Teacher Area

Fishing for Dreams

Grades: 7-12, college.  Subjects: Science (how/why dreams are created), Language Arts (creative writing; supplement the activity with dreams/nightmares as creative sources), Psychology (consciousness studies, brain-based theories of dream generation)

Overview:

Students will select random words then try to create a reasonable dream narrative from them.

Students will discuss the exercise in light of scientific theories that dreams may be created by random electrical activity in the brain.

Materials:

Procedure:

  1. Pre-class preparation is necessary. Using a paper cutter or scissors, cut apart the Random Words list. (You may add or omit words as appropriate for your group – be aware that some of the words deal with sensitive issues such as sexuality and may be best used with college-level classes.)

  2. Mix the words in a large container. (You may wish to fold the slips so that the words are not visible.)

  3. Begin the activity by discussing the handout. (You may distribute it and read it in class, or hand it out earlier as a reading assignment.) Possible discussion questions include:

  • Is there any evidence from your own dream life that might support or refute any of the scientists’ theories?
  • What do you think is the popular opinion about where dreams come from and what they mean?
  • Which (if any) of these theories do you think is most likely to be right? Why do you think so?
  1. Announce that you will be conducting an experiment, to test whether the Random Activation theory is reasonable. Bring out the "fishbowl" and tell the group that it is filled with random words. Explain that the group will draw out words, one by one, and list them in order on the blackboard (or on paper if no blackboard is available.) The group will then create pretend dream stories, incorporating the listed words.

  2. Pick several people to select words. As each word is chosen, it should be read aloud and recorded in its proper order, then returned to the bowl. Generate a list of 15-20 words in this manner. (It is okay if the same word appears twice on the list, as long as it isn’t twice in a row.)

  3. When the list is complete, have the participants create fictitious dream narratives that incorporate the concepts on the list, all in their proper order. These can be written out individually (necessary for the creative writing application of this activity) or produced orally in small groups, with one person taking notes on the action of the "dream" so that it can later be reported to the larger group.

  4. When sufficient time has elapsed, offer the participants an opportunity to share their narratives, and to comment upon the experience.

Points for Discussion:

  • Was it hard or easy to create the dreams using the random words?

  • Are the various dream stories quite similar, or very different from each other?

  • Are the fictitious narratives convincing – do they sound like real dreams? Why or why not? How are they similar or different?

  • What are typical characteristics of dreaming that distinguish it from waking consciousness (and would thus help distinguish between dream narratives and traditional literary stories)? (Possible responses: bizarre elements; discontinuities in time and space; violations of laws of basic scientific principles; inconsistency of dream characters, objects, and environments; etc.)

  • What does the group think about random activation theories, in light of this exercise?

  • Was this a fair test of random activation theories? Why or why not?

  • Do your own dreams provide any evidence for or against random activation theories? Explain.

  • Dream interpretation/analysis is a popular activity. Would it be valid to interpret or analyze fictitious dreams? Why or why not?

  • Do you think that humans may have any biases towards/against seeing dreams as essentially random phenomena? (Does randomness necessarily imply meaninglessness?)

Possible extensions:
Keep a dream diary at home for a few days. Do your dreams conform to the "typical characteristics" that the group mentioned in class? Do you think they could be generated via random activation?

Investigate research evidence for and against random activation theories.