Final Days, Final Projects!

As we approach the end of the spring semester, my students are beginning work on their final projects. My teacher has students create autobiographies at the end of each year, and from what I can see, these are going to turn out to be amazing!

We have copied a RIDICULOUS amount of sheets for the students to complete, and each of these sheets asks the students about their personal lives. Students fill out a "birth certificate" with all of the information about their family background, and physically describe themselves in a 'Mirror Mirror' activity. It was quite entertaining to watch students as they worked on these sheets. We all think we know what we look like, but when you have to describe literally every aspect of yourself it becomes a little difficult! I also had no idea how exciting a tape measure would be, but the kids were absolutely obsessed with measuring each other and figuring out exactly how tall they were. (Unfortuately, I figured out that I'm still only 5'4...barely).

Students are also writing about their typical day, favorites, and personality types. I've been doing this project with the students, and the personal reflection has actually taught me a lot about myself as well! I think projects like this are so cool, because it allows me to learn a lot about my students and their lives. I would love to do an activity like this at the beginning of the year to help me get to know my students right off the bat, but I don't think it would work quite as well.

By the end of the year we have made connections with our students that allow them to open up in their autobiographies. While it would be awesome if this could happen at the beginning of the year, I don't think it would be the same because students just are not as comfortable sharing personal experiences with a person who is basically a stranger. My CT has told me about the material he has received in the past, and students do share some very personal details. I think that tells you a lot about both the teacher and the students, because it means that the teacher has fostered an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing, and know they are respected.

Activities such as this autobiography project are so important in the classroom, because personal connections allow for authentic learning. Students are still practicing writing, reflection, and analytical skills, and they are actually having fun with it because they get to talk about themselves! I was reading a blog written by Stephen Hurley, and he had his students participate in the same sort of project. In his blog, he explained why he chose to have students tell their personal stories, explaining; "Throughout the year, we have been exploring how the arts can help us both understand our stories more deeply and express those stories to others." We have been doing the same in our classroom, especially during the Night unit, so the autobiographies were the perfect project to move on to. Hurley had his students actually present their work to family and friends, which I think is an excellent idea. We won't be doing that in our classroom, but I think that having students present their ideas through both speaking and writing would be very beneficial.

I can't wait to see what the students turn in, because they already have such great material, and we've only just begun!