BEGIN AND END WITH A DREAM

			Start and end the school year in a meaningful way

The way you start the school year sets the tone. Make it positive, meaningful, and inspiring. To quote Bob Dylan, "Don't underestimate me, and I won't underestimate you."

From the smallest personal beginnings to the largest human triumphs, why are we here if not to dream? Dreams and goals shape children's lives and motivate them to
learn. Teachers, principals, and parents play a critical role in helping young people discover who they are and encouraging their dreams and goals. The beginning and end of the school year are ideal times to focus on dreams and goals. Here's a set of activities for starting the school year right. And if you want to do more, we have ideas for a year-long classroom or school dream theme.

Dreams are important for all ages. Dreams encompass goals and more. They give your life purpose, direction, and meaning. They shape your life choices, help you build toward the future, and give you a sense of control and hope. They're an expression of your potential and give voice to your talents. They're a source of pleasure and help develop the self. And they can change the world – just think of those famous words from Martin Luther King, Jr., "I have a dream!" Dreamers are the ones who have the courage and creativity to see beyond "what is" to "what can be" to make a difference in their own life and the lives of others.

Just as Spring is a time for new growth in nature, Fall is a time for new growth in education. The beginning of the school year is a fresh start – a time to build on what you've already learned, and get past any challenges you faced during the last school year. To set a positive tone for the school year and help young people develop important skills, it's valuable to encourage students to think about their future, set goals that will help them start to realize that future, and establish a step-by-step plan they can execute during the school year.

On the other hand, the end
of the school year is a milestone that deserves to be recognized, whether a student is graduating from college or grade school. Milestones are those moments in our life when our personal star shines a little more brightly. They mark the passage of time and our progress in the journey of life. It's important to help children develop a sense of time and where they are in their life, as well as celebrate their accomplishments.

It all starts with a dream.

Read Dream

Stories inform, entertain, and inspire all ages. They can be both memorable and meaningful. The picture book format is a particularly powerful, effective art form for all ages. The best way to communicate a complex idea is to identify the core messages and then combine words and images to reach the left and right brain. A picture book does just that. You can use Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes by Susan V. Bosak from elementary to high school. The book offers something different to students of different ages.

Looking for a new way to welcome students to a new school year and inspire both teachers and students? Dream is a popular beginning-of-school read (use the Dream Illustration Slides for presenting to a group), and many schools use the book as a year-long theme or as a book-of-the-month.

Dream is also a popular graduation gift and end-of-school read. Many schools read Dream aloud during their graduation ceremonies – it takes about 10 minutes. Download the Dream Illustration Slides to project the illustrations at the front to create a special multimedia experience for students and their families. As part of graduation celebrations, students can create a keepsake video for Share the Dream.

Dream isn't a book you just read. It's a map to life, a book you can use as a springboard for thought and exploration. It has won 11 national awards, including an International Reading Association Children's Choice (10,000 students read and vote on the books they like best) and a Teachers' Choice. It's illustrated by 15 top children's illustrators – from two-time Caldecott Medal winners Leo and Diane Dillon to Hans Christian Andersen Medal winner Robert Ingpen to Academy Award winner Shaun Tan.

Says The Bloomsbury Review, "This elegant book depicts the journey of life – from infancy to older adulthood – highlighting all the hopes and dreams found along the way... Inspirational quotes from people such as Martin Luther King Jr, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Emily Dickinson are set alongside gorgeous illustrations by internationally acclaimed artists. Richly crafted and thoughtfully written, Dream is a dazzling project that challenges us to find a dream and follow it."

Each illustrator has hidden a star in their illustration. As a classroom activity, after reading the book have students search for the stars – and make a new wish with each one they find. This is a great way to start students thinking about and sharing their dreams and goals.

There are more reading ideas in How to Read Dream and, for very young children, How to Make Storytime a Dream.

Activities and Lessons

Young people, starting in elementary school and particularly in middle and high school, need to develop a sense of time and place in their life course. Looking forward is a chance for students to build on what they've learned and explore exciting new possibilities. Celebrating the moment – a step taken or a goal achieved – gives students a chance to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. Looking back gives students a chance to review and reflect on what they've learned.

These activity and lesson ideas are ideal for starting and ending the school year. Some are appropriate for elementary grades, some for middle, some for high school, and many can be adapted up or down. Help students celebrate where they are while building toward their future…

Club of Dreamers
My Dream
Goal Letter
Different Dreams
Believe, Do, Think
Ladder to the Stars
ABCs of Dreams
Learn to Dream
Dream Stars
Dream On a Star
Hallway of Dreams
Open the Door to Your Dreams
Life List
The Next Page
Life Line
Dream Tree
Dreamer Profile
Climb the Mountain
Goal-Busters and Goal-Getters
From Gray to Green
Plan a Life
What's Next?
Your Dream Chest
Dream Time
Look Back, Look Forward
Star Highlights
Celebrate Certificate
Dream Reading List
Give a Compliment
Dream Flags
Wishing Wands
Share the Dream

There are more LifeDreams activities you can use throughout the school year with connections to literacy, art, social studies, career planning, character education, gifted and ESL programs, and more.

You can link to the global YOU 177 initiative.

If you're doing a dream theme in your school or classroom, or are using Dream as a book-of-the-month or as part of a "One School, One Book" program, and wish to purchase a class set of the Dream book or give one to each teacher, we have a special quantity discount available.

The How to Teach Literacy Like a Dream DVD is a professional development video workshop that covers classroom-tested ideas for literacy and helping students imagine their future.

Check out our popular annual Listen to a Life Essay Contest which helps young people learn about real life from the real people around them.

A Dream Discovery school presentation with author
Susan V. Bosak has the Dream Chain that's linking schools across the country in a special and meaningful way.

As the last page in Dream reminds us:

Look up, up, up
into those billion billion sparkling stars.
What dreams do you find?
Little dreams, big dreams,
each a hope looking for a life to make it real –
a life like yours.


COMING SOON! A complete "I Have a Dream" School Theme Planning & Activity Kit. Sign up for our e-newsletter to find out when the idea-filled kit is available.