What’s Your Single Story?

The following are the steps that should culminate in a big Creative Non-Fiction (CNF) project. The assignments outlined are low stake, and I plan to use formative assessments. These assignments will be counted towards their overall participation points. I’ll introduce the assignments at the end of the third week when we start delving into the major tasks.  As a class, we’ll watch the TED Talk – “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The students will first write an 8-10 sentence response that acknowledges their own history: Who they are; where they/their parents are from, originally; and their own “single story”. They are encouraged to use as many details as possible. Then, they must to complete the “I Am” poem and post their responses to either the Blackboard Discussion Board forum or WordPress. The goal with these assignments is to get the students to be open with the class, and to get them to start thinking about how to tell their own narrative (in the same way the speaker, Adichie, uses her story to address global issues).  By writing using two genres (TED Talks and free-verse poetry) as well as multiple modes of action and expression (not only visual/audio but also paragraphing and writing a poem), I can gauge their sense of their writing before we dive into the first major project – the creative nonfiction descriptive narrative, which would focus around a time when they felt the urge to use their voice. {The course theme is The Power of Voice.}

Step-by-step Description for the first stage of the CNF Project on the theme: The Power of Voice.

Task: In preparation of your draft for your CNF project, you need to complete these steps:

• First, review (listen to and carefully take notes on) the TED Talk– “The Danger of a Single Story” – by the Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Pay careful attention to how she uses her own personal story to bring attention to global issues.
• After you review the TED Talk, you need to draft an 8-10 sentence paragraph discussing your own history using these framing questions: Who are you? Where are you/your parents from, originally? What is your/your family’s “single story”?  {Note:You are allowed and even encouraged to use as many descriptive details as possible.};
• Set that draft aside;
• Then, complete the “I Am” Poem;
• Using both your draft response and the “I Am” Poem, revise and edit your 8-10 sentence paragraph response;
• After you edit and proofread your “I Am” Poem, upload it as a PDF file onto the Discussion Board or WordPress;
• Upload your 8-10 sentence (paragraph) response as a Blog entry under the title: What is your Single Story?
• Finally, create a 2:00-2:30 minutes video or audio (using YouTube.com or Flipgrid.com) of you narrating your response to the prompt: “What is your Single Story?”

Due dates and time: We will complete these steps and you will receive feedback from your peers and me, the instructor. Complete each stage before moving on to the next. The entire project should take us at least two weeks. You must submit all the steps before 11:59 pm [Eastern Standard Time] on these dates: Wednesday, September 17^th, Sunday, September 20^th, and Wednesday, September 23^rd, 2020.

The learning objective:  At the end of these assignments, you should be open and comfortable with the class, and be able to start thinking about how “to tell” your own creative nonfiction narrative (in the same way the speaker [Adichie] uses her story to address a global social issue).

You need to complete these assignments on time, as they
will count towards your online participation points.

PS: This is a draft as I’m still thinking about it and working out the kinks.