B a r b a r a s h e r I l L u s t r a t I o n s b y r a L p h

W
H A T
’
S
B
E I N G
L
E A R N E D
Teenagers will be learning to scan the environment, both internal and exter-
nal, to focus in on special things and feelings to put in their postcard diary.
In the museum variation, teenagers are encouraged to scan their sur-
roundings in order to locate the item on the postcard, then to focus in on
detail in describing their feelings and experiences.
Scriptwriter
It’s hard to stay in the present moment. Our minds are always trying to
distract us, going over something that happened before or urging us to
imagine something that might (or might not) happen later on.
Pretending to be a scriptwriter and thinking about the different aspects
of a scene is a good trick for staying alert to what is happening now.
T
Y P E O F
A
T T E N T I O N
E
N C O U R A G E D
Focused
M
A T E R I A L S
None
D
I R E C T I O N S
Show your teenager how to be a scriptwriter by describing the action. For
example, if she’s washing dishes, the script might sound like this:
“She’s running the hot water, and it feels pleasant on her hands. She pours
in some detergent and swishes it around, making the bubbles multiply. She
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reaches for the blue cup, noticing the familiar cornflower design as she slips it
into the water. Behind her she hears the radio from the other room playing a
popular tune, and her younger sisters arguing. She reaches for the plate; the
smell of the lasagna still lingers on it [and so on and so on].”