Posted Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Today’s activity, Object Metaphor, invites students to make comparisons between a random object and another topic. How are you like a potato masher? Whether silly or serious, students will practice flexible and metaphorical thinking while making comparisons. Flexible thinking – being open-minded and adaptive to different ways of learning – is an executive function skill essential for school and life. Metaphorical thinking is a higher order thinking skill. This seemingly simple activity allows students to practice important life-long learning skills. Object Metaphor is recommended for students in second grade and up. As always, the directions for the activity are shared in two ways – for caregivers/teachers and for kids who can read so they can do the activity independently. Have fun, and feel free to share what you do with us.

DOWNLOAD THIS ACTIVITY AS A PRINTABLE .PDF

Object Metaphor is credited to theatre artist and educator Meryl Friedman. You can see a longer description of the activity in the link below from the Drama-Based Instruction website created by Drama for Schools at The University of Texas at Austin.

Object Metaphor: https://dbp.theatredance.utexas.edu/content/object-metaphor

These activities are curated by Sarah Coleman, Portland Ovations’ Director of Engagement l School Programs. Sarah is a theatre educator, an arts integration specialist, and a former classroom teacher who has taught students in grades K – college as well as led professional development workshops for teachers around the country for over 15 years.

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Sarah Coleman