Lesson Introduction
Belonging is a feeling we all seek. The questions: How do we belong? Where do we belong? Who makes us feel like we belong? What do we need to remember and what made us forget? Where and what is home? are important questions that we encounter at different times in our lives. Through poetry and writing we can allow ourselves to reflect on questions regarding belonging and begin to express our desires for acceptance and the search of the self.
Learning Objectives
- Read and explore poems that express the concept and feelings of belonging, ambivalence and acceptance
- Identify themes often found in poetry such as: conflict, ambivalence, tension and release
- Write poems that reflect one’s sense of belonging
- Become familiar and develop an interest in Indigenous poets and their poetry
- Become familiar and develop an interest in poems about diasporas
Materials and Resources
Mind Set and Group Exploration Day 1
- Canada C3 videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpW8JzN9BcQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icu9tgYqx_A
- Alootook Ipellie’s “Walking Both Sides of an Invisible Border”
- Grrr! International Comics Festival in Pančevo, Serbia (Interview with Alootook), (1-5 min)
Mind Set and Group Exploration Day 2
- Cicely Belle Blain’s “Dear Diaspora Child”
- Share video by Careergirls “Writer: What is a Diaspora - Fungai Machirori Career Girls Role Model” invite students questions, connections, curiosities
- A. Gregory Frankson’s interview with Cicely Belle Blain
Group and Partner Exploration
- Joseph Danduran’s “The First Day”
- Alycia Pirmohamed’s “On My Tongue”
- Natalie Diaz’s “From the First Water is the Body”
- Tommy Pico’s “You can’t be an NDN person in today’s world”
- Hana Shafi’s “Bad Brown Girl”
- Smartboard or comparative device
- Graphic Organizers (Appendix A, Appendix B)