Analyzing “Aha” Moments

Facing History learning experiences are classroom-ready activities that you can incorporate into your lesson plans. They are designed to be modular and adaptable, so you can use them over and over again with a wide range of texts to help students explore characterization, point of view, perspective taking, setting, and thematic development through a Facing History lens.

1. Explain to students that they will be thinking about “aha” moments in their lives: moments where they learned something or had a realization about themselves, family, friends, the human experience, or the world at large. Let them know that “aha” moments can be small, like a conversation or something that they read, or large, like a challenging or exhilarating experience or a difficult choice. Because it can be hard for students to think of such moments, it’s important that you model the brainstorming process by listing some of your own “aha” moments on the board. Try to choose a few from when you were an adolescent, as well as ones that might seem small but led you to view things in new ways. 
2. Then, in their journals, have students respond to the following prompts. Let them know that they will be sharing one of their ideas with a partner. 
   • List three to five “aha” moments in your life where you learned something or had a realization about yourself, other people, the human experience, or the world at large. 
   • Choose one “aha” moment to reflect on in a journal response: What happened? What lesson(s) did it teach you about yourself, other people, humankind in general, and/or the world around you?

1. Divide the class into small groups and explain that they will be identifying five “aha” moments for a character in the text. These are large or small moments where the character learns something about themself or their world and the people who inhabit it. These new insights might be positive or negative, depending on how they impact the character—their sense of who they are, belonging in groups, and place in the world. 
2. Pass out the Analyzing “Aha” Moments handout and review the instructions as a class. (If you want to break up the steps, you could have the class engage in a quick gallery walk after everyone has finished their line graphs from Step 2 so they can scan for similarities and differences in their characters’ experiences.) Model Step 1 for a character that students are not discussing. Use the Think Aloud strategy to help make visible the way you are making your decisions and what you are choosing to record on the graphic organizer.
3. After groups have completed their graphic organizers, line graphs, and discussions, debrief the activity as a whole class. Groups can present their line graphs, as well as share their responses to the first two questions. Then discuss questions 3 and 4 as a class. Alternatively, students could move into new groups so they can see each other’s graphs and discuss any similarities and differences they notice in their characters’ experiences.

1. Start by having students review their journal entries and identity charts for ideas about “aha” moments in their lives. If they didn’t do the Introduce learning experience (above), lead them through the steps of the journal reflection to generate some ideas.
2. Explain to students that they will be creating a visual representation of their own “aha” moments using words, images, symbols, color, and multimedia (if they have access). They can use the positive-negative line graph on the Analyzing “Aha” Moments handout, or they might choose to create their own visual representation (for example, a spiral or a circle). 
3. After they have created their graphic representations, have students craft a short written reflection that explores the following questions. Encourage them to use specific details in their response to the second question. 
   • What new, different, or deeper understanding do you have about the “aha” moments in your life after creating a visual representation of them? 
   • What moment stands out as most significant, challenging, or confusing? What happened, and what did you learn about yourself, others, or the world around you?

Analyze a Significant “Aha” Moment in a Paragraph Response

Using the positive-negative line graphs that they created during the Explore learning experience, as well as notes from their discussions, have students write a short persuasive piece of writing that responds to the following question: Which “aha” moment is most significant to your character? What did they learn about themself, others, or their world? What makes you say that? Students should support their argument with two or three relevant pieces of evidence from the text.