The Things We Leave Behind

 

What's your story?

 

By now your cultural artifact should either be printed or in the process of being printed, because now we're going to talk about what these objects mean to you. I would like you all to gather together as a class in a circle and take turns talking about the object that your group has chosen to recreate, and what this object says about you as a group. You can either choose one person to speak for all of you, or take turns within you group, but just share some of the thoughts on why your group decided that this object represented all of you.

 

After you all have had time to share your stories, we're going to take the rest of the class time to craft a letter to your future selves regarding these objects, following the prompts listed below. You can take notes on a scrap of notebook paper, but after you have some ideas written down, I'd like for you to type up or write out a final draft of a letter. It need only be a paragraph or two, lets say no more than 500 words explaining what this object means to you all as a group. Keep in mind that this statement will be stowed away together with your object in a time capsule that you will rediscover in two short years when you are finishing up with 9th grade. So when you write this letter, keep in mind that you are addressing it to yourselves, so you might choose to include some of your current thoughts and concerns, and what your all hope for yourselves by the time you're leaving the middle school and entering high school.

 

 

So let's get started!

 

Once again, don't worry about anwering all the questions below, simply use them as prompts to get your mind going.

 

• Why did you choose this object? How does it represent you, or an aspect of your lives?

• What sentiments do you have toward this object at this point in your life?

  • Is it a symbol of a larger idea?

  • Do you expect that your feelings about what this object represents will change over the next two years?

• What purpose does this object serve in your life?

  • Is it something you use for recreation, or a game?

  • Is it something that is purely utilitarian, like a tool of some kind that shows a kind of work you all like to do?

• Call to mind the stories we came up with for the cultural artifacts at the Met, and how different they might have been from the original story of the people that created them. How would an archeologist a hundred years from now interpret the object that you created?

 

Once you have all written your letters, seal them in the envelopes provided, turn them in to your teacher who will then seal them up in envelopes to go along with your objects in the time capsule. 

 

Whether you get around to doing it today, or next class, as a group seal up the time capsule with your objects and letters inside, and as you do, think about the way time changes the meaning of the things we value and the objects we hold dear. Discuss together what this says about the transient world we live in and the things we leave behind.