Day 8: School Mapping and Cliques Discussion

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas
and expressing their own clearly and persuasively

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such
that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and
the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range
of formal and informal tasks.

Purpose of Activity:
The purpose of this activity is for students to see how they may judge their peers without
actually knowing much about them. Students will be categorizing the cafeteria into cliques or social
groups they acknowledge in groups collaboratively. Hopefully students perspectives are changed when
we talk about WHY we associate certain stereotypes with certain cliques.

Materials:
Large sheets of paper, markers, Mean Girls video clip, laptop, projector
Procedures:
1. Welcome students to class, and take care of housekeeping (1o minutes)
2. Ask, How many of you have seen the movie Mean Girls? Think about how many hands are
raised and if you need to briefly summarize the movie (30 seconds-6 minutes)
3. Show video clip of Cafeteria Scene from Mean Girls that touches on social groups and cliques
in the cafeteria (2 minutes)
4. Divide students up into groups of 3 or 4 and have them sit with groups (4 minutes)
5. Have students draw out cafeteria layout on large sheets of paper you hand out (7 minutes)
6. Then, have students consider what groups sit where in the cafeteria (like in the video clip)
7. Next, have students create names for the groups like the video clip touches on (Asian Nerds, JV
jocks, Girls who eat their feelings, girls who eat nothing, etc.) and draw those on their cafeteria
map (20 minutes)
8. Have student groups present their posters to the class (20 minutes)
9. After all of the groups have presented their findings, have class take out their writing notebooks
(1 minute)
10. Have students think about what they saw in the presentations, and what may be seen as
negative from what they saw in terms of how groups in the cafeteria were divided and given
names. Where do they sit? Have they changed social groups since they were freshmen?
11. Using the remainder of time, have students share out what they wrote and discuss the possible
negative aspects of having cliques in a school.
Ongoing Assessment: I am looking for participation and contributions during discussion and group work
time.
References: Thank you Mr. Lytle, my 12
th
grade English teacher, for this idea and lesson.