What's Inside Your Shoebox?

Yesterday in class we were involved in a very interesting activity where we had to put personal items into a shoebox. Sounds simple right? Well, the meaning of this project goes deeper. We had to put items into our shoebox that we would grab if say there was an emergency and we had to leave our home within five minutes not knowing if we were ever going to be able to come back. Items had to be able to fit in a regular size shoebox. My classmates and I all brought in our shoeboxes to class on Thursday where we met in small groups to discuss our 'artifacts' and why we chose to put them in our shoebox. Afterwards, our entire class put all of our items on a table in the room where we were able to analyze our belongings with our professor Sydney. Sydney asked us questions to further the discussion about the meaning of this activity and what conclusions we could make from observing what others had brought.


This is a picture of all of the items that were sitting on our table.

Many people brought pictures, stuffed animals, trinkets, digital cameras, flash drives, cell phones, MP3 players, and books. It was very interesting to see what items our classmates brought in their shoebox. We noticed how many of us brought pictures of our family and friends. In the past pictures may not have been as popular due to the lack of technology and accessibility of photography. If individuals 100 years from now would dig up our 'artifacts' they may be able to determine that we were family-oriented, enjoyed capturing life's moments with photography and videography, and were quite dependent on technology in general.

When Sydney told us we could take a picture of our items on the table many of us found it amusing when the majority of us quickly stepped towards the table to grab our digital cameras and cell phones. It's amazing the major role that technology places in our lives during the 21st century.

This activity can be a great way for students to find similarities and acknowledge differences between one another. This is an easy way to also work on building a classroom community and have students show respect for one another and their beliefs.

In my shoebox I included many items that I felt were extremely important to me and that I "couldn't live without". I brought along pictures of my dog, best friend, family, and friends. I had a teddy bear, my cell phone, my iPod, car keys, house key (if my house would still be there when I came back), antlers from my first buck I shot, and my external hard drive with all my pictures, music, college work, and videos on it.

When browsing the internet for other blogs pertaining to artifacts and this particular shoebox activity I was very surprised not to find many. However, I was tickled to come across two other blogs from previous Block 2 students who also wrote about their experiences from this activity. It was interesting to see how our classes were similar and/or different.

http://teachoutsidethetext.blogspot.com/2011/02/whats-great-way-to-get-students-really.html

http://makingconnectionsinschool.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-would-your-life-in-shoebox-look.html

This is an interesting article about a 9th grade social studies teacher who implemented a shoebox activity into his class as well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-alderman/whats-inside-your-shoebox_b_697210.html