10 Words
frame a learning experience with only ten words
This is one of the seemingly simplest activities, yet it has one of the greatest payoffs in terms of student reflection and learning.
This week, we’re working with a group of university students enrolled in an education course at Habla. During a sample unit, they explored the guiding question, “What sustains life?” by creating an imaginary planet through an interdisciplinary lens that integrates the sciences, the language arts, and the visual arts.
10 Words On Topic
To begin the experience, students listed ten words they associate with the word planet. They write the words as quickly as they came to mind—descriptive or poetic. The words didn’t have to be in English; students were free to mix languages as they wished. The activity typically takes about three minutes. Here are some examples of what students came up with:
Next, the students created a “spoken word” reading of their ten words. As they read, they could repeat words and rearrange them in any order they liked.
Extensions
From there, we took the word lists in a variety of directions, including:
