Big Idea:         BUILDING COMMUNITY / CELEBRATING DIVERSITY

Setting The Stage: Prior to the group’s arrival, the Circle Keeper should create an unobstructed  circle of chairs with clear space in the center and place the Centerpiece cards in the middle of the circle. COMMUNITY goes in the center and then PLACE, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP & EDUCATION around it. The Talking Piece object and other materials & resources the group will use today may also be placed in the circle too.

Opening Ceremony:

WHIP-AROUND: Untitled Poem, by Meir Carasso. Considering it is a short poem, Circle Keeper can read the first line and then have every other participant read a line.

Main Activities:

1. WHIP-AROUND:  Prompt: What is the story of your name? Who chose it? Why? What is the origin/meaning behind it? How has your name shaped who you are?

2.  Using the “Who Are We” Worksheet provided, the Circle Keeper models and then invites participants to practice with the first two quick, one-word WHIP-AROUNDS:

 I AM…. {Insert one word to state a role you play in  the world (in your family, your school, your community, etc..}. Examples: I am an athlete, a single parent, an anti-racism activist or a poet}

I AM…… {Insert one trait word to explain what you are like as a person. Examples: I am kind, I am humble or I am impatient}

3. After, the Circle Keeper invites participants to  fill out the remaining prompts on the “Who We Are” worksheet, informing the group that it will be shared out to the group as a poem and  later, used as the basis for another activity. Circle Keepers should ask participants to fill out the worksheet in any way they are most comfortable: One word answers, one line answers or other. Descriptions for each prompt have been provided below in case the circle keeper needs to explain the prompts to the group.

4.  The Circle Keeper then begins a WHIP AROUND of participants sharing their poems by prompt. Example: each participant waits their turn for the talking piece to arrive to share their I am From PLACE, then start again with their I am From FAMILY..

5.  I am From Collective Art - Art Activity (See Activity Sheet)

Closing Ceremony:

Collective Reading of Untitled Poem, by Meir Carasso (a second time). Circle Keeper explains the left half of the circle will recite the first line of the poem in unison and then the right half half of the circle, the second half. Repeat the process until the poem is complete.  Circle Keeper thanks all participants for their openness & contributions and closes out the circle.

*This circle was constructed by members of the Dreamyard Preparatory School’s We Are The School committee based on experiences provided by Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility and other organizations*

        I Am From … PLACE

{Insert a geographical location. Locations can be towns, cities, states, regions, countries, continents and so on, Examples: I am from Ghana, the West Indies, the Deep South, Wisconsin, Santo Domingo, Harlem, Long Island and so on}

 ===============================================================

        I Am From … FAMILY

{Insert what family means to you or a family tradition which might give the group a better sense of who you are and where you come from. Examples: I am from Spaghetti and meatballs every Sunday, 4th of July cookouts in the park, my friends are my family or I am the oldest of 7 children and so on}

===============================================================

  I Am From … FRIEND/FRIENDSHIP

{Insert one word or phrase to help the group understand who you are as a friend, the role you play within your friendship circle or your experience with friendship in general. Examples: I am from Loyalty to a fault, Talking him through it over the phone until midnight, Betrayal, Trust no one or I’m totally misunderstood}

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  I Am From… EDUCATION

{Insert one word or phrase to help the group understand the role education has played in your past, how it is affecting your present or how it could change your future. Examples: I am from always wishing the teacher’s assignments were more challenging, never feeling as smart as my older sister, a family who could not afford to pay for school for all of my siblings in my country before we came to the US, or I want to be the first child in my family to graduate from college}

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Name: ______________________________

WHO ARE WE?

“I am….”

1. I AM (ROLE)__________________________________________________

2. I AM  (TRAIT)_________________________________________________

“I am from….”

3. I AM FROM (PLACE)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. I AM FROM (FAMILY)

__________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

5. I AM FROM (FRIENDSHIP)

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

6. I AM FROM (EDUCATION)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

P                L                A                C                E

F        A        M        I        L        Y

FRIENDSHIP

EDUCATION

 COMMUNITY

Untitled Poem

by  Meir Carasso

This is a time when

Doing

is split off from

Knowing,

and Being

is hardly at all.

But here and there

on this side of the horizon,

people meet in sacred circles

to form communities

and speak their heart

that seek the same.

Where I’m From Community Building - Art Activity

The purpose of this art activity is to create a collective art piece that represents who we are as a community. We will create a patchwork quilt of everyone’s artwork that will live in the hallway at and/or online at our school.

Each staff/student participant will receive a 4” x 4” square of paper.

Participants choose any segment from their “WHO ARE WE…” sheet that sparks an idea for a visual representation and draws (or otherwise  creates) an  image on the square of paper. If participants are uncomfortable drawing, they can select a word or phrase from their “WHO ARE WE…” sheet and decorate it on their square or print a digital image or collage of images.

The squares will be collected and arranged as a community quilt displayed physically and/or digitally at school. .