Lesson 1: (The bulk of this lesson will be taken up by screening Otherly film, “FaceTime.”)

A. Warm-Up: She/He/They/We are!

If in person, class arranges themselves with the teacher into a circle. Each student “introduces” themselves to the group (even if they already know each other), by stepping into the middle of the circle, and:
(1.) describing themselves in the third person,
(2.) naming themselves, and
(3.) adding a descriptor.

Examples: “He is Raul, and he is a musician.” “They are Lee, and they are funny.” The class then choruses back the same line: “He is Raul and he is a musician.” This gives all participants a chance to name their pronouns and to consider one theme that informs their identity.

Adapting for Virtual Learning Scenario:
On a digital platform, encourage students to turn on their camera if you know that is a comfortable option for all participants. Furthermore, ask students to turn on their mics for the duration of the activity, monitoring their own background noise and turning off if their space gets too loud. Ask one student to start and spotlight each student as they speak. The choral response back will be loud and chaotic-Let the class know you’re going to try it for a round or two, and that if the sound is grating/overstimulating then you are going to switch it. Don’t be shy about being transparent that you are figuring out together what works best for your group in your Zoom space. For the next variation, shift the Zoom controls so that you as host are managing the class mics. When it’s time to do the choral response, use the “unmute all” function and let the class respond and then “mute all”. This will contain the cacophony to a few seconds and only a few voices will register.

• If it continues to not work for your group, you can remove the choral response part of the introductions.
• Switch to this: When each student steps into the “spotlight”, they recite the previous student’s introduction. For example, if it is Lee’s turn, and Lee is going right after Raul, Lee will say: “He is Raul and he is a musician.” And then, “She is Lee and she is loud.” Lee will then pass it on to the next student, who will do the same.

Optional (and fun!) expansion: Round 2, each student adds a physical motion to their lines. The group then needs to repeat their lines and the motions back to them.

Optional (and even more fun!) further expansion: Memory challenge, each student steps into the circle, or is spotlit on Zoom, and the group has to remember their lines and motions and do them for each individual.

(Resource: Theater of the Oppressed)

B. Screen “FaceTime” (run time: 44:10)

• Allow 5-10 minutes after the film for teacher guided open discussion.
  • Suggested prompts:
    • What, specifically, was most striking about this project?
    • In what ways ways did this film feel familiar to you?
    • In what ways did this film feel different to you? What did you learn?
      

C. Closing

• Have each student stand up, or be spot lit, and have class call out their descriptor from the opening. For example, if Raul stands up, the class calls out “musician.”

~or~

• Have each student share in a round robin what the title of a documentary about them would be.

Day Two / Lesson 2:

D. Warm-Up: Repeat “She/He/They/We are!” but now ask students to name how they’re feeling that day. For example, “He is Raul, and he is frustrated.”

On a digital platform, encourage students to turn on their camera if you know that is a comfortable option for all participants. Furthermore, ask students to turn on their mics for the duration of the activity, monitoring their own background noise and turning off if their space gets too loud. Ask one student to start and spotlight each student as they speak. The choral response back will be loud and chaotic, but try to play it with it and see how it goes. Modify as is necessary for the size of your group. Ask each student to pass to the next speaker.

Optional (and fun!) expansion: Round 2, each student adds a physical motion to their lines. The group then needs to repeat their lines and the motions back to them.

Optional (and even more fun!) further expansion: Memory challenge, each student steps into the circle, or is spotlit on Zoom, and the group has to remember their lines and motions and do them for each individual.

(Resource: Theater of the Oppressed)

E. Screen “Integrate.Me.” (Screening plus discussion: Allow around 20 minutes.)

• Allow 5-10 minutes for teacher guided open discussion.

F. Screen “Elaine is Almost.” (Screening plus discussion: Allow around 20 minutes.)

• Allow 5-10 minutes for teacher guided open discussion.

G. Creating a irl Timeline (In Real Life Timeline)

• Choose a shared event that the class as a whole can relate to: Yes, it can be COVID 19 or the summer 2020 racial justice mass protests. However, other examples include: The year they were 16/13 etc.; first year of high school; favorite summer; hardest season, etc.
  • Instruct students to
    • Draw a basic timeline on their page.
    • Add 5 personal events, with a name and a date marker of some kind. Ask them to be as specific with descriptions as they can.
    • Go into their own Instagram or Photo stream and find a post that relates to each of the 5 events.
    • Return to the written timeline they drew on their page. For each of the events on their written timeline, have them record the corresponding post from their phones.
      • For example, if one student wrote on their irl timeline, “Last day of school.” They would then choose a photo or post from the photo stream or social media account that corresponded to that day. Then they would return to the timeline with the archival information they would need to locate that post: “Instagram-LoveLee-March 17, 2020.”
• Invite students to use their phones, or other relevant device for conducting internet research, to find three events that the larger community/state/country/planet/even solar system experience during that same time period
  • Add those three events to their irl timeline, with as specific dates as they can manage
  • Repeat the post-finding and labeling process from steps iii-iv

H. Story Arc

• Ask students to put their irl timelines to the side for a moment, and display two images of a plot diagram.
  • First, a simple pyramid with a beginning, middle, end.
  • Second, Freytag’s Pyramid (See Handout).
  • Explain how a timeline records a series of events, highlighting ones that the author deems important, but that a plot diagram conveys a story by narratively connecting the events to one another. Explain that a story is primarily about change, evolution, or transformation: some change occurs, physical or emotional or both, usually for the protagonist of the story. The protagonist is not the same at the end as they were in the beginning of the telling.
  • Allow 5-10 for questions and discussion.

I. Project (In-class or Homework): Create your own social media documentary

• Pass out template for modified Freytag’s Pyramid. (See Handouts)
• Students use their timeline to insert events into the plot diagram; it will serve as their storyboard for their documentary.
• Once storyboarded, invite students to add other material for context and visual storytelling.
  • Photos or performative videos as in “Integrate.Me”
  • Recorded conversations about a topic, as shown in all the films.
  • Photos or videos of spaces, rooms, cars, belongings, as in “Elaine is Almost”
  • Snapshots of everyday life, rituals, meals, traditions, conversations as in “FaceTime.”
• Finally, students translate their storyboards into one series of posts or a video and share to class’ Instagram account.
• End the project with a class screening.

Extensions

1. Shift the lessons so that an entire class is focusing on a shared topic or theme: For example, “Policing in their Communities,” “Dating,” “Mental Healthy.” Once complete, plan an event outside the classroom to screen the projects with a larger community.
2. Use the same methods (timeline and story arc drafting) to tell the story of an event they did not personally experience, but that has relevance for their lives. For example, something large scale such as the events of 9/11, or even the moon landing. Another option is to focus on their community: Is there a shared event in their town/city’s history that shapes their lives today?