Teacher's Guide
A. LESSON INFORMATION
B. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
C. BOOK INFORMATION
D. TEACHING STEPS

Module 5 - Gender Equality

This lesson is designed for Junior High School students and aims to develop student’s critical literacy and understanding the issue of gender equality through multimodality. Through the story Dividing Mango by UNICEF, students will explore the dynamics of gender roles and fairness. By examining the characters Meena and Raju, students will engage in critical thinking about how responsibilities and perspectives shift based on gender, ultimately connecting these insights to their own lives and communities.

Students develop key literacy skills through various strategies. Read Aloud enhances listening and vocabulary, while the 5W1H approach (Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How) helps break down and analyze texts. Previewing and predicting encourage students to infer what will happen next, and Writing Reflection allows them to express their thoughts and understanding. Together, these strategies enrich students’ comprehension and critical thinking on the issue of Gender Equality

Students will engage in multimodal learning through a series of interactive activities in the students’ worksheets. In the main activities, they will explore the front and back covers of the book, encouraging them to make predictions about the content. Next, they will meet the author and characters of the story, gaining a deeper understanding of the narrative’s background and the key figures involved. Finally, students will listen to the story, enjoy its progression, and respond with their reflections, enhancing their comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Cross-subject connections will be made in:

  • Social Studies: Examining cultural norms, gender roles, and fairness in societies.
  • Civic Education: Exploring the role of individuals in promoting gender equality and fairness in their communities.

This module also relates to children’s rights such as no discrimination, making rights real, identity, respect for children’s views, family guidance as children develop, and food, clothing, and a safe home. It also highlights the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality), encouraging students to reflect on gender equity in their daily lives.

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

  1. Identify and describe the main characters, Meena and Raju, and their roles in the story.
  2. Discuss the importance of SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and how it applies to their community.
  3. Analyze Raju’s change in understanding after switching roles with Meena and discuss how gender roles influence fairness.
  4. Critically assess the message of the story about gender equality and connect it to real-life situations.
  5. Create a personal action plan to promote gender equality in their own lives and communities.

Book Title: Dividing Mango
Author: UNICEF
Publisher: UNICEF
Illustrative Style: Realistic

The story takes place in a village where siblings Meena and Raju live with their family. Meena and Raju have different household responsibilities, but after they switch roles, Raju gains a new understanding of Meena’s chores. The story highlights the importance of shared responsibility and fairness between boys and girls.

Link to the book: Dividing Mango Story

PART A. PRE-ACTIVITIES

1. Introducing Fairness and Gender Equity
Start by prompting students to reflect on the meaning of fairness in their lives. Post guiding questions (e.g., “What does fairness mean to you?” “Should boys and girls have the same opportunities?”) in a class discussion forum for students to respond. Introduce the concept of “gender equity” and encourage them to share their thoughts online.
2. Exploring the Front and Back Covers
Strategy: Previewing, Visualizing, Predicting.
Post the image of “Dividing the Mango’s” front cover and ask students to predict the story by observing the details. Have them answer questions in a discussion thread (e.g., “What do the characters’ expressions tell you about their personalities?”). Afterward, share the back cover summary and ask more questions to deepen their predictions.
3. Meeting the Author
Provide a short explanation of the author, UNICEF, and highlight this organization’s purpose of empowering children’s rights and gender equity for children. You can refer to the UNICEF Indonesia website.

PART B. MAIN ACTIVITIES

1. Reading and Enjoying the Story
Strategy: Visualizing, Questioning, and Identifying
Share an audio or video reading of the story, or have students read it themselves. Afterward, guide them to respond to comprehension questions to comprehension questions from the orientation, complication, and resolution of the story. Students can submit answers in a quiz or discussion post in the class.

Lead students to comprehend the story through the Generic Structure of Narrative Text which are: Orientation, Complication, and Resolution Questions. The orientation emphasizes the characters, settings, theme, and initial conflicts of the story. The complication questions will lead the students to comprehend the conflict, obstacles, or challenges that are faced by the main character. The Resolution questions will help the students know how the conflicts are resolved, provide closure to the events, and discuss how the characters have changed and how the story ends.
2. Bringing Out Student’s Voices
Strategy: Connecting, Inferring
In this step, bring out the student’s voices to reflect on the story, share their opinions, and relate it to students’ real experiences. Encourage students to relate the story to their lives to increase their awareness toward the topic (e.g., “How does Meena’s experience compare to your own?” “What can we do to ensure fairness in our families?”). They can share their responses on paperboard or another online platform.
3. Reflecting Student’s Feelings
Strategy: Evaluating
Have students reflect on their emotions after reading the story using emoticons or short-text answers. Explore the students feeling after they read the book, what they have learned from the book, and What they want to do after reading the book. What is the impact of the book on the students, teachers can relate the story to the students’ real life.
4. Activating Vocabulary
Lead students to activate new words from the story through the HeKU Table Activity. Guide the students to find words from the storybook in this following category: words that they never heard before, words that they ever heard but did not know the meaning of, words that they ever heard and know the meaning of, and some words that they know and they ever use the words in sentences and utterances. Provide a list of new vocabulary words from the story (e.g., “complained,” “divided,” “responsibility”). Ask students to define the words using context clues from the text and complete the table. Have them write sentences or utterances using these words that they already know and submit them for class assignments. Teachers can download the HeKU Table.
Ask the students to work on the vocabulary exercise to assess their vocabulary mastery.
Link to Answer Key of Vocabulary Exercise

PART C. EXTRA ACTIVITY (Optional)

At this part, the teacher can create an extra activity outside the module that is related to the context of the story. Ask students to write a short story or draw a comic strip illustrating a time when they witnessed or experienced unfairness and how they addressed it. They can upload their creations and present them to the class, sharing their thoughts on what fairness means to them.