Lesson Plan : Exploring Identity with Inside Out 2

When I watched Inside Out 2, I knew my students had to watch it and, more importantly, discuss it and reflect upon it.

For the same, we designed a pre-viewing session for them to begin to identify a sense of self and a post-viewing reflection session for them to identify nuances in it.

Pre-Viewing Session: Identifying Sense of Self

50–60 minutes, ~ 25 students

1. Group Formation

Activity: Students rate their self-awareness on a scale of 1 to 5 and form groups based on their rating.

Materials: Recycled paper or markers to create the scale on the floor.

Time: 10 minutes

Instructions:

• Create a scale from 1 to 5 on the floor using recycled paper or write directly on the floor with a marker.
• Ask students, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how well do you know yourself? (with 5 being the highest).”
• Have students arrange themselves by forming a line in front of the number they choose.
• Facilitate a brief discussion where students from each “level” share why they chose that number.
• Divide the students into groups of 10–12, each guided by a facilitator.

2.“Who Am I?” in 3 Words

Activity: Students write down three words that define them (one skill, one quality, and one learner profile) anonymously. These are read aloud, and the group guesses who each description belongs to.

Materials Needed: Chits of paper, pens.

Time: 15 minutes

Instructions:

• Have small groups sit in a circle.
• Ask students to write down three words that define them as a person (one skill, one quality, one learner profile) on a chit without writing their names.
• Collect the chits and read them out loud one at a time, letting the group guess who each description belongs to.
• Write the person’s name on the chit and store it for the last activity.
• Lead a brief reflection on the ease or difficulty of guessing the correct person using the three words.

Note: Student learner profile cited here is a component of the IB board. You may refer to other learner profiles or simply write down IB learner profiles on the board for reference.

3. “Who Am I?” in Different Aspects of Life

Activity: Students identify how they may present different qualities in various aspects of their lives (e.g., to teachers, friends, and family).

Materials: Blank sheets of paper, color pencils, crayons, sketch pens.

Time: 20 minutes

Instructions:

• Continue the discussion on defining oneself with a few words and help students identify that they might have different dominant qualities in different aspects of their lives.
• Discuss different aspects to consider: Who am I to my teachers? Who am I to my friends? Family? Sibling? Classmates? Best friend?
• Have students individually identify four important aspects of their lives and think about how they might be different in each.
• Ask students to list four qualities for each aspect of their life and represent them in any way they want (mind map, abstract sketch, list, or paragraph).
• Encourage students to sit alone in any part of the classroom they like.
• Collect the papers when they are done and save them for the post-viewing session.

4. “Who is my classmate to me?”

Activity: Students write three words to describe a randomly assigned classmate based on the earlier chits.

Materials: Chits from the previous activity.

Time: 5–10 minutes

Instructions:

• Call students back into a circle and allow them to settle.
• Facilitate a discussion on any similarities or differences in how they are perceived by different people.Ask if it means they can act in contrary ways in different situations.
• Distribute chits from the previous activity randomly among students.
• Have students write three more words (qualities or skills) to define their classmates.
• Collect the chits and store them with the sheets for the post-viewing session.

Discussion: Share similarities and differences in self-perception and external perception.

Post-Viewing Session: Identifying true sense of self

90–100 minutes, ~ 25 students

1. Sharing Thoughts on the Movie

Discussion: Which emotions did you relate to or not? What emotions would you add to make the movie more relatable?

Time: 5–10 minutes

2. Iconic Moments of Inside Out 2

Activity: In groups, students re-enact iconic moments from the movie for the class to guess.

Time: 5 minutes per group.

Instructions:

• Have students form groups of 4–5 or more.( Adjust group size based on class size.)
• Ask them to recall an iconic moment from the movie and re-enact it for the class to guess.

3. Three-Act Structure of Inside Out 2

Activity: Students summarize the movie in three acts, using one sentence per act.

Materials: Board for displaying the three-act structure.

Time: 20 minutes

Instructions:

• Introduce the concept of the three-act structure in filmmaking.Explain it as a way to look at the movie in three parts. ( see below )
• Have students summarize the entire story of Inside Out 2 into three acts, using one sentence for each act.
• Summarize the movie in three acts with the class.

Note : You may discuss the structure of Inside Out 1 as an example. Or refer to other popular movies.( see below ). Discussion on the theory of three-act structure must be brief.

4. Whole Class Discussion

Time: 20 minutes

Instructions:

• Recall and discuss the three “sense of self”s of Riley and the underlying beliefs.
• Explore common beliefs and experiences of students their age.
• Discuss what kind of experiences someone might push to the back of their mind.

Note: Keep the discussion questions impersonal to encourage sharing.Ask them to recall relevant instances from the movie if needed.

Optional for Grades 11 and 12: Discuss the links between stimulus, thought, feeling, action, and belief.( see below )

5. My True Sense of Self

Activity: Students reflect on the words their classmates used to describe them and create a sketch of their true sense of self in the form of a vase with cracks (signifying experiences pushed to the back of their minds).

Materials: Sheets of paper, chits from previewing, crayons, sketch pens, colour pencils

Reflection: How accurate are the descriptions? What can they add to their self-portrait now?

Time: 30 minutes

Instructions:

• Have students return to their groups of 10–12 from the pre-viewing session.
• Hand back the sheets and chits from the previous session.
• Ask students to reflect on the words their classmates used to describe them: How true are those words? Did they expect others to see them that way? What more can they add?
• Have students create a sketch of their true sense of self in the form of a vase with cracks (signifying experiences pushed to the back of their minds).
• Provide fresh sheets of paper and allow students to work individually in any area of the room.

References

→ What is the three act structure and why it works.

→ Three act structure of Inside Out 1

→ Applying CBT Model of Emotions

Example of Thought-Feeeling-Action Cycle

• Situation : I am trying to quit eating sweet snacks like chocolates and candies.
• Stimulus : I see someone open up a chocolate wrapper.
• Thought : Eating a chocolate bar will make me feel satisfied and better.
• Feeling of Anxiety : Without indulging in chocolate, I won’t feel better.
• Action : I eat the chocolate
• Affirmed Belief : Eating sweet snacks is the best way for me to feel better.
• Discussion : Affirmed belief triggers the same thoughts and hence reinforces this cycle. One way to break the cycle would be to not act impulsive on my feelings of anxiety.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Anita Shah, Shailaja Choksi Weeder and Hema Choksi for contributions to this lesson plan at the Mahatma Gandhi International School, Ahmedabad.