Word of the Year

Heads up: Some links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase (at no extra cost to you!).

I’m welcoming 30 new students this week as we start Term 2 at my high school. For most of my classes, we continue the curriculum established in Term 1. For my Academic Literacy course, though, I get a new batch of 9th through 12th graders each term.

This class is a favorite of mine to teach, and since I’m the only one teaching the course, I'm given more freedom for how we meet the standards.

That being said, before I can even worry about students meeting and exceeding standards, I need them to recognize and practice what being a reflective learner means. More and more, I’ve noticed students are becoming less self-aware and just going through the motions. At my school, students are highly motivated by their GPA, which means they will do the work, but fewer are motivated by the learning itself. How can I get them to be active participants in their educational journey?

In Academic Literacy, this work starts with our Word of the Year Project. This activity was made with students in mind, but I get just as much out of the experience. On day two of the term, students are given a list of words that fit the "Word of the Year" theme. I prompt them by asking, "How do you want to feel this year?" "How do you want people to see you?" "Which word do you want to be your guiding light?" As they are choosing their word, I am choosing mine. My focus this year is “Grow,” and I even have it posted in large wooden lettering (painted gold!) on my beloved faux foliage as a constant focal point. If I’m asking my students to be reflective, I want to be right there with them.

From there, we each brainstorm what success with that word would look like. At first, many students have only one vision for what success looks like. For example, a student today wanted to pick “Pray.” When I asked what making "Pray" his focus would look like, he could only offer, "God." I then challenge them:

What in your life might be different? What emotions might you experience? Who would you be spending time with? What habits would you have strengthened? Broken?

The Word of the Year works as a domino effect to impact multiple areas in our life.

The final product of this project is a one-minute WeVideo. Students collect 30 images online that show both how they will make the chosen word their focus and what life will look like when they are successful.

At this point, I show them my Word of the Year Project from last year. They get a chance to see what “Calm” means to me. Did they expect to see reading, meditation, and hiking? Probably. Did they expect to see pizza, Diet Coke, and fishing? I doubt it. But to me, all these aspects work together to bring a sense of calm to my life. I tell them that it should be strange for any other student to create the exact same video as them;the images chosen must show their unique personality.

Now they are off and running, navigating WeVideo to create a 1-minute video that includes background music fitting for their word and begins with a title slide featuring their name and word. Students will share their final product in small groups soon, and we will discuss what overlaps we saw and in what ways people stood out. In past years, I’ve also added each of their words to a Word Art Cloud to keep in our room as a daily reminder of our focus.

Is it a must that this project be in the form of a video? Absolutely not. Since the project is similar to a vision board, it could clearly be done in other ways (and when needed can be adapted to fit the needs of a student). What I have noticed, however, is that the students who are often plopped in by their counselor, with little desire to become academically literate, actually enjoy this creative outlet. With so many students already crafting their own social media videos, this project gives them an opportunity to be an expert where they often do not get the chance to be. I get to start the term with smiles, which goes a long way in building a strong relationship.

We all have areas we want to change. If you were given a similar task, what one word would you choose to anchor your goals and kickstart your reflective journey?