Wish

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Wishing”

In this activity, students will make wishes and categorize them.

For a long time, Charlie makes a wish each day, finding numerous ways to do so. Her wish stays the same. Let’s wish. You can choose to have one or many wishes.

• Think of a wish. You do not need to share it out loud.
• Categorize your wish based on which of these categories it MOST fits:

o Completely in my control

o Mostly in my control

o Mostly NOT in my control

o Completely NOT in my control

Write a journal about why you chose that category for the wish.

Contemplate what you will share in our discussion. You do NOT have to reveal the whole wish or something personal if you do not want to.

Teaching Suggestion: Since these could be private, mandatory sharing probably won’t work or could lead to students changing wishes. Depending on the class, some students might want to post or share their wishes, so this might be an option. Sharing with a partner or in small groups could be a way to build community without asking students to share full-class. Categorizing adds analysis to this activity. The four categories lend themselves well to a four-corner activity. A poster with each option could be in each of the room’s corners. Students stand near the poster that best connects to their wish. The journal and more discussion further incorporates reflection and explanation.

“Our Garden of Gratitude”

In this activity, students will create a class garden highlighting things they are grateful for.

Charlie and her peers create a Garden of Blessings in Sunday school. At first, Charlie struggles to come up with a blessing, but later she adds her contributions to the garden. Let’s create a class Garden of Gratitude.

• Reflect on what you are grateful for: people, places, events, experiences, items, anything.
• Create artifacts to display in our class Garden of Gratitude. Each artifact should have at least one gratitude reflection and include symbolism that represents the person, place, or thing you are grateful for.

Display your gratitude artifacts in our class Garden of Gratitude. Write a journal about one or more of the artifacts, how it connects to the theme of Finding One’s Identity and Place in the World, and how this activity affected you.

Teaching Suggestion: In Sunday school, the class creates a Garden of Blessings, where students make flowers and list blessings they have on them, and then post them on the wall. Though Charlie and the other students create the Garden of Blessings in Sunday school, it does not have to be religious. Gratitude can be healing, and creating a visual together can build community. Students could have time to discuss in small groups what they post. This garden can take numerous forms. Maybe it is a flower garden, vegetable garden, or another option. Artifacts might be flowers, fruits, vegetables, trees, stones, garden decorations, etc.

Paired Text Extension:

NPR’s “'Thank You, America': A Crowdsourced Holiday Poem That's A Blessing To Read” presents a poem that incorporates responses from many people to the prompt: What are you most thankful for about America? (Content Warning: This poem has sensitive topics and language)

• Read the poem.
• Stop and sketch what you visualize.
• Share your observations and reflections.

Teaching Suggestion: The poem offers a chance for poetry analysis and includes ideas for gratitude. Hearing some examples might help students brainstorm what they are grateful for. The link also includes a 6-minute audio version of the poem. The class might work together to create a crowdsourced poem of their own to accompany the Garden of Gratitude.