Educational Guide: Grades 5-8
Topic 1—What does it mean to be a refugee?
Topic 2—What does it mean to be a Vermonter?
Topic 3—What kinds of stories can photographs tell
Topic 1—What does it mean to be a refugee?
PRE-VISIT: FRAMING DISCUSSIONS
Explore the physical, emotional, and cultural impact of losing one's home as well as the challenges faced in establishing a new one.
- What are the ways in which we depend on our homes? Is your home a part of your identity? Does your living environment impact the way you think and act?
- Try to imagine what it would be like to lose your home and everything you own? How would that make you feel? How would that affect your behavior toward other people (i.e. friends, teachers, strangers, etc.)?
- If you arrived into a new place with nothing, what would be the first things you would have to do to make a new home? How do you think your ability to accomplish these things would be impacted if you couldn't speak the language in this new place?
- Encountering a new place often means being introduced to a new culture. If the traditions, activities and interests of the people in the new culture were different from your own, how hard would it be to continue living the way you always had? Would certain things be easier to hold onto than others?
Available Pre-Visit Materials (see DOWNLOADS page)
- Image: Nedzad's Parents House—Nevzeta holding a photograph of Nedzad's parent's house after the war in Bosnia.
- Image: Separated from his Sister in 1990—Faustine holding a photograph of his sister who still lives in Burundi and whom he hasn't seen since they were separated in1990.
- Image: Cléophace with his Workbooks—Cléophace holding his language workbooks, which are some of the only possessions he still has from his life in the Congo.
- Personal History Excerpt: Aziza—Aziza describes how her family was forced to move numerous times and how on each occasion they had to leave their homes and most of their possessions behind.
- Personal History Excerpt: John—John explains the challenges he faced when he first arrived in Vermont. He also explains how living in Vermont is in some ways more difficult than his life in the refugee camp.
- Personal History Excerpt: James—James discusses the difficulty of trying to have a life in Vermont while knowing his Mother is alive in Sudan.
- Unabridged Personal History: David and Jean-Luc—The story of these brothers, and their escape from the Rwandian genocide, is an extremely descriptive account of what happens to refugees when they are forced to flee their homes.
ON-SITE: EXHIBIT ACTIVITIES
Activity #1: Students spend 10-15 minutes looking at the photographs and reading the stories to become acquainted with the exhibit.
Activity #2: The class should then read aloud and discuss one or two stories that directly confront the “refugee experience” as it relates to losing home, family or living in a refugee camp. Of course all the stories confront these issues; however, some do it more directly than others. Teachers should review the exhibit text [see DOWNLOADS page] prior to visiting the exhibit and select the excerpts they feel are most appropriate. Some suggestions include: Abdi, Aziza, Malinga & Cléophace, and Faustine.
POST-VISIT: CULMINATION ACTIVITY
Students select and re-read their favorite story excerpt from the exhibit (full story text is also available online). Students then describe in writing what qualities about that person(s) that they thought were impressive and helped them overcome the challenges they faced. Finish with an exercise whereby students imagine having to leave their homes with only the possessions that can fit in their school bag. For homework, student should go home and actually go through the process of packing their bag. Finally, they should reflect on this experience by explaining what they chose and why, as well as describing some of the things that they initially had wanted to bring, but couldn't fit.
Related Vermont Standards
Causes and Effects in Human Societies
6.1— Students examine complex webs of causes and effects in relation to events in order to generalize about the workings of human societies, and they apply their findings to problems.
Movements and Settlements
6.8— Students analyze the factors and implications associated with the historical and contemporary movements and settlements of people and groups in various times in their local community, in Vermont, in the United States, and in various locations world wide.
Nature of Conflict
6.18— Students analyze the nature of conflicts, how they have been or might be resolved, and how some have shaped the divisions in various times of their local community, Vermont, the United States, and the world.
Identity and Interdependence
6.19— Students understand the variety of influences and impacts of the construction, preservation, and change of identity, within families, other social structures, and nations.
Topic 2—What does it mean to be a Vermonter?
PRE-VISIT: FRAMING DISCUSSIONS
Discuss ethnic and cultural diversity in Vermont with regards to the growing refugee community and contemplate challenges and solutions for cultural exchange.
- What kind of diversity exists in Vermont (i.e. income, age, religion, race)? What does “cultural diversity” mean?
- What kind of cultural diversity do you have in your community? Is Vermont a culturally diverse place? How about when compared to the U.S. as a whole?
- What changes have you noticed in the diversity of your community or the state as a whole? What are the challenges that these changes create? What are the opportunities? How can we overcome the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities?
Available Pre-Visit Materials (see DOWNLOADS page)
- Image: John, his wife, and their four children—John's family sitting in their living room, where they have both the American and Burundian flags hanging on the walls.
- Image: Binh with Loan and her two grandchildren—Binh together with her daughter and her two grandchildren that were born in Vermont.
- Image: Cleophace, Malinga, Bernadette, and King—A Congolese family that now lives in Burlington, VT.
- Personal History Excerpt: Victoria—Victoria explains how she was able to complete high school while working a full-time job and also supporting her family in Africa. Her experience articulates how life can be vastly different for students attending even the very same high school.
- Personal History Excerpt: Abdi—Abdi describes challenges he faced as one of the first Somali refugees to attend his high school.
- Personal History Excerpt: Alex—Alex explains the issues many refugees face in maintaining their cultural identities while adapting to life in Vermont.
ON-SITE: EXHIBIT ACTIVITIES
Activity #1: Students spend 10-15 minutes looking at the photographs and reading the stories.
Activity #2: The class should read aloud and discuss one or two stories in which the refugees describe their lives here in Vermont. Teachers should review the exhibit text [see DOWNLOADS page] prior to visiting the exhibit and select the excerpts they feel are most appropriate. Several suggestions include: Alex, James, Victoria, and John.
POST-VISIT: CULMINATION ACTIVITY
Students are given the simple task of coming up with two experiences in which they encountered someone or something they felt was unfamiliar or new. The first experience should be an encounter that was positive—exciting, fun, etc. The second experience should be one that was more difficult—unnerving, scary, etc. Students should discuss these experiences and attempt to focus on how they felt rather than merely what happened. Teachers should help bridge the gap between how the students feel on an individual level and what happens in a community that undergoes an influx of new people and cultures. Students finish the activity by writing about how these personal experiences and the lessons learned might be useful for a community undergoing similar encounters with new people and cultures.
Related Vermont Standards
Causes and Effects in Human Societies
6.1— Students examine complex webs of causes and effects in relation to events in order to generalize about the workings of human societies, and they apply their findings to problems.
Movements and Settlements
6.8— Students analyze the factors and implications associated with the historical and contemporary movements and settlements of people and groups in various times in their local community, in Vermont, in the United States, and in various locations world wide.
Meaning of Citizenship
6.9— Students examine and debate the meaning of citizenship and act as citizens in a democratic society. (6.9 aa. Examine ways people become citizens of the United States.)
Concepts of Culture
6.13— Students understand the concept of culture, including the cultures of indigenous peoples, in various times in their local community, in the United States, and in various locations worldwide.
Forces of Unity and Disunity
6.14— Students understand the tensions between the forces of unity and those of disunity in various times in their local community, in the United States, and in various locations world-wide.
Interdependence
6.19— Students understand the variety of influences and impacts of the construction, preservation, and change of identity, within families, other social structures, and nations.
Topic 3—What kinds of stories can photographs tell?
PRE-VISIT: FRAMING DISCUSSIONS
Students explore how images, and words, can be used to convey information, and discuss ways in which these tools of communication can be both informative and misleading. [Teachers should use age appropriate magazines and newspaper stories as image resources including events, editorials, and advertisements.]
- What are the ways that people use photographs to convey information (i.e. news, advertising, politics, propaganda)? Does it always work as intended?
- How do captions influence our understanding of images?
- What are some of the problems with using images to convey information? Are there things that cannot be conveyed using photographs? Are there things that shouldn't be conveyed using photographs?
- If two people look at the same photograph and see different things, is one more right than the other? Does that mean photographs can lie?
Available Pre-Visit Materials (see DOWNLOADS page)
*All images and stories are widely applicable to these discussion questions. Students may view photographs individually to discuss basic visual content, or as triptychs (three-image series) to discuss their impact as a storytelling device. Comparisons can also be drawn between the photographic storytelling and the written personal histories—along with the impact of using them together.
ON-SITE: EXHIBIT ACTIVITIES
Activity #1: Students explore the exhibit for 10-15 minutes looking ONLY at the photographs.
Activity #2: Teacher gathers students together to discuss initial impressions of the images and also what the students think they know about the storytellers from the photographs alone.
Activity #3: Students spend 10-15 additional minutes reading the accompanying text and then discuss how impressions developed, evolved, or changed altogether.
POST-VISIT: CULMINATION ACTIVITY
Students work individually or in groups to formulate an idea or message they want to convey to the class. Students then use the internet, magazines, newspapers, etc. to collect images to convey the idea or message they have chosen. Students can present the images however they like, but they must use some images with captions and some without (the captions can be existing or written by the students). The final products should be viewed by the class and discussed to determine how effectively the visual arguments were made.
Related Vermont Standards
Responding to Media
5.14— Students interpret and evaluate a variety of types of media, including audio, graphic images, film, television, video, and on-line resources.
