Borders to Bridges, a curriculum designed to promote a dialogue on and deeper understanding of immigration, was piloted at the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School Friday.
“That’s the purpose, to sensitize kids to what’s actually happening,” the curriculum’s artistic director, Janice Frame, said.
The curriculum was created by Vineyard Vision fellow Lynn Ditchfield, and has more than 50 K-12 lesson plans involving poetry, prose, and personal narratives. Students then complete projects and present them through performances, exhibitions, and art displays. Earlier this month, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and the Oak Bluffs School sponsored communities of practice for the curriculum.
The hourlong pilot was organized by Spanish teacher Victoria Dryfoos, Jo Weinburg, art teacher Ken Vincent, Ditchfield, and Frame.
The teachers opened the pilot with a warm-up educating students on where certain foods came from, such as the tomato and potato, which originate from South America; pickles, which are native to the Middle East; and corn, which is believed to have originated in Mexico. Students also learned how fireworks originated in China, and how popular music can be traced back to its roots in West Africa.
Students were then split into mixed-age groups. K-4 grade students did the “Past and Future Hands Activity,” a lesson that had students cut out tracings of their hands and write memories, things they are grateful for, and other outward expressions.
Students in grades 5-12 did the “Collage of Immigration” exercise, making collages of poetry and images cutout from newspapers.
The final part of the pilot had students come back together and put together the poems, images, and hands on one mural that was titled “Gratitude for the diversity in our community.”