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Kate Dusto's avatar

I love these ideas! I used your "core values" shapes lesson last year (I think you shared a slightly different slide deck?). One of my favorites is this "boxes" activity, which asks students which boxes they feel stuck in and which ones they want to break out of. It's a way to reflect on who they are as writers and introduce themselves to me at once. I use it with my comp classes but it could fit in any English class. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qlneDFqsh1XU6OnXrfp9VN_ItBggHHnNHnQF6CGT7-E/edit?usp=drivesdk

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Josh Cooper's avatar

Marcus--Like all of your work, this activity is thoughtful and engaging. It sets the stage for the learning you and your students will be doing TOGETHER for the rest of the year--an authentic community builder that gives credence to everyone's values/identity in the class. One fun adaptation I might make for ELA class is to replace the shapes with literary characters--bonus points if it can offer a little preview to literary characters that students will encounter in their reading for the class later in the year. For example, Huck Finn could be a circle or a squiggle (students could debate this later if reading/teaching the novel). Piggy from LotF is likely a square. Teachers in other subject areas could adapt similarly--periodic elements in Chemistry class, historical figures/eras in History class, etc. Thanks for sharing--your influence goes well beyond your classroom!

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