We began our place-based short-story unit, focused on local literature written by members of the BIPOC community, by analyzing the following question:

"How does experiencing Vancouver as 'home' differ depending on who you are, where you come from, and where in the city you live?"

As a class, we engaged in many discussions revolving around immigration, preservation of culture, language, food, intergenerational conflict, and second-generation immigrant experiences, as most, if not all of us (students, and myself included) come from immigrant families.

After many robust and fruitful classroom conversations, our unit culminated in a student-led inquiry project that had them reflect on their own personal and cultural identity.

Some Inquiry Questions Included:

• How is food used to preserve my family's Chinese culture?

• What effect did the colonization of the Philippines have on my family?

• How is the Vancouver my parents experienced as new immigrants different than my experience as a second generation immigrant?

• How are K-Dramas an integral part of passing down aspects of Korean culture in my family?

• How can I use art as a form of healing from the intergenerational conflict I experienced growing up?
  

• How has my life changed moving from the Philippines to Canada?
  

• How did my grandfather's journey as a Vietnamese refugee affect the life I live today?
  

• What unique experiences do second generation immigrants face? How can we ensure the intergenerational conflict we experienced is not passed down to the next generation?
  

among so many others!

The results were amazing.

Students created podcasts, poems, stop-motion videos, photo essays, scripts for plays, film productions, family recipe books, immigration stories, personal life stories and reflections, among so much more! I was blown away by the care, motivation, and inspiration in these passion projects. Below are a just a few student creations: