What objects will 12 - 16 year olds find interesting?

Question

I usually teach 3-6 year olds
I have to take in some objects to the older class to start a discusion on any subject
Any ideas for real conversation starters

Answer 1

hi S,I also taught the little uns before going on to secondary Ed.In my experience they love to know about anything that is personal to YOU. Some ideas:A photo album with some photos of you in your school days,or maybe at a school disco with your friends,or pursuing a dangerous sport!! I used to amaze the kids by showing them a photo of me on a ducatti 996 and shooting at a rifle range(not at the same time )bear in mind I'm very small,girly-looking woman with waist length blonde hair.
They love to know about your own interests and family ,they were enthralled when i had a serious car accident (it created revered silence from even the worst behaved) and they really enjoyed me telling them when I was run over by a rubbish lorry when I was 4!!! We also talked about 911 and if they remember what happened ,where they were;my husband was flying to the U S that day and we had no idea where he was for 12 hours.He came back safely,talk about the significance of the day, how the world changed? So,maybe choose something that would relate to you and them but take objects so they can look and feel them eg An IPOD and an OLD SONY WALKMAN . Ps i really enjoy working with this age range its much more rewarding than Reception but can be very challenging in an inner city comp.
Good luck.If you need any more advice e-mail me.

Answer 2

Take a newspaper along. that should suffice all your needs. you can take the discussion anywhere you want to talk about any topic under the sun. but the key is to know the newspaper to read it throughly and mark key issues. we percieve that this age group will only talk about fun things but what they start talking about serious issues you'll see that even the naughtiest of the lot will like to contribute in the discussion as they are talking about something grown ups talk and since their opinion is never taken into account they will love to be heard. you can begin by the light pages like sports and entertainment and then move into politics. probably end the session with a fun activity where the group has to make creative stuff with newspapers and all applaud what other wicked wacky stuff a newspaper can be turned into.

Answer 3

An LP might be interesting - most of them won't have seen one but they'll all have opinions on music. Any 'outdated' electronics might pique their interest like the old mobile phones that were the size of a House brick or a Commodore 64 home computer - might get them talking about how things might change in future, how things are now and how they used to be. Just a thought.

Answer 4

Well, fortunently 12 to 16 year olds have a topic on just about anything. It really depends on what you are trying to learn from them or to have them learn from eachother. Hope these ideas will help.
1. A calander- find out what their views on procrastination, prioritizing, important past or upcoming events to them.

2. A stereo- Encourage them to not just talk about what kind of music they enjoy but, what they enjoy about it. Do they only listen to it for the beat, are there songs that reach out to them and how they relate to todays pop culture.

3. A pen and paper- What would they write to any significant person in their life, famous or not...something they have always been dying to say.

It just seems to me that the young people of today have a whole lot to say. Just give them any canvas and I'm sure they will paint their picture on the topic for you without much effort on your part.

Answer 5

12-16?

Bullying and relation to gang 'respect' culture (as in dominant pecking order) compared to rela respect you get from helping others.


And how someone small who risks life to help others gets more respect then somone hard who picks on others.

the strong thug maybe able to instill fear and get people to do what he wants
Ie if the stronger person was on fire would others help or through oil on him?

Compared to people who others would give their life for.


***

Music technology

***


The diamond industry and bling...


Look at Serra Leone... Trip to the cinema to see Blood Diamond would be good. Ie how many were killed or arms hacked off by children to get your blingy jewllery?


sex...

Or kissing, pulling,

How sign and body launguage mean.

How things get misinterpreted.

Rubbish like girls cant ask boys out.


Popular myths relating to sex ie

where did tripe like

You cant get pregant if a guy ties a luminous watch around his willy so the radiation in the paint kills the sperm on the way out,

If the guy pulls out

before first periot
On persion
sperm dies as soon as it hits the air


etc...


Resourcefulness...


ie you are ship wrecked, what can you use around you? (good for engineering, and materials)

Rules and where its right to break them and when they should be followed...


Ie in an emergency its right to take what can be used to save lives.

**

Robot Wars projects... (only if sensible as you are creating armoured weapons platforms that smash up metal remote control vehicals)

************

Answer 6

You can start with MP3 player, it's a very interesting and wide ranged topic for them. Besides, it's pretty impossible if they dont love MP3.You can let them discuss then pros and cons of it, they'll sure get interested and have a lot to say! Divide them into small groups and organise a small debate competition, this'll get very interesting.

Answer 7

Pop music

Answer 8

phallic objects :p anything that can be used in correctly and that makes it a lot more fun/ dangerous eg bunsen burners computers mirrors hair brushes etc cars

Answer 9

Anti-stress slammer toys

Answer 10

Take a button- who's clothing did it come off? what item of clothing? is it a modern button? what did the person look like? what did they do? what kind of a person were they? is it a modern button? etc