When I Grown Up: Reflecting and Personal Growth
Purpose: An invention exercise, especially for a position shift, or personal narrative essay that also asks students to explore their different “voices.”
Description: Asks students to remember what their goals and dreams were when they were younger and challenges them to write in that voice and from that position.
Suggested Time: 15 minutes to a full class period
Procedure: Ask the students to remember what they wanted to be "when they grew up" when they were younger (from 5 years old to 12 or 13 perhaps). Encourage students to use the voice they would use when they were that age; to write as if they were five years old, for example. Let them freewrite for about 5 minutes on this topic, then have a few of the students share their writing with he class or in small groups ( I usually get lots of volunteers for this one).
Next, ask the students to write about what their present plans are for their career, and why they’ve picked their particular career. If they don’t know, ask them to speculate and to write about potential careers that might interest them. Again, have students share their writing.
Then ask students to look into the future 5, 10, 15 years; however long they think they need in order to be able to picture themselves now in the world of work. Encourage them to use the voice they think they will have at this time. What are they now doing? Do they like their job? What is " a day in their life" like at this time? Have they attained their goals (a certain salary, promotion, job satisfaction, etc.,)? What goals do they have now? Once again ask the students to share their writing.
Encourage students to consider the interesting narrative progression they have now created, and how reflecting on this can serve as an essay topic. They may include parts of this freewrite in their drafts, or use them as jumping-off points for a narrative or research paper.