Week 2: More Field Trips and Start of World Fair Projects

During the second week, we had a few more field trips, including one to the natural history museum. During this trip, me and Abby (one of the other TAs) patrolled around the museum together and asked the students about what they were looking at. The goal of this trip was for them to create some sort of historical progression from their world, such as describing an evolutionary sequence of extinct creatures. A lot of the students took interest in the visually impressive exhibits, such as the crystals, and Abby and I were having a little trouble thinking of what discussion to prompt from these. We eventually settled on asking these students what the cultural significance of different crystals might be in their own world, such as which ones are used for wealth or for jewelry. We also took time ourselves to explore the animal section in the outside part of the museum with Zach and Rennie. We discussed different ideas for the final section of the class, such as watching something. We eventually decided that due to the high number of workshops we were collectively running and the complexity of The Fifth Season, it would be better to not have the students trying to read or watch more works. On a later day, students could also choose to return to any of the museums we visited before, so I accompanied several students back to the art museum. They wanted time to do work on their own at first, so I found a painting I liked and worked on one of my own stories while looking at it. After about 40 minutes, I began finding the other students and seeing what they had been working on. Most of these students were doing something in relation to their final project at this point, which took the form of some sort of complex creative work that showcases the world the students have created. With this in mind, I made sure that the students had gained something from the trip and knew how to apply it to their project.

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