By G. FAITH LITTLE
If a prompt is like a camera lens, pulling your task into focus, an invitation is like a colorful string you can’t resist pulling to see what happens next. Writing an invitation for the reader to connect with a text can be as simple as choosing a quote and offering ways for the reader to respond, as we did with our One Book, One New York invitations when the city was reading Americanah. When we send out invitations to our Literacy Unbound players, each day for about a month leading up to our annual Summer Institute, we wait in anticipation to find out which strings they’ll pull and what will happen next. It isn’t magic to create an invitation, though when people respond the results are often magical! Nathan Blom’s Guide to Crafting Invitations to Create provides guidance on creating “invitations [that] speak to the recipient, enticing them to run with it and see where it leads; [that] open up and spark the creative process; [that] limber up thinking and lead us into meaningful conversations.” Consider playing with all or part of the structure Nathan outlines below and see what happens for you and for your students.
A Guide to Crafting Invitations to Create
Nathan Allan Blom INSTEP Program Coordinator & Adjunct Instructor, Teachers College, Columbia University Literacy Unbound Facilitator Contextualized quote from the text Choose a “hotspot” within the text. These should be passages of the text which you find worthy of attention, for whatever reason. These hotspots might or might not be the most important passages for the novel’s plot or themes. They should be rich with:
Be sure to contextualize the quote and explain where it comes from. Give your recipient an idea of where this passage occurs within the arc of the story events, or within the theme that you want to draw their attention to. Let’s use The Color Purple as an example. The inscription to Chapter 1 states, "You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy." We can assume these words come from Celie's father, and that he is talking to her about the trauma he inflicts upon her. Celie takes this up and the entirety of the novel results from her letters to God (an "epistolary" is a novel in the form of letters). 
Commentary on the quotation
Offer your recipient a brief commentary on the passage, without being heavy-handed. Phrase your commentary as a tentative offering of ideas, not a definitive statement of authority. Or, share the connections that occur to you when you read the passage. Or, explain the questions that arise when you read this passage, and the reasons for those questions. In Chapter 3, while trying to protect her younger sister, Nettie, from their rapist and infant-killing father, Celie says, "But I say I'll take care of you. With God help." Again, she turns to God for psychological and spiritual strength in the face of horrific events. Throughout history, people have sought spiritual refuge in the face of traumatic events, and this refuge often appears in the form of music or art. An example of this phenomenon is the tradition of African-American spirituals.
Connections to other "texts"
Putting texts into conversation with each other allows for deeper understanding. In essence, bringing in other texts is bringing more voices into the conversation. These voices add ideas and perspectives that may be absent if we only heard the single voice of the original text. The new voices complicate and contextualize meanings in unique and powerful ways. Also, sharing creative works is one of the keys to inspiring creative works. What outside media exist that illustrate and/or extend your connections, questions, or ideas? Include them in the Invitation, not as a way of defining what your recipient should do, but instead as a way of showing them what they could do and inspiring them to move further. Look to different media for inspiration:
Here are some links to African-American spirituals and gospels from performers during early 1900s (the time period of The Color Purple), and from more contemporary performers, descendants of the same tradition. There are many more examples out there. Listen and watch and respond to some of this music. Consider the interaction between the meaning of the words, and the emotional color of the music. What is being expressed? Why is it being expressed? Have you ever felt the need to express in a similar manner?
A prompt for creation
The final part of the Invitation to Create is the actual invitation itself. You must leave your recipient with a call to create. Be thoughtful in how narrowly or broadly you craft your prompting. Do you define a medium they should use (“Represent your ideas visually….”)? Do you leave it open (“Respond in whatever way you see fit….”)? Often times asking someone to move from one medium to another, such as from the written word to the visual image, for example, inspires an act of creation as the recipient tries to imagine how ideas transfer between the two. Do you guide the content of their response (“Create from the perspective of one of the silent characters of this scene….”)? In whatever way seems best to you (poetry, prose, music, art, video, dance, etc.), explore the ideas, emotions, and experiences within these moments of refuge seeking.
Invitation for The Color Purple using this structure
The inscription to Chapter 1 states, "You better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy." We can assume these words come from Celie's father, and that he is talking to her about the trauma he inflicts upon her. Celie takes this up and the entirety of the novel results from her letters to God (an "epistolary" is a novel in the form of letters). In Chapter 3, while trying to protect her younger sister, Nettie, from their rapist and infant-killing father, says, "But I say I'll take care of you. With God help." Again, she turns to God for psychological and spiritual strength in the face horrific events. Throughout history, people have sought spiritual refuge in the face of traumatic events, and this refuge often appears in the form of music or art. An example of this phenomenon is the tradition of African-American spirituals. Here are some links to African-American spirituals and gospels from performers during early 1900s (the time period of The Color Purple), and from more contemporary performers, descendants of the same tradition. There are many more examples out there. Listen and watch and respond to some of this music. Consider the interaction between the meaning of the words, and the emotional color of the music. What is being expressed? Why is it being expressed? Have you ever felt the need to express in a similar manner? In whatever way seems best to you (poetry, prose, music, art, video, dance, etc.), explore the ideas, emotions, and experiences within these moments of refuge seeking.
Happy practicing! Enjoy the exploration, and if you’re interested in learning more, check out our Literacy Unbound initiative.
TAGS: CREATIVITY, G. FAITH LITTLE, LITERACY UNBOUND, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
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By G. FAITH LITTLE
In January, we invited teachers across the city to the third annual Big Learning Challenge: a conference that focuses on the power of project-based learning. Participants previewed innovative workshops, practiced new instructional strategies, and made connections with other teachers by creating original projects, reflecting on their project-making process, and applying it to their own classrooms. Each year, teachers glow at the end of the day as they present their work, having engaged with the topic, developed a project vitally connected to their content area, and created everything from scratch. This is fantastic! “Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”
Who wouldn’t have a great time spending a day in their content area of choice, making cool stuff? The Big Learning Challenge design invites teachers further into the field of play, where they consider how the project-making process can become a reality in their classroom. At every stage, from planning to presentation, teachers pause for written reflection:
After experiencing projects aligned to guiding questions and classroom connections, teachers gathered together to share their projects during the final session's gallery walk. Teachers walked away with not only a satisfying experience, but also self-identified next steps to implementing project-based learning in their classrooms.
Modeling in Mathematics
Moving Images
Narrative storytelling
Scientific experiments
Visual and creative arts
Modeling in Mathematics
PROJECT
GUIDING QUESTION(S)
CONNECTIONS TO THE CLASSROOM Teachers will be able to take this to their classroom in two ways. First, teachers can find inspiration from the open-ended nature of the project, and take into their classroom the PBL-style activities that ask students to be part of creating. Asking students to be creators can be an important way of including them in the learning process, whether that’s with a project about seeds, or something else. Second, teachers can find inspiration in the project’s mathematical ideas discussed in relation to seeds. What they might take to their classroom are some interesting ways to enliven the teaching and learning of specific topics – such as ratios and proportions, symmetries, counting, relations, etc.
Moving Images
PROJECT
GUIDING QUESTION(S)
CONNECTIONS TO THE CLASSROOM A stop motion film can be used as a visual report in any subject. For example, students might create a stop motion clip to do the following:
Narrative storytelling
PROJECT
GUIDING QUESTION(S)
CONNECTIONS TO THE CLASSROOM The process of creating a Choose Your Own Adventure text (PPT, writing, visual) pushes students to consider “what happens if…” and enriches their experience of learning across content areas. The creation of the text deepens learning, and the sharing of the final projects across the classroom allows other students to benefit from the knowledge and inspiration of their fellow classmates.
Scientific experiments
PROJECT
GUIDING QUESTION(S)
CONNECTIONS TO THE CLASSROOM This integrated project involves reading, writing, speaking and listening, Science content, and engineering standards. Once the hydroponic systems are set up, Math standards can be incorporated by measuring plants and graphing trends over time. Though background building and creating the hydroponic systems is a bit time consuming, once this stage is completed, the project only requires approximately 15 minutes per day.
Visual and creative arts
PROJECT
GUIDING QUESTION(S)
CONNECTIONS TO THE CLASSROOM Visual expression of poetry can be used in the classroom to offer a way for students to share what they know and can do. The process of creating a visual representation taps into several 21st century skills and connects with standards in a variety of classroom content areas. |
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The Center for Professional Education of Teachers (CPET) at Teachers College, Columbia University is devoted to advancing global capacities in teacher education, research, and whole school reform. CPET advocates for excellence and equity in education through direct service to youth and educators, innovative school projects, international research that examines and advocates the highest quality instructional and assessment practices today, and sustainable school partnerships that leverage current policy and mandates to raise literacy levels and embed collaborative communities of learning. Uniting theory and practice, CPET promotes rigorous and relevant scholarship and is committed to making excellent education accessible worldwide.
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