black portrayed?

• Are some groups of people stereotyped, misrepresented, or left out completely?

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IMPORTANT: Even though the title for this product occasionally identifies a specific group of people (i.e. Black History or Women's History Month), there is no specific mention of Black History Month or any other month in this product.

This is on purpose. Please see IMPORTANT NOTE #1 below to find out why.

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⭐ LESSON PLAN ⭐

Timing for this 3.5-hour slideshow (220 min) only includes the slideshow lesson.

INTRODUCTION (What does invisible mean) - 45 min

• What does Invisible mean? (slides 1-3) (5 min)

• A literal example of invisible (slides 4-5) (10 min)

• Figurative example of invisible (slides 6-7) (10 min)

• What does it mean when we say groups of people are invisible (slides 8) (5 min)

• Seven Ground Rules - Discussion (slides 9-13) (10 min)

• Ground Rules - Personal Identity (slides 14-17) (5 min)

PART 1 Do you SEE people who look like you? 35 min

• Watch the following video clip (slides 18-20) (5 min)

• Discussion (slides 21-22) - YOU (10 min)

• Discussion (slides 21-22) - YOUR FAMILY (10 min)

• Discussion (slides 21-22) - YOUR FRIENDS (10 min)

PART 2 Are people who look like you represented? 40 min

• Identify different parts of videos (slides 23-37) (5 min)

• Watch the next video clip (slides 38-40) (10 min)

• Discussion (slides 41-42) (10 min)

• Discussion - trends and patterns (slides 43-44) (10 min)

PART 3 Stories matter 40 min

• What is a single story? (slides 45-48) (10 min)

• Strategy to help students identify single stories and stereotypes? (slides 49-50) (5 min)

• Watch the next goal-setting video (slides 51-52) (5 min)

• Discussion - examples that reinforce single stories (slides 53) (10 min)

• Discussion - examples that break single stories (slides 53) (10 min)

PART 4 Why does representation matter? 15 min

• We all have many different sides to our identity (slides 54-55)

• What if you DON'T see yourself reflected in resources (slides 56)

• What if you DO see yourself reflected in resources (slides 57-60)

PART 5 I am a biased imperfect human being 20 min

• Setting up an authentic, meaningful task (slides 61-68) (10 min)

• Things to know about me and my Aspects of Identity (slides 69-72) (10 min)

PART 6 Take the challenge (explanation) 20 min

• Different ways to do the Who is Invisible challenge? (slides 73)

• Explain the challenge (slides 74-79) (20 min)

PART 7 Go beyond heroes and holidays 10 min

• How can you use these skills to explore other parts of life? (slides 80-88)

This lesson is perfect for introducing:

• Critical Thinking,

• Diversity, Inclusion, and Stereotypes,

• Anti-Racism and Hidden Bias,

• Black History Month, Women's History Month, or any month, week, or day recognizing a group of people or amplifying the voices we don't often see or hear.

STEP 1: Watch short YouTube videos (embedded in slideshow).

STEP 2: Lead class discussions to see which groups of people are invisible or portrayed in stereotypical ways.

OPTIONAL STEP 3: Students research and create an alternative script to amplify the stories that we don't often hear.

THINGS TO KNOW

• You can edit the Microsoft Powerpoint™ and Google Slides™ files (included in the zipped file.)

• Detailed lesson plan provided.

• Answer key NOT provided in the FREE VERSION. Answers will vary based on people's aspects of identity and their lived experiences.

• This lesson includes slides from the CITIZENSHIP chapter and the CRITICAL THINKING chapter of the GROWTH MINDSET 21st Century Learning bundle.

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IMPORTANT: Sometimes, the title for this product will say Black History Month, Women's History Month, or some other month; however, there is no specific mention of Black History Month or any other month in this product.

This is on purpose. Please see IMPORTANT NOTE #1 below to find out why.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐ IMPORTANT NOTE #1 ⭐

This product does NOT specifically mention the contributions (past or present) of any specific groups of people.

There are no specific examples relating to

• Black History Month (Feb)
• Women's History Month (Mar)
• Islamic Heritage Month (Apr)
• Irish-American Heritage Month
• Deaf History Month
• Asian Heritage Month (May)
• Older Americans Month
• Jewish American Heritage Month
• Gay Lesbian Pride Month
• Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month
• Disability Employment Awareness Month
• Italian-American Heritage Month
• Native American Heritage Month / National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (Nov)

And that's a good thing because it means you can use this lesson package at any time.

The point of this lesson is to raise awareness that some groups of people are more visible than others. And some groups of people can be portrayed in stereotypical ways: the danger of a single story.

This lesson is a great way to start off your month, week, or day recognizing a group of people or any other social issue.

It gives students a chance to explore their world before going deeper with your own resources.

I know what you're thinking when you skim through these 20 goal setting videos.

This doesn't have very much to do with "Women's History Month" or any other "month"?

I want you to give me specific examples of contributions from those groups of people, past and present!

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If you're looking for well-researched, high-interest reading comprehension passages for specific groups of people, check out:

• Reading Comprehension Passages - Women's History Month Bundle
• Reading Comprehension Passages - Black History Month Bundle

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Okay. I agree 100%. We do need to give our students those examples and amplify the stories we don't often hear.

But we also need to give our students an opportunity to notice these subtle inequities themselves. We need to give them a chance to understand why this matters.

And that's what the Who is Invisible challenge is all about.

Yes, we see some people who are Black, Asian, Hispanic, female, etc... in the videos.

⭐ But, can our students FIND PATTERNS in HOW THESE PEOPLE ARE PORTRAYED?

I actually tried to make sure I had a balance of people from different groups represented in the images I chose. But take a closer look at the little stories told at the beginning of each video.

Whose accomplishments do we hear about?

• Steve Jobs?
• Alexander Fleming?

Are there any subtle patterns?

That's the hard part of the challenge that requires the most critical thinking. Good luck!

Bonus critical thinking question: Scroll down to the Q&A section of this product description, where I talk about the contributions of Adam Grant. Do you agree with my choices? Was this an appropriate way to amplify the voices of stories we don't often hear?

⭐ IMPORTANT NOTE #2 ⭐

This slideshow lesson does NOT provide any assignment specifics (handouts, rubrics, worksheets, etc.) to do the actual Who is Invisible challenge. That's so that every teacher can do the challenge in a way that is meaningful to them.

The slideshow lesson DOES provide everything you need to understand the theory and the challenge.

This is intended to be an authentic, meaningful, open-ended 21st Century Learning task for classes to engage with - where problems and solutions aren't always handed to us on a silver platter.

The power of this challenge is 

• to give students an opportunity to think about themselves 

• to give them some background theory and common vocabulary about stereotypes (single stories) 

• before asking students to analyze and evaluate which groups of people might be invisible

• and creating an alternative version to help amplify the stories and contributions that we don't always see.

By thinking about who they are, hopefully, students will own this task and look for groups of people that are meaningful to them. 

• That might be race, gender, age, social-economic class, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, culture, appearance, nationality, etc. 

• None of these words have been used in the slideshow and that is by design.

There are many ways to do this challenge. Suggestions are included in the lesson plan (PART 6).

The hope is that students will then start to use the skills from this challenge to wonder about equities and inequities in other parts of their world.

..... Tue, Apr 22, 2025 - May is Mental Health Awareness month. Check out these Mental Health Awareness coloring pages and song / lyric video. What do you think?

Which problems are your students struggling with? If we do the same things, we get the same results.

• Check out this Social Emotional Learning curriculum that isn't babyish

SEL Problem #1:

Students don't try, especially when things don't work right away. They give up. Switching to a growth mindset is a choice. Here are some strategies that might help.

• ➡️ Check out this CHARACTER unit

SEL Problem #2:

Students don't do the right thing or stand up for each other. Being part of a classroom means being an active citizen. We don't always agree, but it's important to speak up.

• ➡️ Check out this CITIZENSHIP unit

SEL Problem #3:

Students don't know how to work in groups. Collaboration is not the same as teamwork. One person doing all of the work is not collaboration.

• ➡️ Check out this COLLABORATION unit

SEL Problem #4:

Students are mean, especially when they're upset. Good communication isn't just about presentations. It's also about getting your point across when both sides are upset, and things matter!

• ➡️ Check out this COMMUNICATION unit

SEL Problem #5:

Students wait for someone else to solve their problems. Creativity is about connecting ideas in new ways. When you are faced with a tricky problem, we use creativity to create a solution. Creativity is a skill we can learn.

• ➡️ Check out this CREATIVITY unit

SEL Problem #6:

Students believe rumors, gossip, and viral posts. Students not thinking for themselves?

• ➡️ Check out this CRITICAL THINKING unit

SEL Problem #7:

ALL OF THE ABOVE. Can your class learn about a growth mindset while trying to stay in a growth mindset at the same time?

• ➡️ Check out this CHALLENGE TASK.

My name is Mike Fuchigami. I'm the Grade 8 teacher behind Educircles. 

• I taught middle school English Language Arts for 13+ years in Ottawa, Ontario.

• I had a mental health crisis because of something that happened at school.

• Social Emotional Learning skills (6Cs) literally saved my life. That's why I'm so passionate about this stuff.

Teachers around the world have DOWNLOADED 133,072 resources in 62 countries!

• I donate 10% of everything I earn to STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH organizations. It's a promise I made to get through some dark times.

• Together, we've donated $15,520.51

✅ SAVE HOURS OF PREP (and money) with a bundle!

• Reading Strategies

• Social-Emotional Learning (6Cs Growth Mindset)

• Get all of my resources for less than $1 each!!!

⭐ This is the TED talk that I will give one day. If you like this, then you will love my resources.

⭐ QUESTION: You talk the talk, but do you walk the walk? How are you amplifying voices, yourself? ⭐

Q: You talk a lot about amplifying the voices of stories that we don't hear very often. How are you amplifying these voices yourself as the creator of SEOT Steps to Success videos?

A: Great question. Amplify means to increase the volume of something - usually sound. I am a teacher who now earns a living from the internet, so when I think "amplify", I think of increasing attention, awareness or web traffic to something.

One of the things I've realized is I can link to some of my research sources when I make the goal setting videos. For example, in this video about the Creative Process, I talk about Taylor Swift's process of writing ideas down. At the bottom of that post, you can see I've embedded a YouTube video of her talking.

Now, obviously, in no way am I amplifying the voice of Taylor Swift. She reaches millions of people on her own. I am a speck of dust in terms of reach compared to her. But, there are other stories that I could amplify and that's what I'm hoping to do in my next set of goal setting videos. And as more teachers start to use these Educircles and SEOT resources, our reach goes across more classrooms and more students.

In January 2021, I reached a personal milestone: Educircles resources have been downloaded over 25,000 times by educators around the world. I like to think this means I have the potential of amplifying underheard stories to students around the world.

To give you a more concrete example - I first heard about how mild procrastination can help the creative process in Adam Grant's TED talk on the surprising habits of original thinkers. He talks about his grad student Jihae who said she has her best ideas when she procrastinates. I did some research on the internet and was able to figure out where Jihae teaches and some of her research publications (that she did with Adam.)

When I wrote the script for the Procrastinate with Purpose goal setting video, I decided to tell it from Jihae's point of view to amplify the contributions of a specific group of people. Unfortunately, Jihae doesn't have a YouTube video that students might find interesting, so I could only link to her research. But, you get the idea.

When I get bigger, I'd love to collaborate with other people who are different from me - but right now, I'm a one-person operation trying to stay afloat!

Baby steps. I'm doing my own research to find stories from groups of people that are under-represented. I'm also trying to crowd-source this information.

⭐ I'm an imperfect human being. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, feedback - feel free to ask below or you can reach me directly at Mike@educircles.org

© SEOT Mindset Inc.