Standards Correlations

R.1, R.3, R.4, R.6, R.7, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will identify cause-and-effect relationships in a story about standing up to bullying.

Key Skills

cause and effect, text features, vocabulary, sequencing, problem and solution, inference, reading for information, making connections,  informational writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article tells the story of a student who was bullied for her skin tone. Themes include colorism, taking a risk, and being brave. 

Structure: The story is told from a first-person perspective. Events are told in chronological order. 

Language: The language is conversational.

Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is required.

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L

Guided Reading Level: U 

DRA Level: 50

Lesson Plan: Kheris Fights Back

Essential Questions

  • What is bullying? What are helpful ways to respond to it?
  • How can sharing our difficult experiences be a way to help others?

Literature Connection

  • Novel: The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake

1. Preparing to Read 

Make a Connection (5 minutes)

Ask students to discuss bullying at their school. Is it a widespread problem? What kinds of things do kids get picked on for? How do other students usually respond when they see bullying? What are helpful ways of responding to bullying? What are not-so-helpful ways?

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to locate the story. Preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle. What happened to Kheris? What do you think the message she shared with the world was? Kheris was bullied for her dark skin. The message she shared with the world might have been about loving the skin you’re in or standing up to bullies.
  • Look at the photo showing an Instagram screenshot and read its caption. Which celebrity is shown in the photo? What do we learn about Kheris from this photo? Actress Lupita Nyong’o is shown in the photo. According to the caption, she’s wearing a shirt designed by Kheris. This tells us that Kheris makes shirts. 
  • The first section heading in the article is “Colorism 101.” What does the number 101 mean? The number 101 indicates that this section will give information about colorism at a beginner’s level, covering the basics for someone who has no knowledge of the concept. (Explain to students that at universities, introductory courses typically have names including “101,” e.g., Psychology 101.) 

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (complexion, colorism, concept, affirmations, self-esteem) aloud and discuss the definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that after reading, they’ll identify cause-and-effect relationships in the story. Point out the activity at the end of the story. 
  • Encourage students to pause at the end of each section so they can monitor their comprehension. Prompt them to note sentences they think tell them important ideas in each section, as well as any words or sentences they don’t understand.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions..

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • How did Kheris’s sister use social media to help Kheris when she was upset about being bullied in school? (problem and solution) Kheris’s sister tweeted a photo of Kheris with the hashtag #FlexinInHerComplexion. That tweet went viral, and people left comments complimenting Kheris’s hair and complexion. Others shared their own experiences of colorism. These responses showed Kheris that the issue was bigger than just her, and Kheris felt less alone.
  • Kheris’s grandmother used the phrase “flexin’ in my complexion” to encourage Kheris to take pride in her skin tone. Why do you think thousands of people bought shirts that displayed that message? (inference) The phrase helped Kheris see how beautiful her skin was. The many people who bought the shirts might have also felt at some point that their skin tone was not good enough. With the positive message printed on the shirts, they’re able to tell the world that they’re proud of their skin tone.
  • What did Kheris do at New York Fashion Week? Why was this a big deal? (reading for information) Kheris showed her clothes at New York Fashion Week. This was a big deal because at age 11, she was the youngest person ever to do so. The article states that many fashion designers work their whole lives to get there.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • Kheris was bullied for something that was out of her control. Has something like that ever happened to you or someone you know? Describe the situation and how it made you feel. (making connections) Answers will vary.
  • Kheris started a successful business at a very young age. How did her family support her during her journey? (cause and effect) The article gives two examples of how Kheris’s family supported her. Kheris’s grandmother taught her to love herself by saying affirmations with her in the mirror every morning. She would tell her, “You’re flexin’ in your complexion,” which became the message that Kheris decided to spread using her shirts. The second source of support was her sister, Taylor. Taylor would take photos of Kheris to show her that she was beautiful. She was the one who tweeted the photo of Kheris that went viral, and she also helped Kheris print T-shirts and sell them online. 

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Assign students to work in small groups to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Cause and Effect activity.
  • Go further: Use our Sequence of Events Skill Builder, available in higher and lower level versions.  (Click here to view all your Skill Builders.)
  • Writing prompt: Kheris’s grandmother encouraged her to say affirmations to herself in the mirror every morning.  Why might this be a useful way to start your day? If you were to pick up this habit, what affirmations would you say to yourself? Write down five statements you can say to yourself that will help you stay positive and confident.

Learn Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Make a Motto

Kheris’s response to being bullied was to spread a positive message. Pick an issue that you feel needs attention, and come up with a catchy and empowering message to share with your class.

  1. First, identify your issue. Think about the problems you see in your world and what you think people should do differently. Your issue might be related to protecting the environment, treating others with respect, taking care of your own mental and physical health, or something else. It’s your choice! 
  2. Once you’ve chosen what you want to focus on, come up with five catchy phrases that you think capture what you want people to know. To help you with this step, you can ask yourself: What would make a good hashtag on social media? Experiment with words that rhyme or almost rhyme (like “Teach at the Beach”) and words that start with the same sound (like “Rescue the Rabbits”). 
  3. Finally, choose one of the phrases you came up with in Step 2, and decide how you’d like to present this message. Will it be a flyer, a laptop sticker, an Instagram post, or something else? 

ELL Springboard

Talk about the meanings of -ism  to forestall confusion.

In the article, Kheris describes the difference between racism and colorism. While there is a distinct difference, both are based on the idea that a person’s value can be determined by their race, skin color, gender, age, etc. 

Tell students that, while numerous words with the suffix -ism describe prejudice of some sort, others have positive or neutral connotations and simply describe beliefs or practices. Ask students if they can think of any words that end with -ism. Discuss the examples below.

  • criticism: the act of criticizing (analyzing or judging) someone or something
  • heroism: behaving like a hero (bravely or selflessly)
  • patriotism: being a patriot (loving one’s own country)
  • terrorism: using violence and threats to gain power
  • vegetarianism: the practice of following a meat-free diet
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.

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