As the school year winds down, I try harder than ever to create assignments and projects that are relaxed, fun, and easy for the kids to relate to – all without sacrificing academics.
This week in Creative Writing, we’re discussing “The Good Life,” what it means to us, to others, and in pop culture. After seeing a “circle discussion” at a school I interviewed at in Boston (more on that later), I was dying to try it out. We read a variety of song quotations that talk about the idea of living the good life (you can see them here in my “Good Life” Packet), and then we tried out the circle discussion. We used my Appletters game as the “speaking object” – if you had the Appletters, you could speak and be heard, if you didn’t, you had to wait.
Appletters - or, a speaking object!
The Appletters game went around three times, and the kids were SO respectful of the expectations that I set and of each other that I was really floored and proud. Everyone got two cookies and munched on them while we discussed.
The first time the Appletters went around, we each said which (if any) quotation we liked best, and why.
Good Life Quotes
Yes, one student (thanks JH) said he liked Kanye’s best, because it talked about “keep it comin’ with the bottles,” but another student said she didn’t like any of them because none of them mentioned feeling carefree.
The second time around, I started off by saying that I thought American culture projected ‘the good life’ as something only young people can live, as something reserved for the youth -and I pointed out the Weezer song as an example.
As the Appletters went around, some students commented on what I’d said – one asked if other people thought that the good life really WAS reserved for young people only, one student said she thought life got better as you got older, because you gained more rights and privileges and means. A few students mentioned money, and one suggested that people who grow up rich should have to spend a day in their lives, and that they should get to spend a day in the life of someone privileged, so that each group would understand his/her life better.
For the final turn, I asked everyone to say what they thought the good life is NOT, and I started by saying that I didn’t think the good life could be had by being alone. This was definitely the best round. One student said that the good life was not doing and dealing drugs your whole life. Another said he didn’t think you could live the good life if you couldn’t be yourself and express who you really are. A third said you couldn’t live the good life if you were afraid.
And then we broke out into independent writing. We had a chart to fill out, and a personal definition to complete. I meant to write with them, but I was totally mesmerized by their focus and thoughtfulness, so I circulated around the room just watching. It was seriously magical.
Independent Writing
And now, here I am, at the end of the school day, surrounded by paperwork (I still haven’t finished grading their plays from last week!) and still reveling in that lovely class. It’s not often that I feel like a fabulous teacher, or like my classroom is a safe, trusting, happy place of sharing. But today it was, and that is a victory.
<3, and excitement for the last 15 days of the school year!
Miss SBT
Posted on May 31, 2011
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