History made fun.

My favorite writing assignment was in a humanities class. I was told to describe a way to make learning fun. I choose to write about lesson I had personally experienced.

In middle school I had a teacher that deviated completely from the books for an entire chapter. It was Athens vs. Sparta. The class was split in two and each became a member of one of the cities. Each individual was given a job and assignments to be done throughout the week.

At the end of the week the two cities came together and had an Olympics. Athens won all of the first day's events since they were all recite this, or what is that, and our teacher told us that our grade was based on how well we did. Sparta was mad.They had not been told to memorize anything. The next day they were told to show Athens their war plan. They were allowed to take out their anger that way.

This was a smart way of submerging the class in history. We recreated what happened, and this way we understood why it happened. I've never forgot that class. Oh and by the way, everyone received an A for that week.

Personal experience always makes writing more fun as well as liking what you are writing about. The assignment was specific enough to give direction, yet broad enough not to constrict or dictate what to write.