Freestyle+Fridays

I just wanted to share two extracurricular activity/club ideas that have proven to be successful and that some of you might enjoy starting up at your practicum placements. The first is "Freestyle Fridays". This idea has grown out of what I remember to be one of my favourite high school past times.. One of my teachers started this Freestyle club which would take place every Friday at lunch. Students would come in to sing, dance, read poetry, perform spoken word, beat box, play the guitar, rap, etcetera. It was basically a free for all of different forms of expression. The best part about it (other than the fact that it was completely entertaining) was that students who normally would not talk to each other in classes were now coming together to collaborate on songs and dances. Two students would be beat boxing, one students would be rapping, one student would sing the chorus, one student would play the guitar, and a bunch of students would be dancing. Every Friday would be something new and the students really loved it. This kind of club not only gets students to collaborate and work together, but also allows students to freely express what interests them in a safe space. One important thing to remember to do: Set out guidelines at the beginning of the club and make these very clear. For example, no foul language, no insults, friendly dance battles, no inappropriate touching (when dancing), be respectful of your peers, etcetera. This kind of club is great because it covers subjects like Physical Education, English, Drama, and Music, just to name a few. I have seen this club flourish at two schools and I plan on starting it up in my current placement. It promises to be a good time......especially when you, the teacher, contribute and make a fool out of yourself.

The second club idea is a Film Club. I was a part of this club in my first placement and it was so much fun. Basically, you get one or a group of student(s) to choose a film. They must let you know a week in advance so that you can create posters to put around the school. Alternatively, you could get the students who have chosen the film to create a poster. Either way, they quite enjoy seeing their name on a poster that is hung about the school. Their task is to provide a brief intoduction to the film before it begins. It could be why they have chosen it, information about the director, juicy Hollywood gossip about the actors in the film, the possibilities are endless. Once the film is done, you briefly discuss the themes, likes/dislikes, cinematography, questioning what they saw, whatever they bring up. The students really enjoy running the discussion. This allows students to be creative, practice their public speaking, and lets other students get to know a person they may not have known. If you wanted to make this club subject based, you could present some kind of certificate at the end which they might be able to add to their resumes (similar to what FESA does).

If you have any questions about starting up one of these clubs, please feel free to email me at sorayab@yorku.ca.