On Tuesday, May 21st, Darien High School's Suzanne MacLehose’s 12th grade AP Literature and Composition class walked to Middlesex Middle School to collaborate with Jackie Kelly’s Red Team 6th grade English class. The two groups discussed reading and English and reflected on their respective learning journeys.
Each student wrote a six-word memoir, a technique popularized by Ernest Hemingway. This structure, meant to teach writers to encapsulate who they are as human beings in only six words, allowed the students to understand how powerful words can be. After this activity, the students wrote “power sentences” in which they wrote one summarizing sentence to depict a year of their lives. No easy task!
During this writing and discussion, the two groups were able to share some learning beyond the discipline of English. The middle school students were able to inquire about high school life, and the high school students were given the unique opportunity to observe a small part of their past educational experiences.
“The only thing more impressive than the work we were doing was our collective demeanor,” said 12th grade student Jonathan Gill. Senior Stephanie Hurn said, “It was something more than sharing favorite books; it was like looking into yourself in the sixth grade. You looked into the smiling face of a young, fellow student who you know will have some challenging days ahead. You want to take them with you as you leave high school.”
Students were engaged in learning and in sharing; the seniors were refreshed and impressed by the eager and curious 6th graders; the 6th graders were inspired by having a chance to see where their learning journeys will take them.
