How to Create a Culture of Community through Our Stories: Exploring the Intersections of Our Lives

AUTHOR BIO 

Darshna Katwala is a professor at Nassau Community College, she serves as the site director of the Long Island Writing Project and coordinates the Women’s and Gender Studies Project.  She believes in the power of stories and that writing can transform your being.

INTRODUCTION 

This curriculum tool encourages students to explore a variety of texts, to think critically about identity, intersectionality, and develop real-world purposes for story-telling. Through this exploration students will develop perspectives and mindsets about creating  a culture of care and empathy. Students are then invited to create and publish written and multimodal texts based on stories that matter to them.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION ICEBREAKER 

Utilize this quote: “We need to dispel the myth that empathy is walking in someone else’s shoes: Rather than walking in your shoes. I need to learn how to listen to the story you tell about what it’s like in your shoes and believe you even when it doesn’t match my experience” Brene Brown

NOTE: Give students time to reflect on the question(s) before answering; you may want to set aside a few minutes for them to journal the prompt before discussing. You may want to come up with your own answer to this question as a model for students. You can invite students to answer as a whole class, in pairs or small groups, using break-out rooms if students are not in person.

ACTIVITY 1: STARTING WITH FAMILY HISTORY AND IDENTITY

Part 1: Visual Text: “Accepting my Latina Identity” by Lucy Barnum

Explain to the students that they will be watching and listening to the video twice. After they’ve watched it once, ask students to write what they noticed within the video that resonated with them. Explain to students that the second time they watch the video, they are to write down any additional connections and questions as they relate to the video with a focus on identity. 

Part 2: Discussion

Suggested questions: 

• What are the aspects of Lucy’s identity that are revealed in the video? 
• Why does Lucy feel conflicted about her name? 
• How does family history shape our identity?
• What do you think Lucy wants to communicate through her story? 

Part 3: Quick-write

Have students choose one of the prompts below to write to for a set amount of time. Emphasize that the goal of the activity is to generate ideas and thinking. 

• Write about how your family has informed and shaped your identity.
• Write about an aspect of your identity that you are conflicted about and why.
• Write about the story of your name.

Part 4: Peer-share and revision

Have students read aloud their piece of writing to a peer and identify places where the writing was most interesting, as well as places where more detail could be added or stronger word choice could be used. Students should finish off the activity by adding to or revising at least one part of their writing.

Option for extension

Have students create an identity photo collage. Students can create this collage through a digital platform or utilizing traditional art supplies. The collage can become a visual representation that reveals varied aspects of their identity. Students can repurpose some of their writing from the original prompts. They can include quotes or favorite things about themselves. This can be shared as a mini-class presentation or displayed within the classroom space. 

ACTIVITY 2: EXPLORING THE INTERSECTIONS OF OUR LIVES

Part 1: Read and discuss Mother Country by Richard Blanco as a class.

• What sounds, sights, and smells are experienced when they read this poem?
• What do you think the poem is saying? Why? What is your evidence?
• How would you describe the identity of the speaker of the poem? What words or phrases from the poem lead you to this idea?
• How does the poet challenge our assumptions?

Part 2: Read the transcript and listen to the podcast: Remembering: Loving Our Changing Land

Divide students into small groups to read and discuss the content. Direct them to annotate the transcript. This could be done on a shared paper handout or through an online platform like Hypothesis or Google docs. As they read, students should pay attention to the notion of family, history, challenges and issues.  Ask students to annotate and comment on the specific details that the author uses: how does she help us to understand her experiences so that we can see the challenges and urgency of education and climate change.

Part 3: Brainstorm and quick-write through the following questions:

• What makes you you? 
• What are your defining moments? 
• How does the history that came before you inform who you are?
• How do your beliefs and family play a role in your identity?

Emphasize that the goal of the activity is to generate ideas and thinking. Encourage students to write as much as possible through examples and sensory details.

Part 4: Peer-share and revision

Have students read aloud their piece of writing to a peer and identify places where the writing was most interesting, as well as places where more detail could be added or stronger word choice could be used. Students should finish off the activity by adding to or revising at least one part of their writing.

Options for extension

Continue to explore the intersections of identity through the following resources:

• Village Voice: Poet Richard Blanco Shares Poems to Help Us Better Understand Our Lives 
• Como Tú / Like You / Like Me | The On Being Project
• “The Danger of a Single Story” – TedTalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Students can create a video response, an essay, a podcast or a poem to either  prompt: What a just world means to them or Why stories matter. Students can also explore composing a creative writing piece using the above resources as mentor texts.

ACTIVITY 3: COMPOSING WRITING OR A MULTIMODAL TEXT THAT EXPLORES INTERSECTIONALITY 

At this point students have a collection of writing pieces.These may be of various lengths and stages of completion. The goal is now to develop these ideas into a longer piece of writing that represents a personal story about the intersections of their lives with a focus on their identity, which students will eventually compose in the next activity.

Part 1: Explore YR Media as Models

Students can explore any of the YR Models below:

Asian Racism and the “Robot” Stereotype

“What’s in a Name?”

My BIPOC Mentors Helped Me Find Who I Am and Where I Want to Be

Dear Society, You’re Wrong About Introverts

How Intersectional Feminism Taught Me I’m Not Alone

A Young Woman on a Curly Journey

Part 2: Read and digitally annotate the texts

Divide students into small groups to read and discuss one of the above YR models. Direct them to annotate the article. This could be done on a shared paper handout or through an online platform like Hypothes.is or Google docs. As they read, students should pay attention to how the author defines herself versus what society assumes about people. Ask students to annotate and comment on the specific details that the author uses: how does she help us to understand her experiences so that we can see the elements of identity, belonging, and conflicts.

Part 3: Pairing YR Models with Poetry

Invite students to investigate additional poetry resources to continue their exploration of intersectionality:

http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/two-names-two-worlds

https://poets.org/poem/border-double-sonnet

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/141846/once-the-world-was-perfect

https://poets.org/poem/remember-0

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/149814/how-to-triumph-like-a-girl

https://poets.org/poem/place-american-lyric

https://portal.ct.gov/Fatherhood/Media/Video-Gallery/Daniel-Beaty-KnockKnock-Poem

https://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1891/poems/26

Divide students into groups to reread the texts, poems, and examine the videos.  Ask them to notice and note lines and phrases that resonate for them. These can be shared digitally through a class document or posted on the chart paper around the classroom as part of a gallery walk.

Option: This activity can also be modeled using the Writing Marathon Framework where students have multiple opportunities to write and respond to select poems for a specific amount of time. Modification can include learning stations with a focus on mini-lessons that target language choice, literary devices, and themes.

• Ask students to discuss what the poet/writer is doing that they find effective and to give this technique a “name.” 
• Lead class conversations about varied concepts and themes related to identity and intersectionality. These can be conducted using socratic circles or small groups with designated roles to unpack the larger issues as well as individual connections to varied texts and their lives while building class community. Digital discussion boards are also an option.
• Have students point out and share their observations of these techniques with the whole class, then use these observations to create a generative list of qualities and techniques that they can use for their own writing and multi-modal composition.

Remind students to focus on: characterization, dialogue, and conflict; language choices such as vocabulary, imagery, and concrete details; and the structural components from the YR models.

Part 4: Pulling it all together

Students use their highlights from their notes, conversations, and observations to compose a draft of their final story. It may simply be an extension of one of their previous pieces of writing or include elements from previous writing. 

Guided prompt and question: Think about the intersections in your own life, whether that be culture, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, etc. Write a piece exploring the concept of intersection in America.

• This can be in whatever genre you want. How do you feel?
• What does intersection mean to you?
• How does diversity impact your own life?
• Is intersection and identity connected?

Part 5: Peer-share and revision

Have students read aloud their piece of writing to a peer and identify places where the writing was most interesting, as well as places where more detail could be added or stronger word choice could be used. Students should finish off the activity by adding to or revising at least one part of their writing.

ACTIVITY 4: COMPOSING AND RECORDING THEIR WRITING

Part 1: Peer revision

After students have completed a full draft, they should share their writing in small groups, using the co-created rubric to determine areas where they should return to revise.

Part 2: Preparing to publish and record

Once students have finalized their writing or multimodal texts, have them return to listen to “Visual Voices: Accepting my Latina Identity.” Ask them to notice how the author uses tone, emphasis, and pacing to tell their story and convey their message. Have students practice reading their writing aloud to their peer feedback group until they feel ready to publish.

Part 3: Publish

Student’s  choose how to publish their writing . They can use any voice recorder to record their stories. They also have an option to write and compose a multimodal text with images and writing, produce a podcast, or a spoken word poem. 

Part 4: CELEBRATION OF PUBLISHED WRITING & REFLECTION

Have students upload their writing or multimodal recordings to a shared online space that the class can access, such as a class website or blog, Soundcloud, GoogleDrive, or Padlet. Ideally, students should give their writing or multimodal text a title that will “hook” their audience and invite them to read, listen or watch.

Allow students time to share their writing or multimodal texts. This could be through a celebration of writing and composing. Community members or select guests could be included in the celebration.

Option: Provide a way for students to comment on and respond to each other’s writing directly. This could be done individually in writing (for example, through a “comments” function on an online platform or simply with post-it note exchanges).

Student Reflection:

• What are some things you learned about yourself as a writer?
• What did you enjoy about this project?
• What was challenging about it?
• Did anything surprise you?
• How do you connect to your identity and the intersections in your life?
• Is there anything you wished we had spent more time on or other topics that you would also like to have addressed through this project?

RELATED RESOURCES

“Identity and Storytelling,” Facing History & Ourselves

Intersectionality 

Writing Marathon Guide – Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, 2nd Edition Paperback – December 6, 2005 by Natalie Goldberg

STANDARDS ADDRESSED

CCSS:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.8
• CSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.10

INVITATION FOR ACTION & CONNECTION  

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