Featured Lesson Plan

What’s Your Sign
Symbolism
How can I learn more about my students?


Your possessions express your personality. Few things, including clothes, are more personal than your cherished ornaments. The pioneer women, who crossed a wild continent, clutching their treasures to them, knew that a clock, a picture, a pair of candlesticks, meant home, even in the wilderness.
Good Housekeeping, August 1952

In many cultures appear objects believed to protect the owner from harm or promote good fortune. They are known as amulets, talismans, relics and fetishes. A rabbit’s foot, horseshoe, or a favorite penny with one’s birth date on it is not a far cry from the scarab in Egypt, the carved fetishes of the Zuni nation of the American southwest, or the stones, horns, bones and figurines from other societies. Within Islam, the “hand of Fatima” is a popular amulet used to ward off the evil eye because Fatima, a daughter of the Prophet Mohammed, was known for her exemplary goodness. Some Catholics carry images of saints, such as the St. Christopher medal, to ensure safe traveling. In Thailand, people of all ages wear amulets of tiny Buddhas encased in gold frames around their necks. Referred to as khawng-khlang, or “sacred potent objects,” these sculptures found in specialty stores and markets are available in about a thousand different shapes and sizes. Each amulet is classified into categories, depending on the image, and is cast from metal, carved in wood or ivory, or made of fine clay. Earlier in human history, amulets were unusual objects found in nature, like a certain pebble, solid pig’s teeth or plants thought to possess supernatural powers. People believed that each amulet had its own unique power and should be properly respected. Within certain objects, people find a connection to the sacred and spiritual world. Often such objects are assembled together in the form of an altar or shrine within homes, workplaces, at computer terminals and on car dashboards.

• Ask students to bring in talismans to share with the class. Think about ways you can link these objects with your current studies. I often connect this activity with the novel we are reading. Once when we were reading All Quiet on the Western Front at that time, I asked students to empathize with the soldiers’ plight in World War I by imagining that they were about to be drafted into service and then gathering symbols of their current lives that they would soon be leaving behind. Colleagues have asked students to do the same when understanding the agonizing decisions made by those torn from their homes during the Holocaust or the transatlantic slave trade. Students quickly make a list of what is most precious to them, and if they can’t carry it, what token or symbol would serve as a reminder.

• Ask students to share in pairs or small groups the history of the object in their lives, and, if they are comfortable, to share the feelings, ideas or experiences this object represents. Allowing students to share personal experiences with others can create an environment of friendly participation and build community. Students can also write about the descriptive details of their personal talisman as well as the intuitive and personal significance they attribute to it. These writings can reveal worlds of meaning that the student often carries silently into the classroom.

• Students can also create a three-dimensional sculpture or altar that reflects aspects of their lives that are sacred and personal. Begin by asking students what objects, arrangements and structures characterize the shrines or altars they have seen or experienced. Tell students that this project can allow them to explore and honor what is in their hearts: their cultural and/or spiritual heritage, their personal interests, and/or the significant relationships. Each student should also bring in a box or container to use as a foundation for their altar. One student brought in her Barbie doll case and used the mirror as a focal point, placing photos of her family, tickets from concerts and other mementos around it. Another student created an altar that reflected his recent Bar Mitzvah and elements of his Jewish faith. Yet another student found an old wooden Pepsi crate; another used a fishing tackle box. Books such as Altars and Icons and Denise Linn’s Altars: Bringing Sacred Shrines Into Your Everyday Life are good sources of visual inspiration for students.

• Gather your students around their objects or their altars, and let the stories unfold.