About

Mr. Brown and Nina,
documenting the documenter.

Our kids are growing up in a world in which the news of revolution travels faster via Twitter and Facebook than by traditional media; a world in which Wikipedia and crowdsourcing are increasingly seen as credible information resources; a world in which gaming and social networks are profoundly changing how we work, learn, and interact.

Language is a living medium, shaped by these new realities and shaping them in turn. When we designed the week-long curriculum for WordPlay, we sought to draw on the most elastic, adaptable, inventive, and fun aspects of language to create a program that would engage middle-school age learners, give them confidence in their journey toward high school, and show them their own strengths and interests in the world of spoken and written English.

A week is not a long time. We wanted to offer kids a heads-up on research skills, the roots of the English language, and the possibilities for creative writing, composition, and digital media. We wanted them to leave the week with the sense that they not only have stories to tell but the skills to tell them; not only personal interests but passions that can become life-long vocations; and strengths in research and writing that belong to them alone.

Fact Quests based on students' names

We started by facing the "elephant in the corner" for students of this age: Wikipedia. Students use this vast resource every day without knowing its true depths, nor grasping its usefulness as a first but not a final source of information. Search engines are the same: Used as transparent and unquestioned resources, Google and the like only take you so far. We reframed these important resources not by telling students to stop relying on them, but by showing them how they work, and how their information is only as good as their contributors and readers. All week, we used the WordPlay Wiki online and in print to demonstrate that changeable, digital information can be reliable even as it is updated constantly by many hands--but only if its readers are discerning and ready to participate, evaluate, and improve on it. Welcome to the Age of Social Media: We are truly in it together.

Chalk labyrinth at Dupont Circle

Lest we forget: It is still summer as we write this. WordPlay would not have been the success it was if we didn't have a whole lot of fun.

We did a pictorial scavenger hunt of common sights in Dupont Circle to tests our observation skills and learn this busy, vibrant historic neighborhood at the same time.

We did research based on words chosen at random to match the letters in our names, and found a handful of "Did You Know?" trivia using fact quests.

We played Scrabble, Apples to Apples, and the ever-popular Question Game.

We looked up our names in Egyptian heiroglyphs, Nordic runes, Arabic calligraphy, and more. We took our act to the streets and drew in chalk in many languages, puzzling and amusing ourselves and passersby.

We learned the ancient foundations for the words we've reinvented in the 21st century--words like "avatar" (from the Sanskrit for a deity's physical embodiment), "text" (from Latin, once a noun, now a verb), and "medium" and "media" (also Latin, originally meaning intermediate agency/ies or channel/s of communication).

We visited the National Portrait Gallery as part of our learning about composition in a new way, taking photographs and portraits that we used to tell the story of our week.

We wrote poetry that stood as anthems for who we are. We wrote and spoke riddles, charms, and curses. We explored the mythic power behind the most ordinary--and sometimes nonsensical--strings of letters.

On Friday, our last day together, students participated in an editorial meeting and a work-through-lunch kind of day to bring you the blog you are reading now. At the end of it all, there was a deep sense of accomplishment at seeing all our words and pictures come to life in this format. Some of these words and pictures were written or taken in a moment of deep inspiration, sometimes in a moment of doubt, and sometimes while merely goofing around. But the moment when words and images become media--the moment when they come alive and carry a message from me to you--is always a magical moment.

ABRACADABRA!

--Lisa Schamess, Program Director