`Nosotr-Us

Educator: Dina Grisales, Home Language Arts Teacher 

Cultural Partner: Paul Rodriguez, Author and Illustrator

School: Brentwood High School

Grades: 11th

District: Brentwood Union Free School District

District NYSED link: https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000037066

Summary‍

The project combined two creative disciplines (visual arts, and theater arts) in the form of symbolic self-portraits and personal monologues captured as QRCs. The students explored how these elements could interact with, compliment, and support each other to help them develop and present their personal stories in a collaborative digital book.

Rationale

The Nosotro-Us project was carefully designed with two creative disciplines (visual arts, and theater arts) interacting with, complimenting, and supporting each other. The students were given this structured process for developing each component of the project to encourage space for reflection, sharing, and refinement of their work. We cultivated a space where learning from mistakes, and practice makes perfect were reoccurring themes that the students were challenged with. As a result, students frequently responded to and connected with each other’s stories and provided constructive and supportive feedback helping each other enhance their projects. 

While the project was not designed to target college and career readiness, some of the students engaged in considering these factors as a result of their process for completing the project. Civic readiness, however, was a dominant theme in the students' exploration of their identity because of the present raciest and antagonist political climate toward Hispanic/Latino/Latinx peoples dominating the American government. For many of them there is an urgency to understand their civic role in our society in order to safely navigate the precarious climate in which they are growing up.

What learning goals/standards did this meet?

Arts: to develop an understanding of how symbolic imagery can represent personal identity and how word selection and expression can create compelling and moving personal monologs with voice, narrative structure, and visual composition—while nurturing empathy, confidence, and emotional awareness.

CCCR: While the project was not designed to target college and career readiness, some of the students engaged in considering these factors as a result of their process for completing the project. Civic readiness, however, was a dominant theme in the students' exploration of their identity because of the present raciest and antagonist political climate toward Hispanic/Latino/Latinx peoples dominating the American government. For many of them there is an urgency to understand their civic role in our society in order to safely navigate the precarious climate in which they are growing up.

The Nosotro-Us project was carefully designed with two creative disciplines (visual arts, and theater arts) interacting with, complimenting, and supporting each other. The students were given a structured process for developing each component of the project that included space for reflection, sharing, and refinement of their work. Learning from mistakes, and practice makes perfect were reoccurring themes. Students frequently responded to and connected with each other’s stories and provided constructive and supportive feedback. 

CR-S: The project provided a supportive space where students felt safe and encouraged to take pride in their cultural backgrounds. The nature of its components, symbolic self-portraits and personal monologues, provided a framework for the students to explore who they are, where they came from, and where they are headed.

Outcomes

Students’ learning has expanded as a result of this project because now they…

KNOW… skills for creating compelling and moving personal monologs with voice, narrative structure, and visual composition that nurture empathy, confidence, and emotional awareness.

UNDERSTAND… how the above skills can help them develop strength, confidence, and resilience.

ARE ABLE TO… use the above skills to help them develop and plan for future success.