EA ONE HELP:Think Critically

SYMBOLS

Make sure that your symbols are more than just representations of things you like to do or things you enjoy.

For example, imagine that you decide you want to come up with a symbol for sports. The following example would be INCORRECT.

Ex. I chose a football to represent how much I love playing and watching football.

SYMBOLS CONTINUED

Instead, you must think about what the specific category MEANS TO YOU. So instead of simply bringing in a football to represent that you like watching and playing football, you need to consider what football means to you as a person. The following is a CORRECT example. Here the student brings in a flower to represent football, explaining that playing and watching football gives him peace.

Ex. I chose a flower to represent my love for football because just as flowers are peaceful to observe, football gives me inner peace.

WRONG OR RIGHT? SYMBOL STUDY

Tell me if you think the following symbol would work for clothing….

Ex. I brought in a dress coat to represent how much I love fashion.

Answer: Incorrect. The symbol is not actually symbolic and rather quite literal.

Ex. I brought in a bird feather to represent my love of fashion. Just like the bird wears its feathers with pride, I wear my clothing with pride.

Answer: Incorrect, however, this example is very close

WRONG OR RIGHT?

Ex. I chose a feather to represent my interest in clothing because just as birds are free to soar the air, my fashion allows me to feel free to express who I am.

Answer: Correct! This is symbol is truly symbolic and has deep meaning.

WRONG OR RIGHT?

1. I chose a baseball to represent how much I love baseball and playing baseball.

Answer: Wrong

2. I chose a tree branch to represent my family, because just like a tree branch supports leaves and squirrels, my family supports me.

Answer: Correct

3. I chose a fork to represent food. I eat food with a fork and love it.

Answer: Wrong

4. I chose tape to represent food, because our family meals help us all to stick together.

Answer: Correct

RIGHT OR WRONG?

Before coming up with symbols, jot down what each category means to you individually.

Ex. Family

Support, protection, unity, sticking together, strength, help

Ex. Sports

Courage, pride, release, relief, peace, stress relief, time management, commitment, honor, focus

Once you do this it will be easier to come up with abstract symbols to represent these categories.

SYMBOL HELP