Thursday, August 27, 2009

What's Your Drama! (Ice breaker activity)

Lashun Griffin had the brightest idea for engaging students while still giving late-comers a chance to double-check financial aid paperwork, get their books at the bookstore, or find an empty parking space. Students in her freshman English composition class received a handout with the following:

“Human beings love stories. We put them everywhere—not only in books, films, and plays, but also in songs, news articles, cartoons, and video games. There seems to be a general human curiosity about how other loves, both real and imaginary, take shape and unfold. Some stories provide simple and predictable pleasures according to the conventional plan. But other stories seek to challenge rather than comfort us, by finding new and exciting ways to tell the tale or delving deeper into the mysteries of human nature, or both” (Gioia and Kennedy 5).

What is your story? What led you here? What are your fears and failures? What are your triumphs? What keeps you going? What stops you in your tracks? What conflict are you battling? After stating your name and major, please answer tow of the questions listed above. Be ready to answer pertinent follow-up questions.

What makes this such a great idea? She says students were able to unload their drama. It cleared their minds to talk about the trouble in their lives that particular day. They felt l they were seen as people rather than as numbers. They felt connected to others in the room because they shared common challenges and triumphs. And it is an excellent way to introduce the personal narrative, which is a specific assignment in freshman English.

This icebreaker could easily be used in any class where story is a part of the curriculum: developmental writing, freshman English, general speech classes, psychology, sociology, video storyboarding…If you are teaching Second Start classes, you might try this great little idea next week. The rest of us can store the idea in our GIFT bag because we’ll be starting over in four months.

Collaboration: Joyce Boatright

If you would like to collaborate with the blog by contributing with your GIFTs (Great Ideas for Teachers) email Joyce boatright (LSC-North Harris Faculty and Staff Center Director).

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