Classroom Discussion Material

Think Outside the Bottle

You'll need:

• A glass bottle
• Newspapers
• A heavy-duty plastic garbage bag with tie
• A hammer
• A broom, dustpan and trash can

Place the bottle in a prominent place in front of the class. Divide the class into groups of three to five students. Ask each group to name all the ways the bottle can be used. Have one member of the group write down the ideas. Bring the class together and share the ideas.

Have the students return to their groups. In front of the class , place a thick wad of newspapers tightly around the bottle. Hit the newspapers with the hammer and break the bottle. CAREFULLY open the wad of newspapers and reveal the broken pieces, but do not touch them. Ask the students to describe how many ways the bottle can be used now that it is broken. Have one member of each group record the ideas. Bring the class together and compare notes. There will be many more creative uses for the pieces of glass than for the unbroken bottle.

Encourage students to:

• Be bold in exploring opportunities in life.
• Look at the possibilities of a situation from all angles.
• Work in teams to respect and appreciate other points of view.

Build a Musician

You'll need:

• Construction paper, pipe cleaners, paper cups, rubber eyeballs.
• Small toys, aluminum foil, Legos, plastic frogs, old CD-roms.
• Any other fun objects you can find around your house.
• Glue, tape, scissors, string, yarn.
• Sturdy cardboard squares or boxes for each group.

Before the class arrives, arrange all the above items in an easy-to-access location in the room. Divide the class into groups of no more than five students, each with their own table. Give each group a cardboard square or box. Ask them to build a model showing how they think a successful life in music will look. What skills, attitudes, education, and experience will be needed to create a music career? Give groups 15-20 minutes to build their models, and then have each group explain their model to the entire class. Depending upon the structure of the models, it may be easiest to have the class walk to each group's table to look at and discuss the models.

Encourage students to:

• Broaden their definition of musician.
• Begin to see themselves outside of an academic environment.
• Explore how they and others define success.
• Articulate all the aspects of life that are important to them
         (work, family, faith, geographic location, etc.)