Opening Day (What's your shape of the world?)

It seems as if every educator, administrator, student, educational consultant, parent, etc. likes to blog about the start of the new school year being a new beginning.  This makes my first day 1000% easier (don't tell a math teacher, I don't think 1000% is mathematically possible.)  You see in life and in the classroom I've always liked being one step out of sync and doing things that are a bit out of the ordinary.  For me this starts on day one of the school year.

While most of my colleagues are going over rules and assigning seats on day one I like to do a simple exercise on why it is important for us to learn history together as a class as opposed to on our own.  I start by going over a few of the expectations on the sheet below.  We talk about the words in bold and why they are important.  When we get to #5 about coming to class I stop and ask the kids "why do you need to come to class?"  I point out that they are going to get a thousand plus page book, why can't they just stay home, read the book and then come in an take the test.  After getting a variety of answers ranging from "students would be too lazy to read the book" to "they would need help to understand the book" to the "law requiring them to attend school", I go to my desk and say lets try this...

I pull out a few jars of play-dough and toss them around the room.  The students are instructed that they have one minute to make an object with the play-dough.  I encourage them to get advice and assistance from their friends nearby.  The one rule is that they are restricted to making an object that could be seen in a P.G, moving (I teach 10th grade and I know a thing or two about what fifteen year old boys would sculpt if given free reign.)

Once the minute is up I go from desk to desk asking the "sculptor" their name (gives me an extra chance to learn the names on day one) and then I show their object to the class.  I ask the class what they think the object is.  Some objects their is general agreement, on others their is disagreement and discussion.  Some sculptors combine their clay with a fellow student to create larger two toned works, others use some of the play-dough, but not all of the play-dough.  All of them is good and works perfectly into our forthcoming discussion of history.

I next tell them that I see the play-dough as history.  We each come to class with some knowledge of history, from last year, from a book they've read or a movie they've seen.  We all have an understanding of the world, we all "see" the world a certain way, the same way we all saw something different in the
play-dough.

I ask them if it was wrong for students to combine play-dough and they'll respond to the effect that it is ok, even good to do that because in class and in life when people combine the things they each know (the facts) they're able to have deeper and better understanding.  Once I get an answer like this I know we're off to a great start.  

Next I ask about the students that don't use all of the play-dough.  "They made their shape without using all of the facts.  Is that wrong?"  The kids will then point out that nobody ever has all of the facts and that is where I challenge them form the upcoming year.  I tell them that my ultimate expectation and goal is that over the course of the year as they learn new facts, as they get more "play-dough" they should not be afraid to change their beliefs, to change their "shapes".  I then take one of the shapes and point out that even at my (advanced) age everyday I read, I watch the news, I meet people with different life experiences and everyday I'm adding more "play-dough" I'm adding more facts and I'm changing the way I see the world.

It's a different way to get them to think on day one.  While they may not remember the URL of my website or my email address (they're both on the handout just in case) maybe, just maybe I've gotten them to come back to class on day two and day three willing to open themselves up to new ideas.  After all the start of a new school year is always a chance for new beginnings ;)

Assignment page on my website (including handouts)