In the American Teenage project, students interviewed a peer using a question set modeled after the book, It’s Complicated: The American Teenager by Robin Bowman. We hoped to build empathy in the classroom, developing students character and soft skills as they grew academically. Through this project, we aimed to build a strong sense of community in the classroom as students grew academically.

Key academic skills: English Language Arts—reading, writing, speaking and listening, use of technology for interviews, and narrative writing from the perspective of the subject who was interviewed.

Final product: An anthology of stories written by, about, and for our peers.

Suggested duration: Four to six weeks. A longer timeline allows for greater depth in drafting, critique, and revision, and for greater mastery of writing strategies.

 

 

Created with the support of the California Department of Education California Career Pathways Trust