Embracing Their Origins, Sharing Their Stories

Embracing Their Origins, Sharing Their Stories - Seven Youth Videos with a Curriculum Supplement about Arabs, Arab Americans, and Stereotypes

This curriculum packet focuses on unpacking mainstream representations of Arabs and Arab Americans and examining the stereotypes behind these representations. It is designed with middle and high school students in mind, and can easily fit into a Language Arts, Humanities, World History, and/or American History class. The DVD includes six youth-produced videos, and one video produced during a day-long student workshop The accompanying CD includes the curriculum in PDF format. The curriculum is composed of a two-lesson media literacy unit, a six-lesson unit on stereotypes, and discussion questions for each video. Additional material included are related readings for each unit, suggestions for service learning extension activities, and a bibliography for other resources that teachers, students, and families can use to further explore topics about Arabs, Arab Americans, and the Arab world. Teachers can select from the activities and resources to fit the time constraints of their classrooms and the academic needs of their students.

This curriculum was prepared by Sonia Rosen, PhD Candidate at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. The videos were facilitated by Al-Bustan Teaching Artists Dahna Abourahme and Laureen Griffin with the support of educator Dr. Thea Abu El-Haj. Completion of the curriculum packet included the help of Sally Bonet, Nahid El-Gadi, and Hazemi Sayed of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture.