Thinking About How Objects Feel

Multiple Perspectives is one of Kaplan's concepts of Depth and Complexity. I truly believe teaching students to think from the perspective of others helps build empathy. I stumbled across this poem years ago and right away thought about it's use for this concept. Now I would only use the first stanza-the 2nd one gets a little strange (it is Sylvia Plath after all). I read them the poem without the title to see if they can identify what she is describing. 

Mirror by Sylvia Plath

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

After we discuss the perspective of a mirror, I ask the students to choose an object and write from its perspective. I gave them the prompt of I am (describe the object-what shape? what color? what texture?) and I feel...... I was actually impressed with their creativity-they all came up with different objects to write about. With little ones especially they like to take your example or one student says I'm writing about a car and they all end up writing about that. I can really see their creativity skills growing!

Letters of the alphabet-I am big. I feel happy because they read me.

Treehouse-I am pink. I feel like sleeping all day.

River-I am awesome. I feel like I like fish.

Robot-I am yellow and graceful. I feel like I can do stuff.

Ice cream-I am eaten. I feel like I taste good.

School-I am brown and shaped like a square. I feel bad because kids are always running.

Stuffed animal-I feel soft and kids love you.

Boots- I am pink and glittery. I am on someone's feet. I feel frustrated and upset because it would be stinky.

Marble-I am shaped like a sphere. I am nervous because people put me in their mouth. (she has a new baby at home-I'm sure that's what she is thinking about. :) 

Dress-I am a triangle. I feel cold.

Robot-I am a toy. I feel hands pressing my buttons.

Diamond-I am little and glittery. I feel lonely because they are in the ground.