psychology lesson – My Town Tutors

Psychology Day #1: Dead Poet’s Society Carpe Diem and A Bucket List!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0Lbjs5ECI

How many people REALLY have a life list / bucket list? And were you ever introduced to this idea in school?

As individuals, we are rarely given advice on goal setting. This is a simple 50 minute lesson that can have a lifetime impact on some of your students. I teach two senior electives, during the first week of school, I use this activity with one of the classes. (It is never too early to teach the skills of goal setting.)

During the first days of school I like to use this activity to learn a little about my students and to model goal setting. A high school psychology class is a great opportunity to expose students to a valuable life lesson: identify your most important goals, then work very hard to reach them.
Before discussing a bucket list I show the following video clip from the Dead Poet’s Society.

Step 1: Watch The Dead Poet’s Society: Carpe Diem Speech (5:29):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJsjNNp0foE

This is a great clip to start the year off with – it is the students’ first day at an elite prep school – course expectations, syllabi, etc. Imagine if you had a student who had 5 teachers who went over rules and regulations. If you were the one teacher who had an engaging, exciting lesson, you might make an incredible first impression that could make a huge difference in student achievement and participation in your class – the one the really counts.

Here are the words to the impressive speech:

MR. KEATING: They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts, full of hormones just like you. Invincible just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see, gentlemen, those boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. Do you hear it?

Carpe. Hear it? Carpe. Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.

Step 2: After watching this clip, have the students create a “Life List.” People sometimes refer to this as a bucket list. The students will create a list of things they hope to accomplish, places they hope to visit, people they hope to meet, and things they hope to do. Each list should be realistic. These are the MOST IMPORTANT things in a student’s life. They should view it daily, add to it, check off the things completed. This is not an assignment it is their life.

For high school students this activity might take an entire class period. Adapt the time to the age and maturity level of the students.

Step 3: After 20 – 30 minutes (depending on the attention span of the students), have the students share their list. This will be a great starting point for class discussion and you will receive some incredible responses.

You also will learn about the experiences and goals of your students.

Step 4: Make it a permanent part of your curriculum. Make each student keep a copy of his / her bucket list in a binder / folder. Offer extra credit to any student who completes an item on the bucket list. Perhaps you could designate Fridays or one day a month for students to share any items they have accomplished.

It is important to emphasize this is NOT simply a graded assignment, but a “life list” is something that should be important to each each student. In the future, students should be able to return to you class, present the life list, then proceed to share how this goals were achieved.

Below is the worksheet I hand out to the students for this activity. Feel free to use this or revise it in anyway.

Name:

After watching this clip, create a “Life List” for yourself. People sometimes refer to this as a bucket list. Create a list of things you hope to accomplish, places you hope to visit, people you hope to meet, and things you hope to do. Your list should be realistic. These are the MOST IMPORTANT things for you. You should view it daily, add to it, check off the things you have done. This is not just an assignment, it is your life. Good Luck!

August 28, 2025

Psychology Lesson: Read the Last Lecture to the Students

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Here are a few lessons that I have used with a high school Psychology class. Hopefully the lessons are clear and useful to some teachers.
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What is the best way for students to connect with the material in the book?

Teachers are constantly faced with this question. What is the best way to engage students?The Last Lecture is a great book for all ages. There are many awesome activities for high school seniors.
In years past, students have engaged in silent sustained reading in class. This year with a large class (31 students), I am going to read the story to the students. As a parent, it is so valuable to read to a child of any age. Some students will be attending very competitive colleges, while others will be entering the military or workforce, so there is a wide range of reading levels.
This semester, I am planning on reading to the class. This will keep us on the same page and will facilitate class discussion. The book is part of psychology unit on “motivation and emotion.” There will be times when I get emotional reading this book. It will be hard to get through some sections without tears, that is okay!
Below are some important quotes that can be discussion points. I also have included some possible activities that you can have the students complete.

Silent Sustained Reading (Handout)

Dedication “With thanks to my parents who allowed me to dream, and with hopes for the dreams my children will have.” It is so important to have dreams! What are your dreams? What role have your parents played in the pursuit of your dreams. (Visionboard)

Introduction

“I have 10 tumors in my liver, and only a few months left to live.” (page ix)

“While I could feel sorry for myself, that wouldn’t do them or me any good.” (page ix)

“All parents want to teach their children right from wrong, what we think is important, and how to deal with the challenges life will bring. We also want them to know some stories from our lives.” (page ix)

Assignment: Select TWO family members and ask them to share a story about his / her life. The story should be something that is meaningful to the individual. (Storycorps: Family Unit) a quote to get the person to consider: “What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we were to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?” (page 3)

“If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I am a lecturer. So I lectured.”

Assignment: Randy Pausch is an older man, who has had more life experiences and has had more years to identify and develop his talents. You have had many experiences in your life. Identity TWO of your strongest talents.

Identify the talent:
Explain who you have developed this talent in the past, what you are doing now, and what you will do in the future to develop this talent.
Explain how you are sharing this talent with other or how you can share this talent in the future.

“I talked about honesty, integrity, gratitude, and other things I hold dear.”

Assignment: Identify three values you “hold dear.” Explain the values and why they are important you. Give a concrete example of how you apply these goals to your life.

1 An Injured Lion Still Wants to Roar

“What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we were to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?” (page 3)

“I saw it as my mission to do all I could to lessen the burdens in her life.” (page 5)

“This lecture will be the last time many people I care about see me in flesh. I have a chance here to really think about what matters most to me, to cement how people will remember me, and to do whatever good I can on the way out.” (page 7)

“When parents tell children things, it doesn’t hurt to get some external validation.” (page 9)

“What makes me unique?” (page 9)

Assignment: One of the biggest challenges in life is fully under your “true self.” This means understanding and accepting who we are. Reflect on the deepest of deep questions: “What makes me unique?”

“I thought about how I defined myself: as a teacher, a computer scientist, a husband, a father, a son, a friend, a brother, a mentor to my students. Those are all the roles I value.” (page 10)

Assignment: Identify your THREE most important roles. Explain your responsibilities in that role. Evaluate how well you fulfill the responsibilities of this role.

“My uniqueness, I realized, came in the specific of my dreams. I truly believed I was a lucky man because I had lived out these dreams.” (page 10)

2 My Life in a Laptop

“How do you get other people to reconnect with theirs (childhood dreams)?” (page 11)

“an unpleasant reminder for Jai that she would now be without me for this birthday and all the birthdays to come.” (page 12)

“I did a sabbatical at Electronic Arts (EA sports)” (page 12) How many people own an EA game?

“The accidental elements that play into both our arrival into life… and our departure into death.” (page 13)

“Wondering if I’d have to go on stage wearing the adult diaper I’d brought as a precaution.” (page 14) – being prepared

3 The Elephant in the Room

“The logo on my short-sleeved polo shirt was an emblem of honor because it was worn by the Disney Imagineers…I was paying tribute to that life experience, and to Walt Disney himself, who famously had said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” (page 16)

“My dad always taught me that when there’s an elephant in the room, introduce it. If you look at my CT scans, there are approximately ten tumors in my liver, and the doctors told me 3-6 months of good health left. That was a month ago, so you can do the math.” (page 16)

“That is what it is. We can’t change it. We just have to decide how we’ll respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” (page 17)

Assignment: “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” (page 17) Explain a “tough hand” in life you have been dealt and how you “played the hand.” This hand could be something out of your control – a birth defect, divorce, accident, moving – or something you controlled – an arrest, a bad grade, a bad decision. In your answer

Explain the “hand”
Explain “how you played it”
Describe how you feel about how you played it

“I am not in denial.” (page 17)

January 25, 2016

New Years Day Lesson: Make a Bucket List

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How many people REALLY have a life list / bucket list? And were you ever introduced to this idea in school?
As individuals, we are rarely given advice on goal setting. This is a simple 50 minute lesson that can have a lifetime impact on some of your students. I teach two senior electives, during the first week of school, I use this activity with one of the classes. (It is never too early to teach the skills of goal setting.)
During the first days of school I like to use this activity to learn a little about my students and to model goal setting. A high school psychology class is a great opportunity to expose students to a valuable life lesson: identify your most important goals, then work very hard to reach them.
Before discussing a bucket list I show the following video clip from the Dead Poet’s Society.
Step 1: Watch The Dead Poet’s Society: Carpe Diem Speech (5:29):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJsjNNp0foE
This is a great clip to start the year off with – it is the students’ first day at an elite prep school – course expectations, syllabi, etc. Imagine if you had a student who had 5 teachers who went over rules and regulations. If you were the one teacher who had an engaging, exciting lesson, you might make an incredible first impression that could make a huge difference in student achievement and participation in your class – the one the really counts.
Here are the words to the impressive speech:
MR. KEATING: They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts, full of hormones just like you. Invincible just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see, gentlemen, those boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. Do you hear it?

Carpe. Hear it? Carpe. Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.
Step 2: After watching this clip, have the students create a “Life List.” People sometimes refer to this as a bucket list. The students will create a list of things they hope to accomplish, places they hope to visit, people they hope to meet, and things they hope to do. Each list should be realistic. These are the MOST IMPORTANT things in a student’s life. They should view it daily, add to it, check off the things completed. This is not an assignment it is their life.
For high school students this activity might take an entire class period. Adapt the time to the age and maturity level of the students.
Step 3: After 20 – 30 minutes (depending on the attention span of the students), have the students share their list. This will be a great starting point for class discussion and you will receive some incredible responses.
You also will learn about the experiences and goals of your students.
Step 4: Make it a permanent part of your curriculum. Make each student keep a copy of his / her bucket list in a binder / folder. Offer extra credit to any student who completes an item on the bucket list. Perhaps you could designate Fridays or one day a month for students to share any items they have accomplished.
It is important to emphasize this is NOT simply a graded assignment, but a “life list” is something that should be important to each each student. In the future, students should be able to return to you class, present the life list, then proceed to share how this goals were achieved.
Below is the worksheet I hand out to the students for this activity. Feel free to use this or revise it in anyway.
Name:
After watching this clip, create a “Life List” for yourself. People sometimes refer to this as a bucket list. Create a list of things you hope to accomplish, places you hope to visit, people you hope to meet, and things you hope to do. Your list should be realistic. These are the MOST IMPORTANT things for you. You should view it daily, add to it, check off the things you have done. This is not just an assignment, it is your life. Good Luck!

December 30, 2015

"Bad" Psychology Lesson: Feature Extraction & U2

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Any time you can incorporate U2 into a psychology lesson, it is a huge bonus. This activity requires the students to watch the U2 LiveAid performance at Wembley Stadium.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zIW8qDPhos

The Bad lesson has 3 purposes:

To model the My Memories playlist assignment.
To reinforce and improve the understanding of selective attention and feature extraction.
To apply these terms to the experience of watching one of the most amazing live performances of all time.

Terms:

Selective Attention: The ability to pick and choose from various inputs. There is so much going on at any given time that our senses cannot process it all. Each student will pick from one “area of focus.” Watch this area closely and take detailed notes. The notes will be collected and grades.

Feature Extraction: Locating the outstanding characteristics of incoming information. Please select an area of focus in which you have some knowledge. For example if you write a songs, listen to the lyrics. If you play an instrument focus on ONE instrument. If you perform, focus on the performance of Bono, the lead singer.

Areas of focus:

Singer: Analyze the voice, range, etc.
Songwriters: Listen closely to the lyrics and the connection with the music.
Musicians: Listen to ONE instrument that you have the most experience with:
1. Drums
2. Bass
3. guitar
Crowd: This is one for people like me who are not that musically inclined. Watch the reaction of the crowd, how they react to the band, the flags, the emotions of the fans, etc.
Lyrics: Listen closely and analyze the words you heard
Behind the scenes: Focus on the people who support the band, the roadies and stage crew.
Filming: Look at the angles and how it is presented.
Fashion & Hair dos: Analyze the fashion of the band and crowd. Analyze the hair
Band stage presence / performance: Analyze how Bono interacts with the crowd!

Students will write the observations on a separate sheet of paper. Depending on the experiences and backgrounds of the students, the responses could be pretty insightful.

The following day, the students will use google.docs to create a compilation of the observations.

November 4, 2015

Psychology Lesson: Life's Little Instruction Book

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Life’s Little Instruction Book by H Jackson Brown Jr. www.instructionbook.com
These statements are taken from the above book. The book contains many great pieces of advice that the author has learned throughout his life. Below is a selected of instructions that might be useful.
Your assignment is to read the instructions quietly and make comments in the columns. It will be collected, graded, and worth 15 points. Simple star, highlight, make notes on individual instructions. You do not need to comment on everyone. The activity will take 20 minutes. If you do not read all the instructions, it is fine. As always, do your best!
1          Compliment 3 people each day.
7          Look people in the eye.
21         Learn 3 clean jokes.
25         Ask for a raise when you feel you’ve earned it.
43         Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day.
56         Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
63         Admit your mistakes.
64         Use your wit to amuse, not abuse.
92         Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision comes 90 % of all your happiness or misery.
96         Attend class reunions.
156       Strive for excellence, not perfection.
171       Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.
172       Be kinder than necessary.
186       Be the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
190       Don’t worry you can’t give your kids the best of everything. Give them your very best.
197       Don’t forget a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
202       Show respect for all living things.
204       Choose work that is in harmony with your values.
207       Commit yourself to constant self-improvement.
212       Don’t waste time grieving over past mistakes. Learn from them and move on.
232       Keep your promises.
239       Watch the movie It’s a Wonderful Life every Christmas.
248       Tape record (or video record) your parent’s memories of how they meet and the first years of their marriage.
249       Hire people smarter than you.
252       Keep it simple.
254       Learn to show enthusiasm, even when you don’t feel like it.
259       Take family vacations whether you can afford them or not. The memories will be priceless.
260       Everyday show your family how much you love them with your words, with your touch, and with your thoughtfulness.
264       Don’t gamble.
266       Lie on your back and look at the stars.
273       Leave everything a little better than you found it.
274       Remember that overnight success usually takes about fifteen years.
284       Never underestimate your power to change yourself.
285       Never overestimate your power to change others.
287       Promise big. Deliver Big.
288       Discipline yourself to save money. It is essential to success.
291       Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.
292       Don’t spread yourself too thin. Learn to say no politely and quickly.
294       Keep expectations high.
298       Get in shape and stay in shape.
322       Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
326       Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do.
330       Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation.
335       Reread your favorite book.
336       Live your life so that your epitaph could read “No regrets.”
349       Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
374       Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.
380       Pay attention to details.
385       Compliment even small improvements.
413       Be enthusiastic about the success of others.
428       Don’t accept “good enough” as good enough.
429       Do more than is expected.
432       Make a list of 25 things you want to experience before you die. Carry it in your wallet and refer to it often. (Many of you did this as an assignment for me in high school.)
439       Every person you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.
442       When meeting someone you don’t know well, extend your hand and give them your name. Never assume they remember you even if you met them before. (This is true of teacher too. I have had over 400 students since you have graduated.)
445       Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed.
453       Never compromise your integrity.
459       When you find a job that’s ideal, take it regardless of the pay. If you’ve got what it takes, your salary will soon reflect your value to the company.
463       Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.
466       Set short-term and long-term goals.
477       Go the distance. When you accept a task, finish it.
479       Decide to get up thirty minutes earlier. Do this for a year, and you will add seven and one-half days to your waking world.
496       Don’t be called out on strikes. Go down swinging.
500       When you negotiate a salary, think of what you want; then ask for 10% more.
504       Commit yourself to quality.
507       Your mind can only hold one thought at a time. Make it a positive and constructive one.
508       Be someone’s hero.
VOLUME II
541       Keep a diary of your accomplishments at work. Then when you ask for a raise, you’ll have the information you need to back it up.
555       Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.
567       Remember the three Rs: Respect for self; respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
573       Don’t overlook life’s small joys while searching for the big ones.
575       Never be photographed with a cocktail glass in your hand.
592       Be the first to fight for a just cause.
594       Remember that no time spent with your children is ever wasted.
629       Do your homework and know your facts, but remember it’s passion that persuades.
668       Pay as much attention to the things that are working positively in your life as you do to those that are giving you trouble.
669       Spend some time alone.
681       Be quick to take advantage of an advantage.
700       Conduct yourself in such a way that your high school would want you to address the graduating seniors.
703       Watch your attitude. It’s the first thing people notice about you.
711       Read more books.
712       Watch less TV.
722       Become your children’s best teacher and coach.
806       Don’t take good friends, good health, or good marriage for granted.
822       Learn three knock-knock jokes so that you will always be ready to entertain children
835       Start everyday with the most important thing you have to do. Save the less important tasks for later.
840       When there is a hill to climb, don’t think that waiting will make it smaller.
869       Spend your life lifting people up, not putting people down.
965       Never ignore evil.
968       Remember this statement by Lou Holtz: Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”
981       Be better prepared than you think you need to be.
990       Give handout materials after your presentation, never before.
1021     Someone will always be looking at you as an example of how to behave. Don’t let that person down.
VOLUME III
1036     Be thankful you were born in this country
1038     Enjoy the satisfaction that comes from doing little things well.
1055     Never hesitate to do what is right.
1056     Don’t work for recognition, but do work worthy of recognition.
1057     Share your knowledge and experiences.
1071     Remember the word discipline means “to teach.”
1075     Remember that all success comes at a price.
1086     Spend twice as much time praising as criticizing.
1090     Remember the credo of Walt Disney” “Think. Believe. Dream. Dare.”
1094     Remember life’s big changes rarely give warning.
1095     What you have to do, do whole-heartedly.
1113     Start a “smile file” of jokes, articles, and cartoons that make you laugh.
1119     Look for the opportunity that is hidden in every adversity.
1150     Type out your favorite quotation and place it where you can see it everyday.
1157     Offer hope.
1165     Never ask a childless couple when they are going to have children.
1200     Remember you can miss a lot of good things in life by having the wrong attitude.
1229     Teach your children the pride, satisfaction, and dignity of doing any job well.
1239     Remember the cruel words deeply hurt.
1240     Remember that loving words quickly heal.
1244     Keep a special notebook. Every night before going to bed, make a note of something beautiful you saw during the day.
1249     Ask your grandparents to tell you stories about your parents while they were growing up.
1252     To help your children turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money.
1394     Teach your children when dividing something, the other person gets first pick of the two pieces.
1421     When you complete a course, shake the instructor’s hand and thank him or her.
1432     Call three friends on Thanksgiving and tell them how thankful you are for their friendship.
1438     Learn your great grandparents’ names and what they did.
1451     Savor every day.
1468     Read biographies of successful men and women.
1473     Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.
1476     Don’t expect different results from the same behavior.
1482     Treat your parents to dinner out on your birthday.
1500     Write a thank-you note to your children’s teacher when you see your child learning new things.
1518     Remember the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
1532     Don’t forget your attitude is just as important as the facts.
1535     Take your dad bowling.
This is a phenomenal book with many other great pieces of advice. You may want to purchase a copy for yourself.
If you wish to purchase the book or contact the author here is the information taken from his website.

Taken from the book:
“I’d Love to Hear from You

Should you have any comments regarding my books, positive or otherwise, I’d like to hear from you. Every letter and e-mail is read and appreciated.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
P.O. Box 150014
Nashville, TN 37215″

September 29, 2014

Teaching High School Psychology: Psychology Lessons & Ideas

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Tweet FREE High School Psychology Lessons Top Psychology Jokes & Psychology Jokes

Interactive Psychology Lessons

Introduction to High School Psychology Lessons (3)

Write it Forward: Letters of Appreciation (7)

Learning (15)

The Brain (2)

Memory (10)

Thought (3)

Motivation and Emotion (9)

Sensation and Perception (3)

Great Motivational Speeches (7)

Great Books for Psychology (3)

Great DVDs for Psychology (3)

April 1, 2014

Psychology Lessons: 45 High School Psychology Lessons

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Here are a few lessons that I have used with a high school Psychology class. Hopefully the lessons are clear and useful to some teachers.
Introduction to High School Psychology Lessons (4)

Learning (11)

The Brain (2)

Memory (6)

Thought (3)

Motivation and Emotion (5)

Sensation and Perception (3)

Great Motivational Speeches (5)

Great Books for Psychology (3)

Great DVDs for Psychology (3)

March 18, 2014

40 FREE High School Psychology Lessons

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Visit our Teaching Psychology page for more psychology lessons.
Here are a few lessons that I have used with a high school Psychology class. Hopefully the lessons are clear and useful to some teachers.
Introduction to High School Psychology Lessons (4)

Learning (11)

The Brain (1)

Severed Corpus Callosum Videos

Memory (5)

Thought (3)

Motivation and Emotion (5)

Sensation and Perception (1)

Is Spelling REALLY important? Read this!

Great Motivational Speeches (4)

Great Books for Psychology (3)

Great DVDs for Psychology (3)

January 9, 2014

Teaching High School Psychology: 35 Lesson Ideas

Here are a few lessons that I have used with a high school Psychology class. Hopefully the lessons are clear and useful to some teachers.
Introduction to High School Psychology Lessons (4)

Learning (11)

Memory (5)

Thought (3)

Motivation and Emotion (3)

Sensation and Perception (1)

Is Spelling REALLY important? Read this!

Great Speeches (2)

Great Books for Psychology (3)

Great DVDs for Psychology (3)

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December 12, 2013

Kenny Chesney "I Go Back": Psychology, Songs, & Memories

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There are many high school students & teachers who are Kenny Chesney fans. This video is a great introduction to a unique activity that highlights long-term memory.
Step #1: Watch the video.
Before introducing the lesson, the class will watch the following video. The lyrics can be handed out to discuss the song. I have included some notes with the lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdeSLxz5TTE
After watching the video, discuss some of Chesney’s memories:
1. “Jack and Diane” painted a picture of my life and my dreams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h04CH9YZcpI&noredirect=1
Memories from the 1st verse (high school years)
“Jack and Diane” painted a picture of my life and my dreams.

Suddenly this crazy world made more sense to me

Well I heard it today and I couldn’t help but sing along

Cause everytime I hear that song…

I go back to a two toned short bed Chevy (the car he had in high school)

Drivin my first love out to the levvy (high school relationships and hangouts)

Livin life with no sense of time

And I go back to the feel of a fifty yard line (high school athletics)

A blanket, a girl, some raspberry wine (special personal times)

Wishin time would stop right in its tracks

Everytime I hear that song, I go back (The song stirs up so many memories)
2. I used to rock all night long to “Keep On Rockin Me Baby”

Memories from the 2nd verse (College years)

I used to rock all night long to “Keep On Rockin Me Baby”

Frat parties, college bars, just tryin to impress the ladies

I heard it today and I couldn’t help but sing along

Cause everytime I hear that song….
Memories from the 3rd verse (town memories and memories with friends)

I go back to the smell of an old gym floor (senses provoke memories)

The taste of salt on the Carolina shore

After graduation and drinkin goodbye to friends

And I go back to watchin summer fade to fall

Growin up too fast and I do recall

Wishin time would stop right in its tracks

Everytime I hear that song, I go back, I go back (songs and lyrics can bring back memories)

Memories from the 4th verse (The connections we have with songs)

We all have a song that somehow stamped our lives

Takes us to another place and time (What are the songs that take you back? Where do these songs take you?)

3. Now “Only The Good Die Young” stops me in my tracks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJBoHa3GArA

Memories from the 5th verse (family and family traditions)

So I go back to a pew, preacher, and a choir (church and family traditions)

Singin bout God, brimstone, and fire

And the smell of Sunday chicken after church (family cook-outs and traditions)

And I go back to the loss of a real good friend (sad memories – memories stir emotions)

And the sixteen summers I shared with him

Now “Only The Good Die Young” stops me in my tracks

Everytime I hear that song,

I go back….

To the feel of a fifty yard line

A blanket, a girl, some raspberry wine

I go back….

To watchin summer fade to fall

Growin up too fast and I do recall…

I go back….

To the loss of a real good friend

And the sixteen summers I shared with him…

I go back… I go back… I go back

Step #2: Reflect on the videos and the songs that stamp each student’s life.
After watching the video, students will answer the following:
Kenny Chesney has listed 3 songs that have “somehow stamped his life.” For each song he lists the memories associated with that song. Take 10 minutes to write down songs that you associate with memories of friends, family, sports, high school, middle school, significant others, relatives, vacations, etc.
On a blank piece of paper, list songs that you take you back. List where it takes you back. After students complete the list, have a class discussion. Encourage students to continue to write additional songs down during the discussion if any come to mind.
Step #3: Preview the upcoming class activity.
After watching and discussing the video, I share the requirements and expectations of the class activity that we will complete in a few classes.

My Memories Playlist

PRE-Class activity: Create a playlist of songs that create memories. The playlist needs to be a minimum of 40 – 50 minutes long (a class period). The only requirement is that these songs are connected to a memory. For example, whenever I hear “Oh Danny Boy” I think of my Grandfather Daniel Grant Sr. I think of his smile, his pleasant personality, working in his yard with him, going to the Boston Common on the Swan boats. I think of cigars and just an amazing man.

Class activity: Pen, Paper, and Music. During class, title the paper “Memory Playlist.” At the start of the activity, plug in your ipod and listen to your playlist. As a song is being played, write about the memories the song creates. You can include the people, event, or group that you associate with the song. You also can write about the emotions it brings out.

Students in the past have enjoyed this activity and have had little difficulty writing for the entire length of the song (stay away from FREE BIRD or Stairway to Heaven). Once one song is complete, repeat the process for the next song.

* If you have participated in the Nutcracker, perhaps you would like to listen the soundtrack for this activity. It might be a fascinating experience. If you danced in the nutcracker, I am sure this would not be a problem.

Assessment:

Work Quietly and from bell to bell.
Hand-written writing assignment that will be collected at the end of the period.

The first year the assignment was completed was 2010 – 2011. It may be one of the best and most memorable activities of your high school career. Enjoy it!
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November 19, 2013

Tag: psychology lesson