Format for sharing ideas and perspectives on challenge
Objectives
- Students will synthesize and summarize ideas taken from content on challenge.
- Students will compare personal perspective with peer’s perspective
This activity provides a structured format for students to summarize and share their ideas based on specific readings. You can structure it with movement, or make it a silent, written experience by seeing the Variations section.
Notecards (4 per student)
Challenge Resources (printed for each student or displayed)
• Autobiography in 5 Chapters
• Caterpillar Tale
• Rise Above Spoken Word (ability to project or display this video - sound only is ok)
• Challenge Quotes
GOGOMO Graphic Organizer (optional for a variation of this lesson)
1. Intro this lesson by sharing that the group will spend time hearing or reading some content, then responding personally, and then finally sharing their ideas with the class.
2. Read and display the essential question: What does it take to get through a challenge successfully?
3. Remind the class that challenges can be physical, social, spiritual, emotional, or mental. Students should think broadly about the topic of challenge and make as many connections as they can throughout this session.
4. Distribute four index cards to each student.
5. Explain to students that you will distribute or display one piece of material at a time. As students watch or read, they will think about what the piece says to them about the essential question: What does it take to get through a challenge successfully?
6. Once the reading is complete, students will take some time to think about the main idea, thought, or concept that they took from the content. This should be an important message or idea that they believe in or learned.
7. Then, students will record their idea on a notecard. During the next phase of the activity, students will be “giving away” these ideas.
8. Show or read the first piece of content (reading/video/poem). Allow time for students to read, think, and record their ideas on a notecard.
9. Once students have completed notecard #1, display or read the second piece of content. Similar as before, students should consider what important message or idea about overcoming challenge the piece conveys to them—and record it on the second notecard.
10. Once students have completed notecard #2, display or read the third piece of content. As before, students should consider what important message or idea that they believe in or learned—and record it on the third notecard.
11. Once students have completed notecard #3, display or read the fourth piece of content. Again, students should consider what important message or idea that they believe in or learned—and record it on the third notecard.
12. Next, invite the group to get up and mingle with their peers.
13. After about 30 seconds, call out “GIVE ONE!”
14. Participants form trios of students and each person shares (“gives”) one of his or her key learnings or important ideas about the topic to the others. Time for this will range from 3 – 6 minutes.
15. Consider incorporating a short discussion prompt into each round such as: What do you believe is the core message of this piece?
16. Call out “MOVE ON” and participants mingle again. Repeat the grouping and sharing for two more rounds.
Audio Link here
1. Vary the size of the group for sharing to 4 or 5 students
2. Be more intentional about your expectations for what students write on their index cards. For example, have students write about characteristics that they observed in the characters, or a sentence stem to complete.
3. GOGOMO can be made into a silent, written experience by using the GO, GO, MO graphic organizer. For using the written version, ask students to think of an important idea from the lesson and write it down in Box 1. Pass the sheet to another student, who will read box 1. That person will add an idea to box 2. Do not repeat ideas. Continue to pass the sheet until all the boxes are filled! Last, return the sheet to its original owner.
4. Replace the given readings with excerpts from recent literature or historical texts that the class has been working on.
See GOGOMO in action with this short video:
1. Share the following quote with the students:
“Are you ready?” Klaus asked finally.
“No,” Sunny answered.
“Me neither,” Violet said, “but if we wait until we’re ready we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives. Let’s go.”
Ask students to journal their response to the prompt, “What do you tell yourself when you encounter a life challenge?” Then, rewrite the quote from Violet with student’s own mantra!