Every year for the last 14 One Little Word has been the first assignment of the new year in my sixth grade English class. The premise is deceptively simple: find a single word that means something you want for the year ahead, post it to the discussion along with a brief explanation.
I love this assignment because it offers a soft reopening to school after the holiday break, it is easy and engaging, and it also often results in some of the wisest and most honest writing my students have done so far in the school year.
This time was no exception; one of the most popular words of the year was friendship along with several poignant explanations about how much the kids miss their friends and classmates. Other popular words were kindness, happiness, and joy. There were also several riffs on success and winning, and a few honest confessions that more responsibility was necessary along with some patience and change.
In general, though, there was less variety than in past years, and much less creativity, too (although one student did choose creativity as her word.) I was a little disappointed by this latter development, I love it when kids choose crazy words that capture something special about them and what they hope for.
When I mentioned the assignment to her, my sister shared with me an Instagram site belonging to artist, poet, and podcaster Morgan Harper Nichols with a hundred words on loop. The idea is to take a screenshot as they play, and that will give you a word to contemplate in the year ahead. The graphics and music are wonderful, and the words are inspired, too.
My word was wind, defined as "the perceptible movement of air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction".
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