You Choose

For this activity, you will need old magazines or newspapers that can be cut up or access to the internet for pictures. You will also need to provide a container in which they will place their cut-outs. The container is the “Magic Hat/Bucket/Bag/Whatever. It does not need to be anything particularly fancy – imagination works fine! Explain that anything placed in the Magic Bag will come true. The task you will give them is to tell their idea of how they would change the world. Provide the students time to look through the magazines/newspapers for a picture or a phrase that identifies how they want to change the world. They must pretend that the picture they choose will come true if they place it in the Magic Bag. Once everyone has chosen their picture, allow each student to share their wish as they place it in the Magic Bag. (Make sure they know ahead of time they will be sharing their wish.) If time does not allow for the picture search, you can assign it as homework or you can allow them time to sketch a picture or write a few words before sharing and placing it in the Magic Bag.

To process the activity, ask these or similar questions:

• Was it fun to make a wish like that?
• Was it hard to choose something or did you know it right away?
• If there were others like yours, were you surprised?
• If yours was unique, were you surprised?
• How would it feel to live in a world if all these things come true?
• What can we do in this classroom to make some of them come true for us?