Every new year starts with a season of resolutions, or re-words. They feel more powerful than hopes because, etymologically speaking, when you make a resolution, you’re not just making a promise, you are already solving a problem by breaking it down into something doable (well, at least it sounds that way). And there’s always hope that you’ll remember to stick to it. And if you fail, you’ll always have a new year to renew and retry, and the re-cycle will repeat.
For this New Year’s resolution activity, I put together a list of re-verbs that are often used when making New Year’s resolutions:
resolve, reflect, restore, restart, reimagine, recreate, refocus, rethink, rebuild, refine, recharge, reinvent, reconnect, repeat, reduce, rebalance, revisit, regret, reject, relax, resign, recycle, remove, remain, renew, refresh,
(*Although all the words begin with re-, the prefix isn’t used in the modern sense of doing something again, but in its original meaning of back or thoroughly)
and placed them in a maze.
Here, the maze simply adds structure and helps students focus on a specific set of resolutions, rather than a completely open-ended task (like if we just handed them a list of verbs).
There are no right or wrong paths. Students simply pick the verbs that feel relevant and resonate with them. Still, every path, like life, should include something unexpected. Certain verbs will appear on the paths to the finish, whether they want them there or not.
Have students work at the phrase level, just as we do when making a list of resolutions (e.g., restart my exercise routine, renew my energy, refresh my mind, reduce my social media time, and so on).
Once they finish the maze, ask them to talk about the path they chose (make sentences with the verbs they picked, or write a short paragraph about their goals for the coming year).
As a follow-up, have students write their resolutions on post-it notes and place them on the whiteboard. This turns the activity into both a vision board and a springboard for language practice and discussion: students can group similar resolutions, pick their ‘top 5’ re-verbs, and discuss the patterns they notice.
What’s great about a maze with no right or wrong paths? You can always re-try and re-think it, just like our resolutions each year.
Happy re-start, everyone!
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