This assignment is a little bit more involved and will probably work well in a Tues/Thurs class, although I did manage to (barely) finish it in a shorter class. After doing this exercise, I think I would assign part of it as hw or split it into two 50-min class. I thought this assignment up after thinking that my students really needed some help with working through difficult notions of assumptions.

Steps:

  1. Pass cards around to students and have them write down three objects they think represent them well. No names.
  2. Collect cards and pass out randomly, making sure no one got their own card again.
  3. On the other side of the card with the objects, I have the second set of students construct a possible character and scenario sketch from the three objects. (For example, the objects “shopping, car and phone” generated a sketch of a student who is a “female, materialistic, and possibly one of those girls who drives and talks on her phone all the time, which means she’s social and has plenty of friends. And because she has a car it could mean she’s independent and free-spirited.”
  4. I collect the cards again and randomly pass them around. I ask the students to read what the last set of students wrote, and I ask them to write down what assumptions the previous students were making from the objects.
  5. We then go around and talk about the assumptions made, and ask the first set of students to reveal his or herself (and because of this, I forewarn them that they are going to have to talk about this, so they should pick objects that they are comfortable with sharing).

Interestingly enough, most of my students agreed with the character sketches of them by others. Only about two students thought that the descriptions were somewhat off target. And in order to start a discussion on assumptions, I also circulated my own card and used myself as an example of what assumptions people make about me, through my objects, as a funny and low-stakes way to introduce students to what we do in writing and reading. (This seems to work well with Unit 1. They seem to be able to think about assumptions in a much more productive way when I asked them to read their peer’s writing following this exercise. ) My goal for this assignment is for students to really understand what I mean when I ask them to think about assumptions the writer is making, and hopefully this can transfer to how they read their own papers as well.

Post-activity: And as a follow up, I ask them to pick out three elements in their classmates papers that are grounded on assumptions. This part is much harder, but again, I find that working on a sample essay as a class is helpful.