I have been striving to find narrative writing projects that
would take students beyond the rote ‘write to a prompt’ thing. I also am painfully aware that whatever
project we do, I still have to make sure students can write narratives for the
state test on-demand portion of the assessment. So I began diving into project
based learning sites looking for ideas and strategies while also working
through a Deeper Learning MOOC and a Learning Differences MOOC, gaining new
insights and resources concerning student interest, motivation and student
centered learning. Combine all this with
several snow days in a row, and I began to put together a couple Narrative
based projects. I believe that both projects will generate student interest
because… well… it’s about them. When it’s personal, students often have
inherent interest.
Both projects also are text- based with multiple non-fiction
readings that students would use as research and as reference as they write.
One project asks students to write an essay and the other a letter, but both
will hopefully produce reflective writing using narrative techniques.
Like any narrative unit, the key to success will be an
intensive introduction to narrative and related techniques- looking at multiple
mentor texts. I also plan to do some journal writing to get the mental juices
flowing as we practice narrative technique. Ultimately, I want students to
incorporate narrative technique in the below writings.
One assignment I want to incorporate first, is the “Letter
to Your Younger Self”. I first stumbled on this when I came across an article
about the idea (see resources below).
The article was not meant for teaching or students but it got me
thinking: Instead of the all-too boring “narrate a time when you learned a
lesson, or made a mistake and learned from it” students instead could write to
their younger selves to uncover these ideas. If nothing else, it might provide
seeds for future writing ideas. I also
liked the fact that students would be diving into nonfiction in the midst of
our narrative unit. While it isn’t completely a project based lesson, it does
have many components, as noted above, that I find important.
A Letter to My Younger Self:
Essential Question: If
you could go back in time, what would you do over? What would you change? What
would you keep the same?
Brainstorm: (The below brainstorm would be done in 1-2
days. The journal prompts would come after they do the brainstorming. Take a
day for mistakes, and a day for achievements- These journal breaks will provide
narrative description/techniques within their letter)
- What do you love about yourself and what do you hate about yourself? Why?
- Mistakes you‘ve made- what did you learn? What do you wish you‘d done differently?
Journal- Take one big mistake that
really sticks with you. Describe specifically what happened, thoughts and
feelings, and reflect on why this was a mistake and what you learned.
- Achievements you’ve had. Why were they achievements? Your thoughts and feelings on them?
Journal- Think of one achievement that
sticks with you. Describe specifically what this achievement was, how you made
this achievement and your thoughts and feelings about it. What did you learn
after you achieved this?
- What do you know now that you wish you knew earlier in life?
Readings:
Huff Post- The Letter I would Write to My Younger Self-
Science of Us: Why you should write a letter to yourself tonight:
(I really like this article because it
uses science to explain the importance of writing and reflection.)
Dear Me- (website is for sale the of the book but offers excerpts for reading)
Write: Write a
letter to your younger self- express regrets as well as what you are happy
with. Tell yourself what you wish for them; give your younger self advice.
Extension: Tech Integration
Write a letter to your future self
Birth Order and Your Personality:
The second lesson I developed is more in-depth. It has to do
with a person’s birth order and how it determines our personality. This project
is designed to submerge students in nonfiction readings about birth order and
personality to produce an essay that reflects on this idea in their own lives.
Essential Question:
Do you think that the order in which you were born affects your personality?
4 Corners
Have students go to each corner according to the following:
If you are an only child
If you are first born
If you are the youngest child
If you are a middle child
(Starting with this progression will help the ‘only child’
differentiate from being first born.)
Brainstorm: Show Birth order photo above to get thoughts going.
Thinking about your birth order and your life thus far, how
do you think your birth order affects your life? How has it molded who you are
as a person? How has it affected your relationships with others?
Collaboration-
-
Talk to those in the same birth order as you and
discuss blessings and issues.
-
Talk to those in an opposite birth order as you
and compare contrast:
o
Your personality traits
o
Blessings and issues
Research and
readings:
Psychology Today (higher order reading)
Woman’s Day: How Does Birth Order Affect Relationships?
From the readings:
Make a T-Chart- One side- parts that you believe are true about yourself and the other side-
parts you believe are untrue for you.
You might add additional collaboration time for those in the
same birth order to compare notes/discuss.
Survey: Create a
survey on Google Docs- Create a new spreadsheet- set it up according to picture
shown. You must list a minimum of five traits for your birth order. Survey at least 5 people- parent(s) or
guardians, siblings, friends, teachers, pastor, etc. Ask them to rate you on a
scale of 1-5/ 5 most like you and 1 not like you at all/ for each trait noted
for your birth order. Choose 2 people you
surveyed and ask them for reasons for their ranking for at least two (2)
traits.
Journal- Discuss
the results of your survey. Report results for at least two (2) people you
surveyed. Do you agree with their
ranking/reasons for each trait? Why or why not? What surprised you? Why? If
nothing about the results surprised you, why? Did the results support the
research on birth order and personality? If so, how? If not, why do you think
that is so?
Some Fun Quizzes to
Take:
Webmd (shows correct answer immediately after
student answers.)
Parents Magazine (This quiz tells you what birth order you are, determined by how you answer
each question. And if it is wrong their claim is –‘something made you this way
so listen up!’ Only one question that would be beyond students- ‘you and your
spouse are going to see a movie….’ But I think they could take this quiz
nonetheless. Lengthy explanation follows after 10 questions are answered. Some
ad popups for the magazine occur during quiz)
Write: Write a
reflective essay about your birth order, your personality and how you get along
with others/relationships – What is true and not true from the research? Why do
you think that is so? Provide specific examples from your life and use at least
two (2) readings as evidence.
A related project I came across – “The Two Sides of Myself” might make a nice extension to the Birth Order Project. You can find
it here: “Two Sides of Myself”- (While
it is an art project, students could
write an essay about their two sides of self or write a reflective piece
explaining the art work; and/or you can
work with the art teacher in a collaborative project!)
My goal was to include nonfiction and research with
narrative writing in a project based environment. I also wanted the projects to
be interesting and to seem different from the traditional stand-alone prompts
they are used to getting (and will never write again outside of MS/HS), and I
wanted them to do some inquiry and deeper learning. Both projects allow them to take a deeper look
inside themselves and will likely provide some lively discussion.
How are you making Narrative more project based? Please
share!
Photos from Creative Commons- http://photopin.com/free-photos/self
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