The Last Lecture

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

When you hear the phrase “the good life,” what do you imagine? How does it relate to your childhood and future dreams? What role might secular, religious, or spiritual influences play in your definition of the phrase? Does “the good life” differ from “a good life,” and if so, how?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer introduces one of the text’s key themes: The Pursuit of Childhood Dreams. It may work well as an icebreaker or stoke to activate prior knowledge and encourage debate before exploring the following resources as a class or individually. Consider revisiting the questions after exploring the resources by having students compare their own answers to the answers offered by the sources.         

• This video from Crash Course Philosophy explores the ways in which philosophers have grappled with the concept of “the good life.”
• This article from Vanderbilt University offers an anthropologist’s perspective on the commonalities between various cultures’ definitions of “the good life.”

Short Activity

Personal storytelling plays a pivotal role in our world, from college admission essays and job interviews to branding and advertising. Think of your pursuit of the good life or of major challenges you have overcome, then create an elevator pitch for an inspirational movie based on this aspect of your life. Your pitch should persuade others of your movie’s universal appeal and should include up to three foundational themes, as well as the movie’s narrative arc, its defining moments, and its overall message. Pitches will be shared with the class, so be mindful of what you choose to include.  

Teaching Suggestion: Students may be unfamiliar with the elevator pitch as a form of writing. Depending on the students’ familiarity, consider having them explore the following resources as they work. Students may benefit from reminders that the purpose of this exercise is to reflect on their life, dreams, and values, as well as to build their own storytelling skills. Emphasizing creativity and fun may alleviate student anxieties. Consider having an option for students for whom past trauma or extreme self-consciousness may make this task unapproachable, such as allowing them to complete the exercise about a personal hero or historical figure.

• This industry blog from ScreenCraft offers a succinct formula for students and teachers to create a movie-related elevator pitch.
• This printable resource includes a large list of themes and messages for reference.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

Write a letter to your future self about how to live a good life. As you write, consider what core values, practices, beliefs, or tips are central to living a good life, and consider what evidence you can provide that shows these are still worthwhile, despite your future self’s increased life experience and circumstances. Then, on a separate paper, write a reflection on the following: In what ways did speaker, occasion, and audience impact your choices? What challenges did you face in writing with authority, and how did you overcome them?  

Teaching Suggestion: Students may find this exercise more meaningful and approachable if the letter portion is private. Consider allowing students to seal and keep their letters. You could collect only the reflection questions, or, if you choose to collect the letters as well, you could return them both at a later date. For the latter option, consider letting students know this time frame, as it may impact the content of their letters. Alternatively, you might encourage students to set a meaningful date, such as graduation, to open the letters on their own.

Differentiation Suggestion: To engage more learning styles, consider opening the task to include physical items and mixed media responses like a time capsule, collage, or vision board. Allowing for video or audio recordings in place of written responses and/or encouraging drawn or illustrated responses may benefit visual learners, auditory processors, and artistically inclined or technologically advanced students.