Page 13 - Letter to My Father Curriculums_Neat2

Idea: Write a letter to your best friend describing your neighborhood and what you would like to see
changed. Have students trade letters then read each other’s aloud.

You may want students to express how they believe these changes will better the neighborhood
and express if these proposed changes are urgent or can be conducted over a designated period.

Purpose: To build confidence in student writings ability, promote group interaction, and an increase in
respect of peers and their ideas

Group Dynamics/Creative Thinking/Media Arts

The Power of a Word

Idea: Discuss the impact of words on behaviors. Using whiteboard/blackboard, have students
brainstorm and create a list of positive and a list of negative words. See if you can get students
to write down each word that they have been called by their parent(s) and consider how each
word has influenced their thinking about themselves and their actions. It might be a good idea
to allow leniency in word choices to generate honest, unrestricted answers.

Purpose: To help students connect how “words” spoken and written by others has influence on their
thinking, responses and behaviors.

Writing/Group Dynamics

Idea: Create teams of 3 or 4 and have students write a one page monologue between a father and
his child. Teams are allowed to use any subject matter they chose. Ask the teams to have 2
people read their monologue out loud.

Monologue Suggestions:

• Teen finds money missing from their bedroom.
• Why do I have to go to church?
• Teen visiting parent in jail
• You are about to get a beating.
• You missed my basketball game.
• Thanks dad for……

Purpose: To help students began to put words and voice to their feelings about their relationship with
their father.

Creative Thinking/Writing

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