Reimagining Borders

About This Lesson

When we think of borders, we often imagine geographic division between nations or smaller regions. Yet in the span of human history, the concept of borders as we know it is relatively new. As journalist and author Lauren Markham points out, “Before there were countries with borders, there were merely regions, and before that just the earth itself—travel far enough back in time and there weren’t even continents separated by water, only one big mass of land.”

In this lesson, students will examine Richard Blanco’s powerful poem “Complaint of El Río Grande,” which invites them to rethink traditional notions of borders. Using a creative discussion protocol in which they take on the roles of Architect, Detective, Psychologist, and Philosopher, students will analyze how Blanco portrays borders as points of convergence where all things—the sun, moon, birdsong, mountain rain, and humanity itself—meet. This exploration lays the groundwork for the text set’s broader narrative of human migration, designed to encourage students to transcend bordered differences and work together to foster spaces of compassion and empathy. 

Essential Questions

• Why do people move? 
• How can our migration experiences and those of our ancestors shape our sense of who we are and where we belong?
• How can literature and storytelling broaden our perspective and build empathy for the human experience of migration?

Guiding Questions

• Who or what determines how we understand geographic borders? 
• How does the poem “Complaint of El Río Grande” help us reimagine borders in new ways?

Facing History Learning Outcomes

• Critically and ethically analyze thematic development and literary craft in order to draw connections between the text and their lives.

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Warm Up with an Image Analysis

Let students know that they are starting a new unit called Crossing Borders:  Building Empathy Through Storytelling. You can ask a few volunteers to make a prediction about what they might study in the unit. 

Next, have students set up their journals by writing the unit title at the top of a page. Underneath, they can write the date and “Image of the Río Grande.” 

Project the Image of the Río Grande. Let students know that they are looking at the Río Grande on the border between Mexico and Texas. Ask students to study the image silently for 30 seconds. Then have them spend 30 seconds making a list in their journals of everything they see in the image. 

Then have students respond to the following question in their journals. Let them know that they will not be sharing their responses with their peers. 

• Would you describe the river in this image as a place where things meet? As a place where they are separated? Or as something else entirely? Why do you think that?

Activity 2: Listen to “Complaint of El Río Grande” by Richard Blanco

In this activity, you will play the video of Richard Blanco reading “Complaint of El Río Grande” in three segments, pausing for students to react after each one. The segments are as follows: 

• 00:00–00:53: Richard Blanco introduces the poem
• 00:53–03:20: Richard Blanco reads the poem
• 03:20–04:08: Richard Blanco reflects on his inspiration for the poem

Explain to students that they will be listening to and then reading a poem by Richard Blanco titled “Complaint of El Río Grande.” Play the introduction section of the video Richard Blanco Reads ”Complaint of El Río Grande” (00:00–00:53). Then ask students to think about how they would answer the following question: 

Based on the title of the poem, “Complaint of El Río Grande,” and the details Richard Blanco shares in the introduction, what is one idea that you think the poem might explore? 

Next, play the section of the video where Blanco recites his poem (00:53–03:20) while students just listen and watch. Then pass out the reading ”Complaint of El Río Grande” by Richard Blanco and instruct students to “talk” with the poem as they read it to themselves by placing a star next to lines that resonate with them and/or sketching imagery from the poem. 

Then play the final section of the video, in which Richard Blanco shares his inspiration for the poem.

Project the following questions for a journal reflection. Let students know that they will discuss their reactions to the poem in pairs and that they will have a choice in what they share.

• How does this poem make you feel? 
• What does this poem remind you of?
• What’s going on in “Complaint of El Río Grande”? In other words, what is the story of the poem? 

Give students a few minutes to share some ideas from their journal responses in pairs. Circulate to get a sense of how they are understanding the poem after engaging with multiple readings.

Activity 3: Participate in Analytical Role Group Discussions

Let students know that for this activity, they will be working in small groups of four or five to discuss “Complaint of El Río Grande.” Explain that each group will take on one of the following roles that will determine the lens through which they analyze the poem: Architect, Detective, Psychologist, or Philosopher.

Move students into groups and assign each group a role or allow students to choose their groups based on the role that most interests them. Depending on the size of your class, you may have two or more groups per role.

Once students are in their groups, pass out the “Complaint of El Río Grande” Analytical Roles Discussion handout and review the instructions with the class. Then circulate as groups discuss their questions, prompting students to jot down annotations and notes on their handouts so they are prepared to share their ideas with the class. 

Activity 4: Share Analytical Role Responses with the Class

After groups have had a chance to discuss their questions, have members of each group summarize their responses for the class. Project the poem on the board and add annotations as they share their answers. You can also invite students up to the board to record their own annotations as they share. Provide follow-up questions as needed.  

Then have students do a two-minute journal response under their earlier reflection in Activity 2 that explores the following question:

• Why do you think Richard Blanco wrote “Complaint of El Río Grande”? What does he want you to think about as a result of reading his poem?

Activity 5: Assign Homework

Pass out ”All the Colors of Goodbye” by Nafiza Azad and instruct students to read and annotate the first part of the short story. You may have taught specific annotation strategies that you want your students to use, or they can use the ones suggested in the assignment. (There are more detailed instructions for the homework below.)

Homework Read and Annotate the First Part of “All the Colors of Goodbye”

Students read and annotate the first part of ”All the Colors of Goodbye” by Nafiza Azad. They should stop on page 5 (“I say goodbye to the mountains and their waterfalls too”). As they read, students should jot down the following annotations in the margin of the reading. They will be choosing annotations to share in the next class:

• ♡ Place a heart by moments in the story that resonate with you, perhaps because of how that part is written or because it makes you think in a new way.
• ? Place a question mark in places where you feel confused, perhaps because you don’t understand a word or the author assumes you know something that you don’t know.
• 🙂 Place an emoji (smiling, frowning, angry, sad, etc.) by moments where you have an emotional response to the story.
• Underline places where you see yourself and/or your experiences in what the narrator is describing, perhaps because of a relationship, a setting, or something that happens in the story.