This is My Story
Educator: Alexa Toyas, ENL Teacher
Teaching Artist: Andrea Cote, interdisciplinary artist/mixed media
School: Hampton Bays High School grades 9-12
District: Hampton Bays Public Schools District
Summary: Students from grades 9-12 at Hampton Bays High School developed a photography project in which they were given the opportunity to process and express their own stories about their journey to America. This was achieved both through the written word and in visual art pieces that were presented in both a physical and virtual exhibit. These powerful pieces expressed their feelings during the goodbye to family, the obstacles that they faced along the journey, and their arrival in the USA.
Big Idea/Guiding Question(s):
- How do you connect with excerpts from the book Brave Journeys/Pasos Valientes?
- How do you connect with your peers in their journeys?
- How did it feel saying goodbye, during your journey, and upon arrival in the United States?
- How can you express words or excerpts from your story with abstract and realistic art?
What learning goals/standards did this meet?
Arts
Andrea Cote worked with HBHS students to develop a photography project in which students develop their own artistic skills to display their work in a physical and online exhibit.
- Students learned the power of presenting their work to others
- Learned ways to to photograph and upload images that communicated important life stories
CCCR
9-10W3 (9th-10th grade): Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
11-12W3 (11th-12th grade): Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
RH7 (9th-10th grade): Integrate and evaluate visual and technical information (e.g., in research data, charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
RH7 (11th-12th grade): Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
WHST1d (9th-10th grade): Establish and maintain a formal style and appropriate tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the academic discipline, purpose, and audience for which they are writing.
WHST1d: (11th-12th grade): Establish, develop, and maintain a formal style and appropriate tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the academic discipline, purpose, and audience for which they are writing.
CR-S
Students will have the opportunity to process and express their own stories about their journey to America in word and in art. They will discuss their feelings during the goodbye to family, the obstacles that they faced along the journey, and their arrival in the USA.
Anticipated Outcomes
KNOW… there are multiple ways to communicate with others; that they can engage in expressive communication in inventive ways.
UNDERSTAND… how art can be used to communicate ideas; that their analysis in a visual language is valid and useful to communicate with their peers and educators; how to use drawing and printmaking techniques that can be used with simple materials.
ARE ABLE TO DO… create art to communicate their interpretation of literary work; are able to take risks and express themselves in multiple ways; feel that they’ve achieved assignments with confidence and strengthened their expressive abilities.
