09: Tuesdays with Morrie (Unit Plan) — Writing a Multiverse

The units I just finished with my juniors and sophomores.

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Every two weeks, I share insights and updates from my classroom, reflecting on my pedagogical practices.

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Tuesdays with Morrie

After my students read The Great Gatsby and wrote an analysis on it, I wasn’t sure what we were going to do next. (I really am a build-the-plane-as-we-fly-it kind of guy.) On a whim, I picked up a used copy of Tuesdays with Morrie and read it that evening.

Tuesdays with Morrie felt like an antidote to much of what the internet sells kids as “the way to live.” It also felt like significant juxtaposition to The Great Gatsby—luxury, youth, and selfishness compared to simplicity, senescence, and care.

The book became the focus of the next unit, and we just finished it. Before I share what we did, here are some responses from students when I asked them for feedback on the unit:

• “It is my new favorite book I’ve read.”

• “I really liked it. It was genuinely a time for me to mature and think about life in a different way and in a better or more positive or grateful way. I think you should continue to do this unit.”

• “Please don’t ever stop doing it, I think reading this book was one of the most valuable things I have ever learned in high school. I think a lot of students would really benefit from reading this book and the lessons that it teaches. I say this because I know of people who have been touched by this book just from reading it in your class.”

• “I loved the unit. It was really eye opening and made me realize a lot of things that I need to work on.”

• “It was the best book we have read thus far into the year, and dare I say my whole high school career.”

• “I think that this book gave me a new perspective on how I see life and how I am going to live it from now on.”

Unit Overview

I wanted students to be conscious of what they think it means to live well.

We would read the book and think about “big ideas.” I’d supplement the reading with other media and activities.

The unit would culminate in students writing (and reading aloud) a 300-500 word letter to the class that centered on the question, “What does it mean to live life well.”

Starting the Unit

Before we began the book, students processed their thoughts on living a fulfilling life via this activity:

I told my students we are going on a field trip and you can only bring a notebook and pencil.

Off we went to the auditorium.

Before scattering students to different sections, I set up their task:

I want you to think about this question: what has made/is making/will make your life fulfilling? Bullet point about 5 ideas.

Okay, now that you’ve listed out your ideas, you’ll write for 10 minutes about the same question. But here’s the catch: you can’t write about the things on your list—not because those aren’t good ideas but because I want you to push beyond the first things that come to mind. I want you to really find out what you think. This writing is for you. I will not read it.

All the students were spaced far apart, which allowed them to forget each other and simply write. The lights in the room were dim; the ceiling encouraged their thinking to stretch high.

When they came back to class, I had them staple the paper shut and hand it to me for safekeeping.

Middle of the Unit

Reading the Book

I’d read half of the day’s portion aloud, and they’d finish the second half on their own.

Before reading each day:

• I shared a poem or video that was related to the theme of the day (or the theme of the unit generally) and had students write what they thought about it. (Scroll down for the resources.)

As students read:

• Students looked for wisdom from the book or questions that are asked that they wanted to consider. They wrote these things down in their notebook.

Meaningful Conversation

In the book, Mitch makes a list of topics society grapples with. I asked my students to make their own list and then converse with someone over the age of 60 about their topics. (Students had to submit a plan to me for approval: who they would talk with, the questions they’d ask, and how they planned to capture the conversation for future remembering.)

End of the Unit

We finished the book, and I asked students to write a letter which they would read to the class. We had one day of drafting which ended up being one of my favorite parts of the unit.

I took students back to the auditorium for the drafting. I had them spread out and begin writing their letter. Students were able to pull from the writing they had been doing all along (wisdom and questions from the book, the writing about poems/videos, and the conversation they had with someone over the age of 60).

As they were writing in the auditorium, I walked around and handed them the stapled paper they wrote at the very start of the unit in the auditorium they had now returned to. They got to see what they had written a little over a month prior. Some of them forgot about the paper and were surprised by what they had said.

This week, students read their letters aloud to the class.

They were scared to do it but did a great job. Students told me that they loved getting to hear how other people viewed life.

I also wrote a letter to read aloud to them. My voice got shaky and my breath ran short as I read because reading something personal is scary no matter who you are. I think it was good for my students to see me willing to do the same thing I had asked them to do and that it had made me nervous.

Students copied their letter into an email and they scheduled it to be sent to themselves 5 years from now.

Resources and Materials for the Unit

Instructions:

Letter to the Class Instructions

Meaningful Conversation Instructions

Wisdom and Questions to Consider Instructions

Videos and Poems:

Poems by Ada Limón:

• The Leash

• The Conditional (my students loved this one)

• Instructions on Not Giving Up (I love this one)

A great video by Shaffer Nickel about what it means to be alive and the role filmmaking plays in reminding one another of that meaning:

A great video by Ali Gallop about togetherness:

Two videos by Jake Frew we watched right before reading the end of the book (Morrie talks about the tension of opposites. Together, these videos reveal the tension of life and death):

A song by Ben Abraham that I played at the start of the last day of the unit:

The Multiverse

I did a fun creative writing unit with my sophomores. The video below expands on this note.

Some fun screenshots:

Some of the citizens in one of my class periods. (Yes a student decided to name their character after me lol.)

One of my students asked if they could be a pigeon.

Here is one story my student wrote. I’m sharing it because I think this student did a great job, and I think their story showcases a bit of the silliness and fun of the unit.

“Goedemorgen, klas,” A few of my students trickled in from the halls as I spoke.

“I trust you all know by now that you can start your work on the Dutch essay. I’ll be sitting at my desk if anyone needs me. That’s all we’ll be doing today, so to be frank, I could care less if you choose to leave at any point. As long as it’s turned in by the end of the week.” I turned from the front of the class, walked behind my desk, and sat in my chair. Bzzzpt, bzzzpt! My phone goes off in my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the name displayed on the screen in slight disbelief. The words Governor Ultimate Supreme Gus were staring right back at me in white lettering and Arial font.

“Allow me to excuse myself, class. I need to take this call.” I stepped into my office, shut the door behind me, and took a deep breath before answering.

“Governor Ultimate Supreme Gus, Your Excellency.”

“Hendrik Aaldenberg, I recognize you may be surprised to receive this call.”

“Correct, Governor Ultimate Supreme.”

“I’m assigning you a special task with a pigeon named Perry to map out secret routes across the city for a secret project that a few colleagues and I have named “Operation Unity.” Hendrik, there is a rebellion of birds sparking in Hoboville, and we need your assistance in unifying all citizens for a stronger community. Is this understood, Aaldenberg?”

“...Yes, Governor Ultimate Supreme.” Upon hearing this, he instructed me where to meet this mysterious Perry.

After the call, I walked out to face my class. “Everyone, class is dismissed. My best friend is in the hospital, and I need to go visit them.”

Going on Break

Christmas break is next week, so I will be taking a break from publishing this newsletter. You can expect to hear from me again in January!

Thank you for reading!! If you have insights to share related to the topics I’ve discussed, I’d love to hear from you.

📼 My collection of videos to start class.
🖋️ Poems I share with my students.
🎹 My playlist of gentle music.
📚 What I’m reading/highlighting.