Sometimes I doubted my ability to be a good beatboxer, especially since I didn't start until I was 16 years old, but then I realized I can learn at any age.
~ words from Irfan that keep us thinking and wondering ~
Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
Notice what you notice. Wonder what you wonder. There is no quiz, no right way. Read until something stays.
this film has no words. notice what you notice. notice what you wonder. wonder out loud. and don't forget to notice what you feel, too.
Intrinsic Motivation
Sometimes we may not notice what is around us unless we slow down from our busy days to take a moment to really pay attention to what we see, hear, or even feel. Why do you think this is healthy for us to do?
If your friends were to describe some of your talents, what would they say? What are some talents that you appreciate in others? Why?
Have you ever wanted to learn a completely new skill? What did you do? Did you know you can learn anything? All you have to do is find resources that will teach you — talk to people who know how to do it, read books on the topic, research online, and watch how-to videos like I did!
Sometimes I doubted my ability to be a good beatboxer, especially since I didn’t start until I was 16 years old, but then I realized I can learn at any age. Have you ever doubted your ability to do something? How did you overcome it? What are some ways you can encourage your friends to overcome their own doubts?
If I started beatboxing at the age of 16 in 2010, then how old am I now? Write two equations that will help you solve this problem.
During my first year of beatboxing, I spent 40 hours each month practicing. How many total hours did I practice? What type of problem is this – a multiplication or division problem? How do you know?
The second year, I spent a total of 360 hours practicing. If I practiced the same number of hours each month, how many hours each month did I practice? Is this a division or multiplication problem? How do you know?
I love how music makes me feel. If I want to feel more happiness, I can play upbeat music. If I want to just relax, I can play soft instrumental music. What is your favorite kind of music? How does it make you feel?
Have you ever heard of an issue that seemed overwhelming and too big for you to make a difference? I found a way to address this through my music. What are some ways you can spread a message of peace and hope with your talents?
What skill do you have that can help change the way people feel? Before you go, check out my YouTube video with my friend, Aziz, where we are having fun singing and beatboxing. I wonder, how does this song make you feel?
Before the lesson, have students close their eyes and think of their favorite song, imaging the words and visualizing a picture as they sing it in their heads. Have them open their eyes, and then encourage a few to share what the song was and how it made them feel.
“What motivates us to perform tasks big and small?” Often, we do things every day because we just “know” that is what we must do, like brushing our teeth, washing the dishes, and doing our homework.
As examples, you can ask, “What is the reason behind brushing our teeth and doing our homework?” Using a chart that has a section for short term and long term, encourage students to share reasons for brushing their teeth and doing their homework. “What are the short term benefits? What are the long term benefits?” Share with students that when we take the time to understand the reasons why, it motivates us to continue doing it, no matter how annoying or time-consuming it may seem. When we understand this, we can start to understand different types of motivation. There are two: intrinsic and extrinsic. “Intrinsic is when we are motivated to do or complete something because it will make us feel good on the inside — like being proud of ourselves. Extrinsic is when we are motivated by rewards given to us — like receiving a piece of candy for every book you read.” You can do the same exercise with other examples to show intrinsic motivation, such as, “What would be the short and long term benefits of you reading one book a week without anyone giving you a reward?” Record answers and compare to the extrinsically motivated candy scenario. Explain, “When you can be proud of yourself, that is the best gift you could receive. Intrinsic motivation will help you persevere through challenging times. If you always rely on extrinsic motivators/rewards, then you are working for others but not fully enjoying the long term feeling of accomplishment.”
Watch the video “I Am Irfan” (or the shorter trailer ) and read “Irfan on Power of Sounds” (as a class or independently). If students are reading independently, have them write their answers to the questions posed throughout the story.
As a class, reflect by asking, “What motivated Irfan to learn beatboxing, even when he was not good at it when he first started?” Encourage students to share with their neighbors, and you can highlight out loud key takeaways you overheard. “What lessons can we learn from Irfan about intrinsic motivation?” Throughout the story and video, Irfan shares with us how important it is to try new things — even if we have to be creative when we don’t always have the resources (like an instrument to make music). By trying something new, practicing for years, and finally sharing it with others, Irfan learned how to be a more confident person because he did not rely on others’ compliments or rewards (extrinsic motivators); he was intrinsically satisfied. “Think about a task — something you need or want to do — and what would motivate you to complete it. What would feel better long term: knowing that you finished it because you wanted to, or someone telling you to finish it in order to get a reward?”
Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division with Irfan. Learning how to beatbox did not come easily to Irfan; he put in a lot of time and energy to learn a new skill.
Reference the math challenge in the written story, and have students determine the number of hours Irfan practiced by identifying if the problem is a multiplication or division problem, writing the equation, and solving it. After, you can ask students to reflect on something they practice or do for multiple hours a week and write that number down. Next, have students replace Irfan’s number of hours with theirs and solve the problem. Share with students a fun fact: “Did you know it can take approximately 10,000 hours to become a master or expert in something?” Encourage them to identify how many more hours they might need to become an expert in what they do each week. “What are some other factors that influence the amount of time it takes to ‘master’ something?”
“What skill would you like to learn or improve? What would motivate you to practice every day?” Have students brainstorm things they would like to learn, the resources they may need, and ways to learn.
Then have them write down what they would like the long term goal to be, along with ways to motivate themselves.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Listening with Empathy
Do you ever compare your life to the lives of your friends? I use to want a big house in the city and more toys like my friends had, but then I realized my experiences were just as important. Comparing ourselves to others usually doesn’t lead to a positive feeling and can bring us down – it can even negatively impact our relationship with our friends. Taking the time to appreciate what we do have helps us learn to understand how gratitude can create positive and happy feelings that are far better than the latest toy or game!
I spend 3 hours each week meeting with villagers who are in need. I need to record how many minutes I spend with them to keep track in my calendar. Can you first identify how many minutes are in an hour, and then solve the equation?
Now that you know how many minutes, how many seconds do I spend each week with the villagers?
What experiences in your life have taught you lessons that you think about every now and then? How have they impacted you and the way you are today?
Think about what you are grateful for in your life. Imagine taking a few minutes every day to reflect on what you are grateful for. What are some ways you could do this? How do you think this could change your perspective — the way you see things in your life and around you?
A growth mindset refers to knowing that you can learn anything, at any age, if you want to. Having a growth mindset helps you to push through challenging times in your life. Before, I had a fixed mindset, where I thought that I could do only the things that I knew at the time.
So far, I have performed over 200 times! If I started performing in 2010, then what was my average number of performances per year up until this year?
What are some ways you can apply understanding, a growth mindset, and gratitude to your daily life? How can you show this to others and encourage them to do the same?
“What does empathy mean? Why is listening with understanding and empathy important?” Remind students how we are surrounded by new information every day from the Internet, phones, and other people.
We can easily get caught up in how fast this information is sent to us and not take the time to truly listen with understanding. “It can be hard to know when to stop and listen carefully. What are some scenarios where listening is really important?” Encourage students to share and give reasons why. Highlight any answers that bring up if a friend is in need. Then, pose the following situation to the class. “Your friend is really upset because she got into a fight with her sister. She starts sharing her feelings with you, but you are really busy – what should you do? Should you let her talk while you are are not really listening? Or, how could you be an empathetic listener? What does this look like?” Tell students, “Learning to listen carefully takes time and it can be surprisingly tricky to do – but we can learn to do anything if we put time and energy into it! So, let’s practice putting ourselves in other people’s shoes as we listen to our classmates.” Have students get in pairs and take turns asking what the other person did the day before. Then they can repeat it back to the person who shared, and then ask, “Did I get it correct?” to practice the habit of listening carefully. If they forgot something, the person who shared should remind them what it was. “How was this exercise? Was it hard to remember everything your partner shared? Did your mind wander as they were speaking? How did it feel to have someone really listen to what you were saying?”
Watch the video “I Am Irfan” (or the trailer) and read “Irfan Takes Time to Appreciate” (as a class or independently). If students are reading independently, have them write their answers to the questions posed throughout the story.
As a class, reflect on what Irfan meant by having a growth mindset. “What could a growth mindset look like in our classroom?” Encourage students to share with a neighbor, then highlight and record key takeaways with the group. Discuss what a fixed mindset is — seeing obstacles as impossible to overcome and unable to learn new things. Remind students that we all experience having a fixed mindset at times. Next, prompt students to reflect: “Think about a time, maybe even today, that you had a fixed mindset about something. What would happen if you turned that fixed mindset into a growth mindset?” Have your students write down what the fixed mindset thought may have been (such as, “I’m not going to get a good grade on my math test”), and then encourage them to write a growth mindset thought that will encourage them to recognize they are capable of overcoming this challenge.
Let’s see how Irfan uses math to support others and practice his hobby! Now that we know about having a growth mindset, we can test it out through math challenges.
“Remember it may be tricky, but don’t stop trying!” Refer to the math example of converting measurements on page 2 of the story “Irfan Takes Time to Appreciate”. Encourage students to discuss why Irfan needs to know how many minutes he spends each week with the villagers. You can ask, “What are some ways he could record these minutes?” Encourage students to think about their own lives and what they could track to get the most out of their time. “Why is understanding how we spend our time valuable?” Students can also practice finding averages with the math question on page 3. They can then figure out the average amount of time they spend doing something in their own lives.
“Building your growth mindset muscles can take time because it is easier to resort to having negative thoughts and giving up.
Our bodies, including the brain, try to protect us from any hurt we may feel, but sometimes we can’t grow without overcoming challenges.” Have students record 1 - 3 things that they would like to change their thinking about in one column under “Fixed Mindset”. In another column under “Growth Mindset,” have them write ways to take these fixed thoughts and turn them into growth thoughts. For example, “I’m never going to be good at solving fractions” vs. “Fractions are pretty tricky for me now, but I know I can learn to solve them by practicing or asking for help”.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Jumping To Conclusions
As-salamu Alaykum! Peace be upon you!
This is a common greeting in my religion, Islam. My name is Irfan, and I’m from Babakan, which is a village in the province of West Java, Indonesia. Out of all the countries in the world, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population – we’re home to about 227 million people who identify as Muslim. Did you know that Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with 1.8 billion people, or 24% of the world’s population?1
Many people have their own ideas about what it means to be a Muslim, but I encourage you to keep an open mind and see what you can learn by listening to what it means to me!
What are some ways you can encourage other people in your life to keep an open mind about things they hear but may not fully know about?
Based on the numbers I shared, what percentage of the total Muslim population is Indonesian Muslim?
How about you draw a pie chart showing what part of the total Muslim population is Indonesian.
Based on the information on the world’s total Muslim population, how would you set up an equation to estimate the world population?
Ramadan is an important time in the 12-month Islamic lunar calendar, which is based on the phases of the moon. The lunar calendar is not aligned with the solar calendar, so Ramadan, the ninth month of the year, doesn’t start on the same date each year. This holy month represents the time during which we believe Muhammad, our messenger of God, received the initial revelations of what became our holy book, the Quran. During Ramadan, we fast from dawn to dusk each day. We avoid eating, drinking, smoking, unkind or impure thoughts and words, and immoral behavior. We also pray more than the usual five times a day. Eid al-Fitr is the celebratory day that marks the end of Ramadan; it is a time for forgiveness and feeling closer to God and the people around you.
Why is it important to set aside special time to forgive others?
How might this bring us closer to our friends, family, people in our community, and even people all over the world?
What are some ways you practice forgiveness in your own life?
Islam is an integral part of my life and who I am. To me, Islam is about humility, openness, and peace. This last idea is central to Ramadan; the holy month is a good time to think about peace and become peacemakers in all aspects of our lives. Islam, as a peaceful religion, has led me to my favorite hobby: beatboxing.
Quick, what did you first think when you learned that my religion led me to beatboxing?
Before reading on, can you imagine any ways these might be connected?
Are there any aspects of your own life that at first glance might not seem connected, but they are?
Let me explain what I mean by this. As a Muslim, I believe God made there be differences in the world for a reason. I believe he created people of different religions, skin colors, and cultures because diversity is important (I also think that if God had made us the same, life would be pretty boring). Life is colorful, and I think we should celebrate this diversity by practicing peace. I think of beatboxing in a similar way. I can’t play any instruments, but I believe God gave me a mouth that produces diverse sounds. When I combine all the different noises I can make, like “tsss t-t-tsss” and “tikatikatikatika poom poom poom,” they all flow together to create harmony — to create peace. In this sense, beatboxing also celebrates diversity.
If I can create about 15 beatbox sounds in a minute, how many sounds could I make in 30 minutes? An hour?
If my friend creates 540 sounds per hour, how many sounds per minute does he make? What is the ratio of the rate of sounds I can create in a minute to the rate of my friend’s sounds per minute?
I try to create peace in all aspects of my life, whether it’s beatboxing or practicing my religion.
How can you embrace diversity and build peace in your own life?
What are the steps we can take to be respectful of others’ differences and celebrate them?
Want to set up an inclusive, comfortable space that encourages discussion? Arrange your chairs in a circle for this lesson!
“What does it mean to ‘jump to a conclusion’?
How might this impact how we learn about something?” Remind your class that the words we use to describe actions carry meaning (you can even introduce the concept of ‘connotation’ and explain how it is the emotional feeling of the word or phrase, rather than its literal meaning). Use the word ‘jump’ as an example. Have your class get up and jump around as they say the word ‘jump,’ and then they can explain how it made them feel– some responses might be that it made them feel energetic or quick. “Now, what if every time we learned about something we did it as quickly as a jump, leaping from one thing to another without pausing to understand what we skipped over?” You can also share a time from your own life when you jumped to a conclusion about something/ someone instead of spending the time and effort to learn more deeply about it/ them. Students greatly benefit from learning that we all make mistakes and assumptions sometimes; the strength is in how we learn from this and make changes to the way we approach things, so be sure to let them know what you gained from the experience. You can then encourage students to share their own examples of times they jumped to conclusions. “What are some ways we can practice slowing down and really learning about something instead of jumping to conclusions?”
With your class, watch the video “I Am Irfan” (or for a shorter version, watch the trailer). Tell students to write down all of the first impressions that they have about Irfan based on what they saw.
Then, read the Learning Journey story “I Am Irfan” together. “Did anything you assume about Irfan from the video change as you learned more about his life?” After students share, you can check for reading comprehension by asking, “What is the connection between Irfan’s religion and his favorite hobby? Why might we have missed that if we jumped to conclusions about his life?”
Let’s explore percentages and ratios with Irfan! Have students work in groups to solve the percentage math challenges on page 1 of “I Am Irfan”.
After they have figured out the answers, prompt them to reflect: “What are some ways that people could jump to a conclusion about something based on numbers or statistics?” You can discuss the ways in which numbers are valuable when learning about something, but also how they can lead to forming generalizations that might not always be accurate for the entire group they are representing. Students can also practice ratios on page 3 of the story, by helping Irfan determine the ratios of sounds he makes through beatboxing as compared to his friend. After, you can lead a beatboxing competition in your class by having students try to make as many sounds as possible while you time them!
“How might jumping to conclusions lead us to form stereotypes?” Remind students that a stereotype is a generalization about a person based on assumptions about a group they are part of, rather than who they are as an individual.
As a class, make a list of ways people are commonly stereotyped—such as based on their religion, economic status, gender identity, culture, or age (or others your students comes up with). “It can be easy to assume we know about a person, based on what they look like or what we have heard about their identity– but what are some ways we could genuinely get to know a person instead?” You can also emphasize that this is a safe space where students can share their own experiences, such as if a student is comfortable talking about a time that someone jumped to a conclusion about who they were before talking to them.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
If a moment stayed, follow it. If a question rose up, hold it. The quiet teaching is still teaching.
Three or four real stories woven into one lesson, your topic, your time. Irfan is one. The weaver finds the others, threads the math, the literacy, the values, the reflection.
Open the weaver →