Meals are a really important time to us because it is a space in which we can all slow down and be together.
~ words from Lam that keep us thinking and wondering ~
Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
Notice what you notice. Wonder what you wonder. There is no quiz, no right way. Read until something stays.
this film has no words. notice what you notice. notice what you wonder. wonder out loud. and don't forget to notice what you feel, too.
Appreciating Imperfection
How do you notice your mood to be impacted by the weather? How do you feel when it is really sunny? What about when it is raining? What is ‘gloomy’ weather like?
What types of important traditions take place in your community or family? I’d love to hear about them! Is there anything similar to the Vietnamese Moon Festival?
What do you think about this idea of nothing in nature being “perfect,” but still being beautiful? How do you define ‘perfect’? What makes something beautiful? Do you think that each person’s perspective of beautiful may vary? Why might that be? In what situations do you feel like you have to do something perfectly?
One time we were asked to make a life-size, 10 foot crocodile for a Natural History Museum! It took me about 18 straight hours of “papering”, and I couldn’t stop the process because I had to finish shaping it before the paper was dry. I actually had to keep spraying water on it so it would stay wet! Man, that was a really fun project. It took a lot of time though. What if all my projects took me that long? Luckily they don’t all take me that long. Perhaps you can use a line plot to track my hours per project in a week!
Project one: 4 hours
Project two: 3 hours
Project three: 7 hours
Project four: 4 hours
Project five: 5 hours
Do you know what a ‘carbon footprint’ is? How might you assess your own carbon footprint? Why is it important?
Depending on the size and shape and difficulty of making the light, each piece we create costs something different. Can you break these prices down into hundreds, tens and ones? And how do each of these prices compare?
Quilted Table Light: $300
Lumino Pendant: $450
Bull’s Eye: $225
“What might it be like to be an artist for a living?” Encourage the students to freely share their ideas, prompting them with questions like, “What might be challenging?
What might be the best part? Does the ‘best part’ vary? Do the challenges vary? Why?” In this lesson you’ll be learning about the process of an artisan’s work while thinking about “perfection” on both a personal level and the level of climate change.
Watch the video I am Lâm. “What do you notice about his life as an artist?” You can compare and contrast what they notice in the video with what they first thought about life as an artist.
Then, move on to reading the story, Lâm on Creating Light. Throughout the story Lâm talks about accepting and appreciating the imperfect. On page 2, he uses nature as an example for something that is not “perfect” but is still beautiful. Consider using this as a metaphor to discuss with students what “perfect” means and what “beautiful” means, guiding them to recognize that it is subjective and there is no right or wrong. To help them understand, consider doing an experiment in which you invite each student to draw in private something they consider beautiful and then share back with the class, admiring how different are their drawings. Pratice eco-system thinking by then zooming way out and bringing up the topic of climate change and carbon footprints. Lâm brings up nature quite a bit in his story, which you can leverage as a transition to this topic. Gauge what your students already know by asking, “Tell me what you know about carbon footprints!” Consider watching this short animation as an introduction to carbon footprints. “Why might it be important to reduce our carbon footprint?” Use this as an opportunity to introduce climate change and carbon footprint (teacher resource) if they are not yet familiar, or if they are, simply brainstorm ideas. Then connect it to perfect/imperfect. “Now, most likely none of us will have a “perfect” 0 carbon footprint, however, we can each do our part by trying to keep our carbon footprint low, and know that makes a difference!”
Practice using line plots, strategies for adding within 100, hundreds, and comparing 3-digit numbers. On page 3 Lâm describes a long, fun process of making a life-size crocodile lamp.
He provides estimations of how long projects typically take him and how many projects in a week they tend to complete. Consider splitting students into 4 groups, each representing one week of the month. Give each group a different set of numbers, similar to those in the story. They begin by creating a line plot to track the hours in their week. Then, all groups can work together to add up the amount of hours in a month Lâm spends on his lamps, practicing strategies for adding within 100. Consider keeping them in their groups for the other math challenge, found on the last page of the story. Students will work break down into hundreds the costs of the lamps (in hundreds) and compare their prices. “What do you think might impact the different prices of the lamps? Do you think someone’s idea of ‘beautiful’ might impact it? What else?”
Take some time to help students determine their own carbon footprint. You could do this collectively as a class or individually, and may need to help them think about things their parents buy or do for them.
A good resource is PBS Kids. Afterward, brainstorm a list of ways you could reduce your carbon footprint in the classroom!
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Everything Has A Story
Can you help me understand why might Kestrel have been hesitant? Have you ever worked on a project with a loved one? What was the experience like?
Do you ever think about the story of how something is made? Why or why not? Take a look around the room and choose an item or two. What might be it’s How-I-Was-Made story?
Do you think you teach the adults in your life anything? I bet you do! What might they learn from you? Or what are some lessons you’ve taught another older person you’re around a lot? What do you learn from them?
Meals are a really important time to us because it is a space in which we can all slow down and be together. A lot of our days revolve around meals. We usually eat at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. Can you draw these times on clocks to show my kids when we’ll eat?
Some weeks are more productive than others. Can you create a bar graph to show how many lights we made each week? Which week was the most productive?
Week One: 5 lights
Week Two: 3 lights
Week Three: 6 lights
Do you know what I mean by consumption? Do you ever think about your consumption? Why or why not? Why might it be important to be aware of our consumption, or to keep our consumption minimal?
Since we want to use our land for a lot of things like tending animals and gardening, we need to create a design. Would you please help us? Do you think we should divide it into thirds? Fourths? Assuming our new land is in a rectangle shape, try drawing out some designs! I’d love to hear your reasoning behind it.
“What do you imagine the life to be like of the person or people who made these items in front of us?” Begin this lesson sitting on the floor in a circle with a few chosen, common items in the center.
They could be things from your classroom or things you brought for home that are familiar to the students. Facilitate a thoughtful discussion for a few minutes, asking questions like: “How many people do you think it took to make X? Do you think they have a family? I wonder where they live, where do YOU think they might live?” Try to guide the students toward thinking about the human(s) behind this everyday item they regularly use.
Next, watch the video "I am Lam". “Let’s take an inside look at someone who crafts things for a living in the United States!” After watching the video, ask the students what they noticed about Lam’s life.
“So, we can see that he makes these really cool lamps. What else is going on in his life? What similarities do you notice to your own life?" Then, dig deeper into Lam’s story by reading his learning journey, "Lam and The Simple Life". After reading, you can chat more about the details of his life, following up by asking, “Would you know these things if you just passed Lam on the street? How cool is it to realize that every person we pass on the street has a whole story to their life!” Then move on to point out that “things” also have a whole story behind them, often connected to people. You can go back to the story section where Lam talks about the artist's responsibility to share their works' How-I-Was-Made story. Ask students what they think about this and look back at those items in front of them. Do they now have more ideas about the people behind those objects? Consider watching something from the Story of Stuff . Next, move on to the topic on consumption and resourcefulness. “Now, we’ve been talking about some common things we use and the stories of how they were made, particularly about the people who made them. Now, what about the resources that are used to make those things?! Those probably have a story too, right?” Reference the section of the story where Lam talks about reusing materials. “Why might Lam and Kestrel try to keep their ‘consumption minimal’?” You could connect this to subjects like the benefits of recycling, the amount of waste most humans create, and the impact on other humans that our consumption may have. For younger students, perhaps choose just one topic to connect to consumption. For older students, you could create a mind map diagram to explore complex connections.
Explore how bar graphs, fractions of shapes, and telling time show up in Lam’s life! You’ll find a prompt in the story asking students to draw onto clocks the times at which Lam’s family tends to eat.
Draw a personal connection by asking, “Does your family have set times at which you eat? It sounds like meals are pretty important in Lam’s family. How about in yours?” Just below this prompt is another prompt that offers data students can add to a bar graph. After they’ve drawn the graph, ask, “Which week was the most productive? What might influence how many lights they make a week?” This could be things like family events, if a holiday is near, etc. At the end of the story Lam excitedly shares about his family’s new mini-farm and ask for help creating designs, offering an opportunity to practice working with fractions of shapes. This could become an art project for students as they create their own designs, drawing in animals and garden shapes.
To bring these topics back to a personal level, consider creating a project in which students design their own ‘thing’, being conscious of the resources they consume and re-use.
They could actually create the ‘thing,’ or it could be a fictional design they draw or write about. Then, ask them to write and/or illustrate the story of how their invention was made and display it somewhere in the school community for others to see. This could be an individual, small group, or classroom level project.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Learning & Growing
What do you imagine I was feeling during that time?
What might you feel if you were in a similar situation?
It took another twenty years or so for me to truly feel comfortable in the United States culture.
What might be challenging for you in a new culture?
Have you ever thought of math in this way– that it is a “universal language”?
How cool is that, to imagine a kid on the other side of the world understanding math in the same way you do!
How might this be useful?
Do you speak multiple languages?
What do you imagine I was feeling while trying to learn to do something new in a different language?
What tips can you share for handling frustrating situations like this?
In most of these places in the US you can find people playing Ultimate Frisbee.
Have you heard of this sport?
It’s a team game kind of like soccer, only you are throwing around a disc called a frisbee.
Fields are typically 100 meters.
Now think about how the expression 100-x changes as x increases.
What could this change represent if you are playing Ultimate Frisbee?
I’ve mentioned a lot of places!
See if you can find all of these on a map.
Ultimate Frisbee is played widely around the world, and temperatures vary a lot.
The average summer temperature in parts of Vietnam is 30 degrees Celsius, but in Portland it’s 27 degrees Celsius.
What are these numbers in Fahrenheit?
In what year did I start making paper? See if you can figure it out using the expression x - (x - 2017) - (32 + 6) where x is the current year.
What geometric shapes were my lanterns in the video? I like to experiment with lots of different shapes, but each light takes a different amount of paper. If I created a light in the shape of a rectangular prism with a height of 8 inches and a base of 2 inches, how much paper will I need to cover the entire light?
Have you ever discovered something like this by accident?
What was it like?
What do you enjoy experimenting with?
Maybe you can also try making paper!
Have students think about a friend or family member that has visited from far away. Were there cultural differences that they experienced? Then share.
“What steps would you take to start learning about a new culture?”” Encourage students to think about moving to a different region of the country and then to a new part of the world altogether.
Ask them to draw a thought map of how they would start learning about their new environment. You could provide a personal example about your own moves to guide the conversation. Help them consider all of the things about a new place like manners, food, music, and art!
Begin by introducing or reviewing the concept of a growth mindset with this silly song or with an infographic, depending on to what you feel your class would best respond.
To provide practice in exercising a growth mindset and to check their comprehension, considering asking them to complete a few sentences: “Instead of saying, ‘I’ll never be able to do this,’ I will say _________” or “Instead of saying ‘This will never work,’ I will say _______.” Once you feel comfortable with their understanding of a growth mindset, watch the video I am Lâm. “Keep an eye out for what things he might be learning!” You’ll next dig deeper into Lâm’s learning journey story by reading, I am Lâm. Ask students to point out examples of a growth mindset in Lâm’s story as you read along. The story will provide prompts that guide you toward empathizing with Lâm’s process of learning to live in a new country, speak a new language, and learn new skills. Consider exploring how you learn with this short exercise: As a class, brainstorm a few common, simple things all students know and had to learn, like how to tie their shoe. Guide them through tracing their steps toward learning skill by working backwards: What was the last thing you did before feeling really comfortable with your capability? Who helped you learn this skill? What were you saying to yourself while you learned it (growth mindset opportunity here!)? What steps did you take toward learning it? Are these different steps different styles of learning - by listening, by doing, by observing, etc.
Practice math like expressions, order of operations, geometric shapes, and surface area while also exploring some of the concepts Lâm’s story brings up.
Practice expression value intuition with the story problem about 100 - x on page three. Help students understand that this change represents your team progressing up the 100 meter field to score a goal. Then ask students, “Why do you think the field is measured in meters instead of feet?” Help them realize Ultimate Frisbee is played around the world and meters are more universal. Then have them convert temperature for an evaluating expression word problem. Help students consider other changes between countries by asking, “What else might be different about playing Ultimate Frisbee in Vietnam versus Oregon?” On page four, students will practice order order of operations to identify when Lam first started making lights. The formula has a lot of parts, so ask students if they could simplify the expression at all. Next, consider replaying the video to have students write down the different geometric solids they see. Help them compare different shapes by asking whether there might be advantages or disadvantages to a light shaped as a cube versus a sphere. Finally, the last prompt has students consider the surface area of a light since it needs to be covered with paper.
After completing the math challenges, ask students to reflect back on the math they just finished and ask them, “How did you complete this challenge?
Do you see a pattern related to how you learned other skills, like tying your shoes? How might these patterns of learning show up in Lâm’s life?” Facilitate a short conversation that helps tie the students’ experience to Lâm’s, while also considering what it would be like for them to move to a new state or country as they learned these new skills.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Everything has a Story
Can you help me understand why might Kestrel have been hesitant? Have you ever worked on a project with a loved one? What was the experience like?
Do you ever think about the story of how something is made? Why or why not? Take a look around the room and choose an item or two. What might be it’s How-I-Was-Made story?
Do you think you teach the adults in your life anything? I bet you do! What might they learn from you? Or what are some lessons you’ve taught another older person you’re around a lot? What do you learn from them?
Meals are a really important time to us because it is a space in which we can all slow down and be together. A lot of our days revolve around meals. We usually eat at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. Can you draw these times on clocks to show my kids when we’ll eat?
Some weeks are more productive than others. Can you create a bar graph to show how many lights we made each week? Which week was the most productive?
Week One: 5 lights
Week Two: 3 lights
Week Three: 6 lights
Do you know what I mean by consumption? Do you ever think about your consumption? Why or why not? Why might it be important to be aware of our consumption, or to keep our consumption minimal?
Since we want to use our land for a lot of things like tending animals and gardening, we need to create a design. Would you please help us? Do you think we should divide it into thirds? Fourths? Assuming our new land is in a rectangle shape, try drawing out some designs! I’d love to hear your reasoning behind it.
“What do you imagine the life to be like of the person or people who made these items in front of us?” Bring several common items to the front of the classroom.
Then facilitate a thoughtful discussion about each item, asking questions like: “How many people do you think it took to make X? Do you think they have a family? I wonder where they live, where do YOU think they might live?” Try to guide the students toward thinking about the human(s) behind this everyday item they regularly use.
Next, watch the video "I am Lam". “Let’s look at someone who crafts things in the United States!” After watching the video, ask the students what they noticed about Lam’s life.
“So, we can see that he makes these really cool lamps. What else is going on in his life? What similarities do you notice to your own life?” Then, dig deeper into Lam’s story by reading his learning journey, "Lam and The Simple Life". After reading, you can chat more about the details of his life, following up by asking, “Would you know these things if you just passed Lam on the street? How cool is it to realize that every person we pass on the street has a whole story to their life!” Then move on to point out that “things” also have a whole story behind them, often connected to people. You can go back to the story section where Lam talks about the artist's responsibility to share their works' How-I-Was-Made story. Ask students if they now have more ideas about the people behind the objects from the start. Next, move on to the topic on consumption and resourcefulness. “Now, we’ve been talking about some common things we use and the stories of how they were made, particularly about the people who made them. Now, what about the resources that are used to make those things?! Those probably have a story too, right?” Consider using a classroom item as an example (such as a yardstick) and share how it was made (wood from trees). Next, reference the section of the story where Lam talks about reusing materials. “Why might Lam and Kestrel try to keep their ‘consumption minimal'?” You could consider the benefits of recycling, the amount of waste most humans create, and the impact on other humans that our consumption may have.
Explore how algebraic expressions and parallelograms show up in Lam’s life! You’ll find a prompt asking students to determine Lam’s lunchtime based on his breakfast time using an algebraic expression.
Draw a personal connection by asking, “Does your family have set times at which you eat? It sounds like meals are pretty important in Lam’s family. How about in yours?” You can have students work backward for dinner by telling them he eats at 6 p.m. and asking them to create an expression for the difference between lunch and dinner. Just below this prompt is another that has students write algebraic expressions word problems. After they’ve written the expression, explain how math problems tend to be idealistic but in reality production time would vary to lead into the second question. Once they finish, ask, “What might influence how many lights they make a week?” This could be things like family events, availability of materials, etc. “How quickly do you think you could make a light based on what Lam has told us?” At the end of the story Lam excitedly shares about his family’s new mini-farm and ask for help creating designs, offering an opportunity to practice working with fractions of shapes. This could become an art project for students as they create their own designs, drawing in animals and garden shapes.
To bring these topics back to a personal level, encourage students to develop a plan to reduce consumption in your classroom. This might involve not printing off certain papers, reusing notes, or making sure to turn off the lights when you leave the room.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
If a moment stayed, follow it. If a question rose up, hold it. The quiet teaching is still teaching.
Three or four real stories woven into one lesson, your topic, your time. Lam is one. The weaver finds the others, threads the math, the literacy, the values, the reflection.
Open the weaver →