Right Now: Refugee Awareness
Supplemental Enrichment
Lesson 2Beyond the Language of Migration, Word Art
Defining Terms
The jargon surrounding migration can be confusing, and it’s important for students to understand the difference between terms that seem similar. This lesson will be used to assess students’ base knowledge of terminology, and to define terms that will be used throughout the remaining unit.
PART 1
- First, print out the list of undefined terms and hand it out to the students. Have them fill out what they think each term means, and leave blank the ones that they are completely unfamiliar with. No resources should be used for this portion of the activity, it is simply trying to find students’ base knowledge. Some of the words will be obvious, but others will be challenging.
- Once they have defined the terms, go through them one by one and have students share their first-attempt definitions. Permit the discussion be student-led as much as possible so that they can fully consider one another’s definitions. At the end, put the list of defined terms up on the board. Focus on the terms they didn’t define correctly. Ask students to share with the class definitions that didn’t match their own, as well as definitions that they found particularly interesting.
- One important term for students to know and think about is displacement. This is a broad term that will be revisited often. To explore the terms, and displacement specifically, show the class these two videos from the UNHCR. Encourage students to jot down their thoughts and notes regarding this term on the final page of the undefined terms handout.
PART 2
- At this point, students will have the opportunity to tap into their creative sides and connect this lesson with the art of the incredible Dan Eldon, the inspiration behind Creative Visions, Rock Your World, and so much more. Learn more about Dan Eldon here.
- Dan Eldon’s journals were more than words on a paper to help him remember experiences, they were expressions of the art and emotion behind every experience.
- His journals are layers of collage that incorporate almost every medium. Click here to see specific examples of Dan’s journals.
Look through some pages of Dan’s journals with your students. Be sure to discuss the ways he used words, photographs and newspaper clippings to convey emotion.
PART 3
- Now, assign each student a word from the vocabulary list and assign them the task of defining that term, not through a dictionary definition but through making a collage in the style of Dan’s journals
- Materials for this project can include anything from photographs, to news clippings, to magazine articles, and everything in between. The main objective is to have the student create a collage that mirrors the style of Dan’s. Be sure to have your students submit pictures of their Dan-like pages to www.actnow.rocks.
Rock Your World is a program of Creative Visions
Rock Your World is a Program of Creative Visions, a 501(c) (3) organization that supports creative activists - individuals who use the power of media and arts to create positive change in the world.
