Finding inspiration #compelledtribe

I always love the interview question, "Where do you find your materials for a quality class?"

I'm sure the appropriate answer is to look at state standards, the scope and sequence, the text . . . but it's not my answer.  My answer is that inspiration can be found anywhere.  If I think it will enhance the curriculum, engage students, or breathe life into the learner, I use it.

I'm fortunate to work with like minded individuals.  As an 8th grade ELA team, we meet often to discuss our plans.  We work to find lessons that bring to life the lessons we teach.  Yes, we make sure the standards and sequence of events are covered in a thorough manner as outlined and expected in our district; however, we make the choice to approach it in a creative manner.

Because inspiration can strike at any moment.

Guess what . . . it works!

Three years ago we were looking at our newly adopted textbooks.  We met several times during the summer before school to divide tasks, and develop interesting lessons.  I was looking at a series of short stories throughout the book, with the goal of finding two with a similar theme to give our students an opportunity to discover theme across texts.

I found two that did this - they weren't put together in a traditional format.  They weren't even in the same section of the book.  However, the magic began when I put the titles in front of the team.

The stories "Clean Sweep" by Joan Bauer and "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" by Walter Dean Myers both had a similar theme of finding treasure in what others may consider not important.  We all have things we treasure beyond the monetary value of the item.  Usually they are attached to our memories, which creates the perfect opportunity to write a personal narrative about the item.

Suddenly the pairing got more meat.  However, it wasn't time to stop yet.  We continued to think about the theme that we call "Trash to Treasure."  Popular television shows were mentioned -- American Pickers, Storage Wars, Antique Roadshow were a few.  Non-fiction articles about Mike Wolfe (he has a house down the street -- about 15 minutes from our school) were found as he was expanding his retail location to Nashville.

Inspiration can be found anywhere.

We created a clip of the three TV shows to introduce the theme to our students.  It's only 7 minutes long, but it excites the kids to the point where they can hardly wait to share their favorite episodes. It opens up great discussions about choices that directors need to make in order to have a show work and what really goes on behind the scenes.  Next we look at the informational text pieces about Mike Wolfe and practice annotating the article.  Last year Mr. Wolfe was actually in town while we were doing this unit.  The English teachers took a Saturday field trip to see him in action in Leiper's Fork - several students did as well.  After hearing about our project, he donated his book for kids to our department, signed of course.

Next we look at the short stories to determine theme.  In "Clean Sweep" we discovered the theme of finding treasure amid the trash in attics.  Students wrote paragraphs describing how the author developed this theme citing evidence from the article.  (We used Google Classroom this year - this is an amazing tool for writing.)  Students then came in to find us dressed as Lemon Brown, a homeless man who was down on his luck in Harlem.  Harmonica music and the blues sang from our speakers as he shared his story and his treasure.  Again, the discussion of what makes something important was discussed.  We reinforced the ideas that when you learn why someone treasures something, it makes you view them differently.  You begin to see beyond the facade and delve into the character of a person.  Most of us aren't all that different beyond the facade.

Hearing the stories of others is important.

This leads us to the personal narrative.  Each teacher writes one first and shares it with the class. Then she challenges her students to do the same.  We have three basic questions our students need to answer -- what does the item look like (sensory details), what is the story behind the item, and why do you treasure it?  The requirement is a minimum of 500 words.  (This is rarely a problem.)

Kids have shared stories about baseball cards, broken iPods, cheesecake recipes, long boards, and instruments.  We've laughed as memories were shared, and as a group we've cried together.  Each child presents their treasure to the class while students write positive comments on post-it notes. Those notes are then shared with the speakers a the end of class (we shower them with notes).  It's fun to see them carefully store their notes and take them home.  Often those slips of paper become a treasure.

It's fun to see the shift in value in the class.  This assignment gives everyone a voice.  They are heard, and it is powerful.

So don't dismiss inspiration -- it can strike at any moment . . . in the closet, at a garage sale, in a flea-market, even in front of the TV.

What inspires your lessons?  Please share --