Clear & Concise: A Meaningful Student Voice Project
Hi teachers!
As you may know, I love assigning projects which include curriculum skills, top job skills, and life skills; especially when the product is one that is true to the student and one they can take pride in. I absolutely love it.
Ever since I first saw the Holstee Manifesto, I have wanted to do this project. It’s framed and hanging in my classroom and it’s always a joy when a student fixates on it for a moment and we discuss their favorite bits. I tell them my hope to make that a project and they’re excited by the idea but I just haven’t gotten to it. Maybe this year.
You can have one!
To purchase your own Holstee Manifesto poster for your home or classroom, please click here for English and here for Spanish.
Along with the Your Year in Reflection project, this can be a great way for students to practice some specific ELA skills while also reflecting and looking forward. It’s student voice and student choice with just enough structure for clarity.
Originally, I wanted to assign students the entire making of the poster, including all of the textboxes and spacing, but because I have a new specific goal for this assignment, I took the time myself to make a template.
My students made their Your Year in Reflection videos and were given the one constraint of length: 1:30-2 minutes. They are proud of their products but blew right past that constraint. Maybe it’s because this year can’t be wrapped up that neatly. Maybe their reflection and looking forward and pride in their work is worth far more than my constraint.
Still, being clear and concise is a skill (one I am still working, as you can tell from this explanation) and it’s a skill I want them to know is necessary and absolutely valued.
Be clear and concise; enter the Holstee-inspired poster project.
They’re going to make their own. I will ask students to think of all of the things which make a life full and happy and healthy and balanced. I’ll ask them to jot down some “life rules” and then provide their specific topics to the class. We’ll go through to find those which are redundant and hopefully have a solid list of 20? 30? I’ll ask them to choose the 11 topics which cover all the rules of life.
They’ll reflect and brainvomit and journal, and discuss, and then they’ll turn those 11 life topics into 11 life statements. We will analyze the structure of the Holstee Manifesto’s statements, discuss their simplicity (clarity) and brevity and fullness.
Once they have their 11, they’ll need to determine which will fit where and revise and revise until the structure and the statement fit the poster while retaining their full and universal meaning.
They will of course be able to adjust the font size to make it look as professional and beautiful as the original poster inspiration, but it’s not easy. It took time and patience; two more skills I’m fine with students practicing. When they’re completely done, they will select all boxes and make it all black. Or whichever color they choose.
You can have an editable copy of the slide deck, free, by clicking here.
I’ve made these slides 11x17 so I can have students add their finished products to their own slide in my class slide deck, save it as a PDF and have them printed at our DO Print Shop. What a cool gift this will be to my seniors at the end of the year.
Have fun! And share your students’ posters so we can all enjoy them (with permission, of course!). Maybe they’ll even help further the shift from "kids these days" to "our awesome kids these days."
Curriculum skills practiced? Yes.
Life skills practiced? Yes.
Reflection about who they are and how they want to live? Yes.
Next.
