This activity has
been inspired by one of Robert Fulghum´s short stories from his book
Maybe (Maybe Not). The story starts as follows:
….continues:
...
and finishes with:
This activity
follows the story.
First,
we explain to students that the session will start with a short story
which will be read to them. It is no need to read the whole story -
only essential paragraphs (or if the language level of the groups is
lower, we can paraphrase the story using simpler vocabulary and
sentence structure). The reading should not be longer than 3-4
minutes.
After
the story has been read, we suggest we do the same: We ask students
to “take out their wallets (and purses and any equivalents of the
money + other essentials holders) and place them on the table”.
Then,
we ask students to take everything out, spread it on the desk in
front of them and go through the items in a few minutes.
Finally,
we ask students to say a few words (two sentences) about themselves
based on what they have found – one idea related to something they
would call “typical for them” and one idea based on something
that has surprised them (something they did not expect to find, if
there is such a thing).
This
activity can be really great, however, there are five basic issues
we, teachers, should be aware of:
1)
There is always someone who does not have a wallet (either with them
or simply does not use any) – in that case, we can ask them to take
their diary or mobile and look at the entries or text messages,
photos, phone numbers or anything else and base their introduction on
that.
2)
This activity takes usually longer than what is expected because (and
I am always surprised it really works the same way as in the story)
students are more than willing to talk. They usually want to comment
on different things they have found or realised.
3)
Students can react emotionally, such as go through the papers they
have in their wallet and throw them all into the dustbin or bursting
out in laughter because they simply recalled something really funny.
4)
Students can sometimes get unexpectedly open, e.g. a male student
commented once on a condom in his wallet saying: “This probably suggests,
I am always ready.”, or a female student commented on her
contraceptive pills saying: “This means, I do not want to have kids,
just yet, I guess.” This means that we should try and make sure we can provide a
safe and freindly environment where students can say whatever they want if they
want to.
There
can also be students of the opposite position – who do not want
to share anything (it happens rearly),
and there is no need to force them to share their privacy. Such a student can
introduce themselves in a traditional manner.
5)
Students can find objects of all types (from paper clips and coin
jettons to scales or amulets) in their wallets and ask for “what
this is called in English”, so, we have to be ready for that as
well.
The great
advantage of this activity is that students often remember a lot about
their peers and
that is why we can sometimes refer back to certain personal items or stories
during the course, which can make the atmosphere in the group more personal.
Hi! I can't go to Portugal'sConference, but I thank you for this blog I will take as reference. Here in Brazil we have a poet, Ronald Claver, who used to offer workshops on creative writing. In 90's I've attended one he made like this, based on another writer's piece. In this case, the writings about a drawer: once the poet opened his drawers and took out all the things inside while making really joking comments. Now I am thinking about combining these two text to create an activity like yours.
ReplyDeleteHi! I can't go to Portugal'sConference, but I thank you for this blog I will take as reference. Here in Brazil we have a poet, Ronald Claver, who used to offer workshops on creative writing. In 90's I've attended one he made like this, based on another writer's piece. In this case, the writings about a drawer: once the poet opened his drawers and took out all the things inside while making really joking comments. Now I am thinking about combining these two text to create an activity like yours. Kátia C ( i have two g accounts)
ReplyDeleteNice post.
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