From Far Away… Looking Forward

Description

From Far Away… Looking Forward collection is an invitation for young children to listen to, share, and empathize with stories of migration. Listening and telling stories to give children a voice and help them to recognize and experience the many ways they are connected to others. This is important to create inclusive communities. The collection brings child-friendly stories of migration and life in the new land followed by activities that include research-based cognitive and emotional strategies to help children externalize their thoughts and tell stories. There are several provocations geared to help children overcome fears associated with circumstances that forced them to leave their countries and loved ones behind and navigate challenges in a new land with dignity.  

Stories make as humans. Through stories either from a book, an artwork, or a video, children discover how similarities bring people together and differences bring them even closer. By connecting with elements of other people’s stories, children learn to take perspective and reflect on their own experiences. These types of experiences transmit the message that they are not alone. 

The science behind storytelling is that brain development is inherently social and emotional; this means that educators should create opportunities that allow children to listen to others and express themselves. Any provocation, such as a piece of artwork, a children’s book, or a song can spark children’s attention. When children connect with a story, their brains produce neurotransmitters and hormones that determine emotions and empathy. 

The collection and associated activities are geared to cognitively engage children in slow looking and deep thinking that led to understanding. Slow looking means, taking time to notice more than meets the eye at first glance and dig deep into stories followed by activities that promote stories of the reception which tailor create and recreate stories to a specific audience.  The activities offer developmentally age-appropriate learning experiences that engage children in meaningful hands-on learning experiences including play. 

Immigration is a complex topic and in many cases traumatic. The activities offer a safe environment for children to uncover their stories, fears, happiness, and hopes in a variety of languages (oral, written, artistic, dramatic, filming, and more) 

Language, as we see it, is more than just words being used. It includes any set of symbols used to construct and share meanings. By listening to and sharing stories children collaboratively construct meanings. The use of different sign systems gives children the confidence to see themselves as capable of making meaning using different symbol systems as a means of both knowing and communicating.  They develop a strong sense of ownership of their own meanings.

Stories are a powerful tool for children to make sense of the world and their identity. They help children define who they are. Stories help students understand their roles in society and the difference that they can make in the life of newcomers. This is critical for welcoming and accepting immigrant-origin children and their families in the community.

 Guiding Questions

•    How do events and experiences influence people to leave everything behind when they move?
•    How do migration experiences create opportunities for some and obstacles for others?
•    How do artists and writers express these experiences?
• .      How do stories of reception foster humanity?
• .      What are the implications for second language learners?

This collection seeks to: 

• Provide young children with developmentally age-appropriate learning experiences to scaffold their understanding      of stories about migration
• Empower children by giving them a voice to share their stories and express  their feelings through different sign systems (role play, drawing, writing), including digital storytelling
• Respect people’s dignity by providing a risk-free environment to express themselves and listen to others
• Engage children on a journey to discover other people’s lives before and after migrating to a new country
• Nurture kindness, tolerance, and acceptance in children to welcome newcomers 
• Encourage children to have acts of altruism to help other children adjust to the new land
• Celebrate diversity and ensure the sharing of relevant cultural values, languages, traditions, wisdom, and shared experiences. 
• Promote biliteracy and bilingualism by cognitively and emotionally engaging in storytelling and stories of reception
• Foster stories of reception by cognitively and emotionally involving children to listening, creating, and re-representing stories 

The collection was created by a team of educators, including Angela Salmon (Florida International University),  Kiriaki Melliou (Ministry of Education Greece ),  Sharon Smith (Miami-Dade County Public Schools), and children and families in Miami and Greece.

Expected Benefits

·       For Educators

o   Increased understanding of students and families they serve

o   Promote cognitive and socio-emotional engagement to listen and create and re-create stories

o   Forster student meaning-making through the use of different sign systems

o   Develop the ability to articulate developmentally age-appropriate strategies to engage children in a deep understanding of migration 

·       For Families

o   Foster a sense of acceptance and belonging  

o   Enhanced opportunities for participation

·       For Immigrant origins Students

o   Increased understanding of their family’s stories

o   Increased perspective-taking and empathy

o   Promote risk-taking when making decisions as he or she share thinking and emotions in stories

o   Foster acts of humanity and altruism among students

o   Enhanced sense of self-identity and ownership

o   Develop the receptive and expressive use of oral and written language

o   Develop different sign systems to communicate

o

·       Peers learn about one other

o   Increased understanding of one another