Heavy Is the Hyphen: The Letters

“The Letters" is an invitation to witness and speak aloud the story of “The Hyphen.” It’s a moment--in lesson form--to affirm every voice that has been made to feel less than, “othered,” silenced, in between” already know and believe to be true/untrue about American History, and then challenge them (and ourselves) to seek out life between the lines.

The Letter is a set of recursive processes that when facilitated with critical care and humility, has the potential to spark deep shifts in teacher practice, and learners’ perceptions of self and purpose. Using a three-tier model, each lesson builds upon the previous workshop, Heavy Is the Hyphen: The Listener, which exclusively focus on techniques for oral storytelling

LENGTH: Three 50min Sessions

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12

SUBJECT: English Language Arts | US History

CREATIVE INQUIRIES

• How can we more deeply engage students in telling authentic, personal counter narratives using creative writing and spoken word strategies?

• How can we create moments of critical reflection and analysis of American culture and society, in which students can articulate individual narratives as part of a larger American Story?

EQUIPMENT

• Projector, laptop, wifi

• player and Speakers

OUTLINE

Session 1: Dear God, Dear Stars, Dear Trees

Session 2: Dear Name

Session 3: Dear Founding Fathers