Embedded Files
Big Idea
Big Idea
The Complexities of Love: A Zine Collection (Creative Writing and Perzines)
Inquiry Question
Inquiry Question
How can creative writing and zine making expand the way we read and understand a text?
Grade
Grade
9th
Describe your project: what art and non-art academic content did you integrate into your project?
Describe your project: what art and non-art academic content did you integrate into your project?
This project was integrated with the unit on Romeo & Juliet, so students read that text throughout the project, and we used themes from Romeo & Juliet to guide our writing prompts: romantic love, family love, drama, violence, fate vs. free will, love and suffering, love and hate.
Our question was: How can we approach a text through creative writing and making, bringing in our own experiences? Each week, students read Romeo & Juliet aloud, responded to timed in-class writing prompts on related themes, and completed visual exercises (text layout, blackout poetry, collage, etc.) to build towards their final zines.
What references did you draw from, and what influenced you when creating and planning your project?
What references did you draw from, and what influenced you when creating and planning your project?
We introduced students to zines and zine-making through youtuber & zine-maker Bre (Brattyxbre) and through Kayla's personal zine collection, which students could read through and reference throughout the project.
Choose 1 academic learning standard and 1 arts learning standard you’re exploring in your project. Describe how they intersected in your project.
Choose 1 academic learning standard and 1 arts learning standard you’re exploring in your project. Describe how they intersected in your project.
Academic Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3 – Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. To align this project to our instruction in English 1, we had students' zines center around writing narratives about their personal opinions/experiences with love. Writing was the important component here as it was the meat of their zines, but more than that, we wanted students to explore and play with forms of writing that aren't "traditional" – free verse poetry, stream of consciousness writing, haikus. Through each of our prompts, students were able to have more freedom with their writing, and they were able to choose—from their unofficial portfolios—which pieces would go into their zines.
Arts Learning Standard: Introductory HS Levels VA:Cr1.1.I Use multiple approaches to begin creative endeavors -- In this project, students approached writing and zine making through a variety of prompts, each with different formal and conceptual constraints. This was helpful for getting students engaged in the project because different students found different prompts and ways of working more or less stimulating. For their final they could choose among the writing and visual experiments they'd done to create a final zine.
Describe how the inquiry was introduced and maintained with your students.
Describe how the inquiry was introduced and maintained with your students.
We introduced the project and inquiry at the beginning of the Romeo & Juliet unit, and Kayla came every Tuesday and Thursday during the unit, so students consistently engaged with the inquiry throughout the project. Because our project was based around personal writing prompts, we had regular conversations with the students about which prompts they responded to, and how their own life related to (and influenced their thoughts on) the text. Students also made a mini-zine before making their larger final zine, so they got to see what other's had made and get inspiration from each other.
What were some unexpected discoveries and observations from you and your students?
What were some unexpected discoveries and observations from you and your students?
We were pleasantly surprised at how well the students engaged with timed writing prompts, and how much energy and creativity they put into laying out their writing for their zines. Haiku and black out poems were especially exciting forms to play with, which was also an unexpected (but pleasant) discovery because the students were initially unenthused about having to write poetry.
This year, A/RP PDs focused on the Social Engager part of the Artist/Researcher Model—that is, that art can be a tool to engage the public and establish a dialogue with the broader community; CAPE Artist/Researchers use both art and the artmaking process to connect beyond the learning space.
This year, A/RP PDs focused on the Social Engager part of the Artist/Researcher Model—that is, that art can be a tool to engage the public and establish a dialogue with the broader community; CAPE Artist/Researchers use both art and the artmaking process to connect beyond the learning space.
How did your project excite the Social Engager piece and connect with the whole Artist/Researcher Model?
How did your project excite the Social Engager piece and connect with the whole Artist/Researcher Model?
We did not get to delve into distributing our class zines to the public (through Quimbys, or other stores) during the project timeline, but students left with an understanding that their writing could be shared and be of interest to others. However, students did share their zines with each other and were able to read and appreciate the various writings and overall creativity of their classmates.
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