Connect students directly to the concept in a personal way. Capture students' attention by initiating a group problem-solving activity before delivery of instruction. Begin with a situation that is familiar to students and builds on what they already know. Construct a learning experience that allows diverse and personal student responses. Facilitate the work of cooperative teams of students.

Each student will create a history of grade 8

Objective: To help students think about perspective.

Activity: Each student will create a history of grade 8 (or the previous semester). This may be done in prose or as a drawing. Students may also opt to create a timeline or a cartoon strip approach. The only directions should be very general – the idea here is to get students to write a very personal perspective on their 8th grade year.

Assessment: Student activity – do they write, draw, participate?