It’s as if we’re right there with them: In their phones, their rooms, their conversations. It’s as if they’re our friends posting to their accounts, although this time our friends are posting exquisite narratives telling us truths about identity, family, belonging, healing. These three films: “Integrate.Me,” “Elaine is Almost,” and “FaceTime” all use the technology readily available to us in our devices to craft narratives that span both temporal and emotional journeys. The films are three of the seven that were selected from hundreds of submissions sent in to the an open call to women, non-binary and genderqueer storytellers of all artistic backgrounds by POV Spark and the National Film Board of Canada. They were charged with telling important stories that often go untold in mass media, while using Instagram in innovative ways.

This is a fitting time for their work and for this project. The news media is focused on the theme of cultural and political division in the U.S., and the realm of social media is often viewed as the hive of that division. These films (and this lesson) live outside of that dominant framing and live into the truths of their authors’ lives. Instead, the films remind us that social media can also be a platform for vulnerability, for self-revelation, for providing a counter narrative to those that would tell a very different story about what our bodies mean in the world.

This lesson invites and challenges students to place their own stories in relation to the shared stories of a larger community in a particular moment. In other words, they will explore the interrelation between their individual stories and “history;” and the nuances between the particular and universal. Following this comparative exploration they will use their analyses to craft a specific story with a given arc and from that outline create their own innovative Instagram post or series. Their work will conclude with a celebratory screening.

A Note on Technology and Accessibility:

This lesson, as well as the others in the Otherly series, bring social media into the classroom. These lessons are designed to integrate ethical engagement on social platforms to complete the assignments. It will be important for you to check with your school or district for any regulations around classroom or in-school student social media use. In addition, this lesson entails the creation of a class Instagram account. In order to set this up, the teacher will need to set up an IG account which will be shared only to the class, with a username and password that students can all access. That said, while some of the content and theory of the lessons would be lost without the use of social media, students could complete the assignments using the photo and video tools on their phones. However! The lessons are intended to critique, engage, and potentially transform the use of social media. If possible, the lesson will be most transformative as a social media-based engagement. And with enough planning, you and your learning community can create an analogue version of this lesson with printed-out photographs, storyboards on large paper in the classroom, and using school-based technology to record and play videos in school.

A Note from Curriculum Creator, Jade Sanchez-Ventura

I believe in personal narrative. I think that to communicate the particular experience of a life and to tie it literally or intuitively to the histories--familial, cultural, societal--that have shaped us is an act of resistance that also makes for excellent storytelling. This conviction is the underpinning of my work as an educator: No matter the subject, I know that every young person has a singular, vital perspective to bring and my role is to act as a catalyst for their bursts of insight and inspiration. Sometimes (too often) my role is to help students recognize the power of their own insight and intelligence. As with all systems of our society, the classroom can also be a site of profound oppression and silencing. As one mentor told me, “You want your students to leave a classroom not thinking that you’re smart, but that they are.” Often that entails reminding myself that with every generation there are new methods of making and communication emerging; reminding myself to ask students about what is present and relevant to their daily lives.

Smartphones and apps and social media often feel like the epitome of a generational divide. Phones are banned from classrooms (including my own, generally), social media is demonized (even though we all use it), or if not demonized, trivialized--regarded as a cultural arena for entertainment and play, but not for serious study and critique. However, many of us, and certainly most young people, are daily crafting intimate narratives about their own lives on those very phones. Any minute on Instagram is one crammed with countless Stories, Posts, Live broadcasts from our lives. Yes, the celebrities and politicians and gatekeepers are there too, but one can easily ignore them and follow only the interpretations and explorations of regular folks like us.

Much has been made of the information bubbles made possible by social media. Certainly that is an important conversation to have, but for the purpose of this lesson (and it’s partner lessons featuring the Otherly documentary series), we have the chance to interrogate the vast options for self-expression and self-chronicling afforded by social media, in particular Instagram. I am enchanted by the truism that the more focused and personal a story, the more broadly it appeals. There is a magic that happens when an artist tells one small story honestly-It becomes a big truth that resonates for countless others.

The Otherly Documentary Series conveys three of those stories. “Integrate.Me,” “Elaine is Almost,” and “FaceTime” are crafted from the images of our everyday lives. They use the medium of Instagram and visuals of social media and our phones to create the illusion of an almost casual moment--as if the filmmakers are simply sitting down with us to confide. Taken together they create a vivid example of what a powerful and radical act it is to create one’s spaces of home, of belonging; a creation made even more radical by the choice to share these films on Instagram, to create as many conversations, and stories, as possible.

A Note to Teachers

This is intimate work that will ask students to take a leap of trust in each other and in you. Depending on where you are in your year and with your group, this may be a first flight or one that builds on the bond in an already tight knit class. And of course, you may be applying this to a group of students who have only ever met each other on a digital platform like Zoom. Wherever you are, I encourage you to have faith in yourself and your students to make this leap! However, there are preparations that will be necessary to keep this space safe, and therefore positive, for all. Before beginning, I strongly suggest you create community agreements with your group. Even if you already have these in place, this is a good moment to review. You can also adapt your class agreements to a set specific to this project. Here is a sample list of community agreements, and there are a wealth of resources online for how to create a set of agreements with your class. Because all the variations of this lesson include sharing work in public and allowing for public comments, it will be essential to create a set of agreements focused on how to do so in a respectful, inclusive manner. For those using social media, that emphasis will be especially important. Take time to outline “Content Sharing” agreements. Though the time spent on these agreements might seem an aside to the curriculum itself, in fact those conversations will help create a shared trust that will facilitate powerful creative and academic learning.

Subject Areas:

• Journalism
• Filmmaking/Visual Art
• English
• History
• Current Events
• Social Justice
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Health

Grade Levels: 8-12 (can be scaffolded for Higher Education)

Objectives:

In this lesson, students will:

• Learn the practice of archiving, creating logs, catologing, and identifying patterns in narratives.
• Understand how to use social media and cell phones as archival tools; build a more critical understanding of the role algorithms play in shaping stories.
• Use research skills to find connections between global/historical/cultural milestones and personal narratives.
• Learn the basics of story structures and creating a story arc.
• Create an IG story that uses personal archival footage to tell a story arc, a living history.
• Engage in a collective community practice of learning about ethics, social media, and story sharing

Materials:

• Films and equipment to project/screen the films.
• Physical or digital space for charting student discussions. (Whiteboards, chalkboards, poster paper, digital whiteboard, etc.)
• Note taking materials: Pen, pencils, paper, or relevant assistive technology for students who use electronic devices for note taking.
• Personal recording devices, one per student: Smartphones, laptops, tablets would all work.
• A private Instagram account created by the teacher for each class section; teacher and students share account admin capabilities through a shared username and password.
• Handout: Modified Freytag’s Pyramid

Time Needed:

2-3 sixty minute sessions

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?

Resource List

Otherly Documentary Series
https://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/otherly/
Premiering on Instagram Stories, Otherly is a series of seven short documentaries about finding one’s place in the 21st century. Using universal themes like love, inclusion, and loss as entry points, seven female, non-binary, and genderqueer creators have crafted films that are at once timeless and yet by definition of their form, ephemeral.

Otherly Instagram Account
https://www.instagram.com/otherlyseries/?hl=en

Tristan Angieri Artist site
https://tristanangieri.com/

Em Yue
https://emyue.me/
Website for filmmaker Em Yue, showcasing their work in multiple mediums and genres.

Jackie! Zhou
http://www.soundslikejackie.com/
Film creator’s website.

Edutopia; Focus on classroom use of social media.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-social-media-account-your-class

Pagefreezer; Detailed overview of legal concerns for school social media use.
https://blog.pagefreezer.com/k12-schools-official-social-media-accounts-protect-student-privacy

Emma Talks
http://emmatalks.org/
EMMA is a Mini-Art Festival and Speakers Series. The core purpose of EMMA talks is to bring important stories by women* writers, activists, thinkers, storytellers, makers and doers, from the periphery to the public.
Together their stories will build a powerful and engaging collection of talks, celebrating and building on the conversations, imaginings, and hard work of so many individuals, communities and movements, which will lead to a creative cross-pollination of ideas.
*including two spirited, trans and gender non-conforming folks.

Learning Standards

Comprehension and Collaboration:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.a
Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.b
Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.c
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.d
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2
Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5
Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.6
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Key Ideas and Details:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3
Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9
Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jade Sanchez-Ventura
Jade Sanchez-Ventura is a writer and radical educator. She works in memoir and her personal essays have been published across an array of online literary journals, and in print with Slice Magazine and Seal Press. Her work has been featured on Bitch Media’s Propaganda podcast and been awarded the Slice Literary Conference “Bridging the Gap” award; a Disquiet Literary conference fellowship; and a Hertog fellowship. She is a regular contributor to MUTHA Magazine, which champions a fiery re-imagining of parenting. As an educator, she is very good at being continually wowed by her students and their words on the page. She believes a commitment to racial equity and social justice is essential to the practice of teaching. She has spent the last decade studying and implementing this pedagogical approach to education with the Brooklyn Free School, an urban democratic free school in New York City. Though she has ties to many countries, she has always made her home in Brooklyn, New York. She’s on Instagram posting about radical parenting, teaching, race, writing, and other such matters; find her @jade_m_sv.

RESOURCE PRODUCER

Noleca Radway
Noleca Radway is the Chief Executive Officer at Domino Sound, a queer, Black woman-owned network & production company creating authentic, inclusive and disruptive media content. Noleca is a producer, educator, speaker, writer, screenwriter, host and director. She is the producer and host of the progressive parenting podcastRaising Rebels. She is the director ofThe Cheat Code and Executive Producer ofThe Color Grade. She is also the former Executive Director of theBrooklyn Free School. Noleca loves helping adolescents and marginalized people tell their story within a social justice context.

Noleca’s most recent work, HBO’sBetween the World and Me Podcast, highlights her unique ability to amplify multiple voices and mediums to tell a story and create impact.

She considers the ability to make connections between people, philosophies and dimensions her personal superpower. She attributes this to being a Bronx-raised, first- generation Black-Jamaican wife, mother, teacher, educator and Octavia Butler fan. Noleca graduated from Howard University and attended Bank Street College of Education. She lives in Amsterdam with her husband and their three daughters.

This resource was created, in part, with the generous support of the Open Society Foundation.