Creating Dream Flags
CREATING DREAM FLAG POEMS
High School Participants
Here,
the participants may be comfortable enough with abstraction
and images to work with words in a more sophisticated
manner.
- Have participants find and bring in poems that dream.
- Have participants do some research to discover what some
of the problems were in the time and place in which the poet
lived. To what was the poet responding?
- For discussion: What are images that represent the
problems in our own world? Have students bring in popular
media sources. What kinds of words and images create a
dialog or response to those images? What are your own
dreams, your own images or words of poetry that dream for
the world?
- Have students create draft poems and images that represent
their dreams. Remind them of the limitations of space (8 ½"x
11".) and the expressive qualities (and limitations) of
fabric.
- Have participants work in small groups to share their work
and elicit responses. What words and images connect with
other people?
- Allow possible revision and editing, then transfer the
work to cloth, decorate, and attach to a line.
Suggested Readings List: (in process)
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
The Dream Flag concept
was created by sixth grade teachers Jeff
Harlan, Sandy Crow, Helen Holt and
others at
The Agnes Irwin School
(www.agnesirwin.org), Rosemont,
Pennsylvania, U.S. The Dream Flag
Project (www.dreamflags.org) is a
collaborative project facilitated by
Jeff Harlan and Sandy Crow. Contact
dreamflags@agnesirwin.org or Jeff
Harlan, Dream Flags Project Director,
The Agnes Irwin School, Ithan Ave. and
Conestoga Road, Rosemont, PA 19010, U.S.
A.