Circle of Feelings (n29)

students the opportunity to discuss and have validated

their feelings about the events of september 11

technique used for the following discussion provides

a non-threatening and non-judgmental environment

for students to share how they genuinely feel

about the events of September 11. The teacher’s

role is minimal, essentially serving as a facilitator

to ensure that students abide by the rules of

the discussion, which are:

* Only one student may talk at a time

* Students must listen to what others have to

say because students will have to paraphrase what

a student has said in the conversation

* Students may not comment on another student’s

statement; rather, they must only respond to the

question that the teacher asks

* Students should not repeat what has been already

said.

Students should sit in a circle for this discussion.

The teacher begins by asking the following question:

“What has been the impact of the events

of September 11 on you personally or on society

as a whole?” Allow students to respond to

the question for about 10 minutes. At the end

of the ten minutes, ask individual students to

paraphrase what each student offered in to the

conversation. If a student summarizes a speaker’s

comments incorrectly, allow the original speaker

to clarify the point that was made. When all original

speaker’s comments have been summarized,

ask the following question, telling students that

the question might seem strange. The question

is the same original one: “What has been

the impact of the events of September 11 on you

personally or on society as a whole?” Because

students will have had time to process their ideas,

the second round often allows students to think

in much more depth about the topic. After students

have responded, complete the paraphrasing activity

again.

Debrief the discussion by asking the following

questions:

* How did you feel when your comments were paraphrased?

* What was different about this discussion from

others in which you have participated?

* Why was the second round of the discussion different

from the first?

* What did you learn as a result of today’s