Faculty

Elizabeth Simons is a nationally renowned folklorist and writing teacher who has worked extensively with the National Writing Project. For six years she worked for the Puente Project, a California project for under-represented students, as a statewide coordinator of English teachers. In her work, Elizabeth helps teachers recognize community folklore, which she calls Community-Based Learning, and then infuse it into their curricula, always connecting the study of folklore with language arts, history, and art. Now she is a coach for the Bay Area Coalition of Essential Schools, a school reform project, and a consultant to the National Writing Project.

Elizabeth Simons' workshops at the Louisiana Voices Institute focused on writing about place. She guided participants through several writing activities that drew on their own memories of growing up in Louisiana and of significant places in their lives.

Objectives

To use family photos to inspire memories and images of significant places. To write a descriptive personal/historical essay informed by those memories. To explore creative ways to integrate English Language Arts, community, and home experiences. Participants were asked to bring family photos to the institute for this activity.

Lesson

I. Prewriting Activity

Bring in family photos and snapshots that include a home or important place. Create and take a Gallery Walk—have students place their photos on their desks with a piece of paper below the photos. (Facilitator models this activity with his/her photo).

Then students walk around the room, look at the photos, and write a comment about each photo on the paper provided. The comments are based on one of the following questions:

1. What do you notice in this photo?
2. What question(s) do you have about the photo?
3. How do you think this photo is an expression of the values or ideals of the person(s) or family photographed?
4. In what way(s) does this photo appear to be a work of art?
5. In what way(s) does this photo appear to be historical?
6. What folklore do you see in this photo?
7. What question(s) or observations do you have about the place where the photo was taken?

Debrief Gallery Walk. (Facilitator models this activity using his/her notes.) In pairs students share comments and verbally respond to the questions, jotting down notes for future reference.

II. Drafting

Write a draft essay using your family photo as a catalyst.

Here are some questions that might help:

Feelings — How do you feel about the place pictured in the photo?

Memories — What memories does it evoke of the place?

Anecdote — Tell an anecdote about the place.

Family Story — Does the photo bring a family story to mind?

The Photo — Why was it taken? Why has it been saved?

Character Sketch — Write a character sketch about someone in the photo.

How is this photo historical? When was it taken? What was the event?

Why has this photo been preserved? What is the history of the people represented?

What historical question(s) does the photo raise?

Describe this photo as if it were an illustration in a book about the folklore of place. What would the caption be? What would it be illustrating?

In what ways does this photo appear artistic to you? (Or is it a photo only a family could love?)

III. Responding

Read your draft to your writing group.

Identify strengths and ask clarifying questions of your writing partners.

Write down their questions and responses to your work.