If you had to pick something to represent you, what would you pick?

My Social Studies methods professor asked everyone in the class to bring five items that represent them. The items could be anything as long as they represented the individual. The above picture has the items my classmates and I brought in. No one brought in an electronic device, well one or two brought in a digital photo frame, but rather brought in items that held a lot of sentiment for them. The items ranged from pictures to books to diplomas. They were pieces of everyone's life that had a story behind them. Many of the items were irreplaceable, items that may not have cost a great deal of money but had a lifetime of memories attached to them. It was interesting to see what everyone brought in. It gave us all a peek into each other's life and what everyone held near and dear. It showed me that when it comes down to it, often what is most important to people are those items that a dollar amount cannot be placed on.

This is a lesson that can be done with students of all ages. Probably every student has something or somethings that he/she believes to be priceless. These item(s) mean the world to the student and have a story behind each one of them. Allowing the students to bring in their items allows them to share a piece of themselves with their classmates. Just as I got a better understanding of my classmates from their items, young students can gain a better understanding of their classmates by sharing the items that mean the most to them. This is another way to build a classroom community. Again it allows students the chance to see how they are similar and how they are different.