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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)
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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:
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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.)
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Mix the words in a large container. (You may wish to fold the slips
so that the words are not visible.)
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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?
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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When sufficient time has elapsed, offer the participants an
opportunity to share their narratives, and to comment upon the
experience.
Points for Discussion:
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Was it hard or easy to create the dreams using the random words?
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Are the various dream stories quite similar, or very different from
each other?
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Are the fictitious narratives convincing – do they sound like real
dreams? Why or why not? How are they similar or different?
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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.)
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What does the group think about random activation theories, in light
of this exercise?
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Was this a fair test of random activation theories? Why or why not?
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Do your own dreams provide any evidence for or against random
activation theories? Explain.
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Dream interpretation/analysis is a popular activity. Would it be
valid to interpret or analyze fictitious dreams? Why or why
not?
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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.
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