Self-Management
Family Resources on Peace
Project and Purpose
Students create an artistic interpretation of a place where they find peace on a postcard and share it with a person of their choice
Essential Question
How do we depict the places we find peace? How do we choose people with whom to share our peaceful spaces?
Sharing My Peaceful Place
If this lesson was used in the classroom: Students learned about making peace with very difficult situations or obstacles. In class students discussed how someone makes peace and perseveres after a life-altering experience. Individually or in groups students created an artistic interpretation of a peaceful place or peaceful space.
Getting Ready for the Conversation
The video for this module features a young adult named Jordan who was shot as a teenager and now has limited mobility. Jordan continues to have difficulty discussing his life now, but he shares his thoughts and feelings about how he lives with his life circumstances.
Conversation notes:
Parents and mentors please be aware that the video includes a frank discussion of the results of gun violence and Jordan was hit by a ricochet bullet. Gun violence continues to be a difficult topic to discuss with teens, but it is necessary to have these conversations because of the prevalence of this problem in the US.
The Everytown Support Fund provides more information about resources for survivors of gun violence at: https://everytownsupportfund.org/everytown-survivor-network/resources-for-victims-and-survivors-of-gun-violence/#emotional-support-for-survivors and stories of survivors at: https://momentsthatsurvive.org/
For help having conversations about violence and racially motivated violence see this blog post from the Child Mind Institute: https://childmind.org/blog/talking-to-kids-about-race-and-violence-in-america/
Constructive Conversation Starters
The first item is for follow-up after viewing the lesson video and participating in class activities.
Share the postcard you (or your group) created? Describe why you chose this as your peaceful place.
Why do you think gun violence has become so prevalent in our society? What are some things that could or should be done to prevent violence?
If a friend was shot and injured for life, what support would be required? How would you be able to support your friend?
Is gun violence a concern in this neighborhood or community? What are some actions we could take as a family? Why should we?
School to Home Resources on Peace
Materials
Interactive Reflections and Lesson Plans often cover broader themes than the competency named. All CWK stories are multi-faceted and are meant to prompt deep conversation.
- Paper and writing tools
- Examples of postcards
- Blank postcards (these can be index cards without lines)
- Post card postage (if applicable)
- Art supplies (markers, colored pencils, glue, etc.)
Lesson Plan
Procedure
1. Discuss how Jordan had to persevere in his own world and make peace with his new reality. Ask students how they think he was able to talk about his experience and his challenges. Ask students if they would be able to talk about such a painful experience on video and if they would be able to make peace with the situation if it happened to them.
2. Explain that in this session, students will think about something peaceful in their own lives and select a person with whom to share their thoughts and ideas in an artistic way.
3. Ask students to silently consider where they find peace in their own worlds. Is there peace in their homes? In their school? In a community space? In their own heads?
4. Have students turn and talk with a trusted partner about their peaceful place.
5. Distribute paper and writing tools to each person and have them write down quick responses to the following questions:
- Where is your peaceful place?
- How does a person get to this place?
- What can a person hear in this space?
- What are three things a person can see in this place?
- Are the edges in this space straight, curved, or twisted?
- What three colors do you associate with this place?
- Is this place filled with movement or is it still?
- Who would you tell about this space or share this space with?
6. When students finish their answers, tell them that they will use their answers to create a picture of this place. Students may choose to do a realistic, concrete picture, or they may choose to draw something more impressionistic or representational. They choose.
7. Show the blank postcard and explain that this will be the “canvas” for their artwork. They will create a postcard: one side for their peaceful place, and the other for a message and the name and address of the person with whom they wish to share.
8. Show examples of postcards and keep them available for students to examine on their own.
9. Give students time and supplies to create the artistic interpretations of their peaceful places on their postcards.
10. Have students address their postcards to the person with whom they feel they can share this space. They may also choose to write a message.
Conclusion
Ask volunteers to share their postcards and/or their preparation sheets and ask the group what they notice. Ask: How do we depict the places where we find peace? How do we choose people with whom to share our peaceful spaces?
