Lesson Plans (2 and 3).

Plan 2:

Brainstorm with students (as a large group) as many cliche phrases as come to mind. List them on the chalkboard. Some examples could be...

See the world with rose colored glasses.
What goes up, must come down.
Snow like a white blanket.
What goes around comes around.
The apple of my eye.
Pick yourself up by your bootstraps.
Apple a day, keeps the doctor away.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty is only skin deep.

As a class, try to come up with 15+ examples if possible.

Explain then for each student to grab a piece of paper and start writing on one of these cliche phrases. The goal for this lesson is to use the ideas of the phrase, without using the actual words or phrase. Each student will get about 10-15 minutes for their writing time.

After this writing time, the class will break into groups of about 5. Each person will read their poem/writing to their group. The idea/hope is that the group will be able to name the "cliche" which the piece was inspired by. The purpose of this is to show students (and teachers) that the meaning behind cliched events and sayings can be extrapolated using creative thought and word choices, and that often we need to look at the way we write and describe things (people, attitudes, etc) to make sure that we are not falling into the trap of reproducing another cliche.


Plan 3:

This is best done in the fall or spring, when it's beautiful outside, and students are itching to be outside.

Gather the class, making sure each student has a pad of paper and a pen. Next, go for a walk... it's probably the safest (for kids who like to elope) to stay on the block directly across from the school. As you pass by the houses, have the students make notes about what they see.... how does the yard look, the paint job on the house, the manicured lawns, or "things" laying around in the yard (i.e. grills, toys, gardening tools). Are people (neighbors) out in their yards? Are any flags flying?

On the way back to the school, have the students take careful notes about their own school and it's setting. Is there an abundance of trash on school grounds? How does the lawn look? Is there a "sign" with the schools name on it? How does it make them feel? What about their school are they proud of? What are they embarrassed about?

Upon returning to the classroom, have each student circle and list the nouns on their lists (i.e. flags, grass, toys, busted up sidewalk, police officer). Next, have the students go through and add details to several (as many as they can) of their nouns (i.e. the overwhelmingly large American Flag, the green grass that has been trampled by neighborhood kids, etc).

Finally, have the students free-write about "their community". What does their community look like? What kind of energy do they feel in their community? Are they proud to be a part of the community? Who is the community?

The idea behind this lesson is for students to become more observant of their community. By paying attention and noticing ones surroundings, perhaps they will feel more connected to the larger community, or feel inclined to make changes (either physical changes to their community/landscape, or attitude changes about their community).

When students feel a sense of connection, often the relationship (between themselves, community, school) will heighten, increasing the desire to become a more active participant (in themselves, their community, and their school).