Poema y collage autobiográficos (IMS)

We centered our first unit and its projects around discussions of identity and the self. The beautiful book Ricitos de Ónix, written by Puerto Rican author Laura Rexach Olivencia guided our rich discussions. In this charming and heartfelt story we follow Ana, known as “Ricitos de Ónix” (onyx curls) to her family, as she questions how her appearance, specifically her hair, makes her different from her family, but also makes her one of a kind! In our class sessions we addressed questions such as: “What makes you unique?,“ “What is your daily routine?,” “What do you wish were different?,” “What do you wish remained the same?“. These discussions built the foundations upon which the students then wrote and performed an autobiographical poem, which in turn, inspired an original collage. In the photo gallery below you can see some of the discussion boards and activities we did in class. You can also see students as they participated in our “Círculos de Conversación“. In these short videos they answered specific prompts, some of which were later folded in to their original poems.

Our beautiful book!

Reflecting on what makes us unique.

Talking about the word orgullo (pride) in the book, students created images that represent things they are proud of (LQBTQO rights, BLM, and themselves!).