Constructing a Scaffold

On October 29th, TATIP reconvened for the second Saturday training day to focus on lesson planning, objectives, and more.

This week's training was led by Program Director Patti Chilsen and TATIP Facilitator T. Scott Lilly. We started off with our graffiti wall opening ritual, responding to prompts about our favorite lessons in school, what we'd like to know more of, etc.

Scott then led the group through a movement and rhythm warm up to get us prepared for the day.

After preparing our bodies and minds for a full day ahead, we sat down and assumed roles as students, while Patti and Scott guided us through a model lesson that would use sensory details, gestures, and movement to express our thoughts and memories about our families, cultures and communities. The facilitators started by having us brainstorm sensory details from our childhoods; what we ate, heard, colors we saw, people's smells, etc. Afterwards, we took a look at Kelly Norman Ellis's "Raised by Women" and talked about the sensory details found throughout the poem.

After embodying the poem through gestures and movement, we set about creating our own poems in the style of Ellis's.

"Raised by" by Rabih Ahmed

I was raised by Africa and Islam The red and blue rangers for brothers Since I wasn't allowed to be the gold ranger I had to be the pink one I had a thing for pink for Barbie I would later realize Barbie never had a thing for me.