Where I’ve Been: #WalkMyWorld LE#2

I just want to ask one question
 Who would you be if the world never gave you a label? - Prince Ea

My past identity stems from a strong culture of traditions, specifically family vacations, that I hold close to my heart.

WEEK TWO: Exploring our cultural identity with words and images 

Last week #WalkMyWorld began with…where I begin? Now we take a step back to where I’ve been. Just as visual meaning making uses still or moving images, making meaning from words uses spoken or written text:

1. Words that are spoken (live or recorded): can be adjusted by pitch, tempo, tone, or inflection to convey a different meaning.
2. Words that are written (handwritten or typed): can be adjusted by font (i.e., size, shape, color), capital or lower case, or spacing between letters and words to convey meaning.

Invitation: Consider your own culture and where you’ve been. Ask yourself, “How are these people, values, practices, and places a part of you?” I always like to read mentor texts, or examples written by others, to help me begin the exploration process of my identity. READ the lyrics of the mentor text, I Am NOT Black, and You are NOT White, a rap written by Prince Ea. Next, LISTEN (don’t watch) the video. How did you make meaning from the written text differently than the spoken text? Finally, WATCH the video. How did the images and words work together to create a different meaning than you originally interpreted from the written and spoken text? Prince Ea was able to multiply meaning through a combination of visual images, spoken words, and written text. To me, this layered meaning making is what makes multimodal composition so powerful!

My process for #WalkMyWorld learning event two began by reading the mentor text, Where I’m From, a poem by George Ella Lyon. Next, I generated a list of words that describe where I’ve been. Then, I worked in a recursive editing process by grouping my ideas into similar categories and rereading the mentor text to help me organize these ideas into a poem:

I am from rural roads, from Pennsylvania Dutch country. I am from homemade ice cream, hog maw and chicken corn soup. I am from church hymns and faith that I can do all things! I am from close cousins with crab chants, laughter, and games.

I’m from lazy summer days, sticky suntan lotion and lightning bugs. I’m from the curious and the over scheduled. From NEVER GIVE UP! and DO YOUR BEST! I’m from libraries with sweet smelling books and powerful words.

Inside my mind, float merriment and memories, a sea of family traditions. I am from those adventures rushing fast and free.

TELL the story of your culture and where you’ve been. You can use any visuals (still or moving) and words (spoken and written) to explore your past identity. SHARE your creation on Twitter using the hashtag #WalkMyWorld. It’s time. What will you share? Explore.Play.Create.Learn.

Interested in learning more about #WalkMyWorld, visit: walkmy.world