Telling My Story: “Using the Sociological Imagination”

to Build Classroom Community

Barbara Prillaman

In this unit, high school students will solidify their understanding of C. Wright Mills’ explanation of the Sociological Imagination and combine that knowledge with the elements of Dramatic Structure to tell the story of their birth day. Then, they will collectively tell the story of their birth days combining their days’ events to describe the time frame in which they were born. They will focus on the guiding questions: (1) What is the sociological imagination theoretically (according to the discipline of sociology) and personally (according to an individual)? (2) How does performance engage others and help to build and transform a community of learners? (3) How does the use of multiple sources lend itself to the development of a coherent understanding of an idea or event? Following the Common Core Standards to integrate knowledge and ideas, students will actively participate in researching Internet resources (documents) they have collected about their birth day. This unit is collaborative in nature in that students in the three schools will collaborate through the use of Google Docs and Blogs, to focus on developing their technological skills necessary for college or the work place.