Children of the Sea Fishbowl

Throughout this semester, we have had a number of fishbowls which is similar to a Socratic Seminar, where the whole class sat in a circle and discussed ideas about a topic. The fishbowl that was most interesting and exciting to talk about for me was the Children of the Sea fishbowl. In the beginning of this fishbowl, each student was asked to anonymously write one theme they believed was present in this short story and to provide a quote to support the theme chosen. After everyone had written a theme and a quote, the themes were shuffled and handed back to new people. Everyone had a new card with a theme and quote someone else had written down. As we went around the room, each person read out loud the theme and quote they had received. In addition, they also had to provide a short analysis of why they believed the card they had was a valid theme for the short story. I felt that this fishbowl caused each person to realize that everyone has different ideas on topics. When I received a card with a new theme, I had to look it over a few times before I understood why it could also be a theme for the story. This lesson made learning about the story more interesting and I found myself eagerly listening for new themes because I was so interested in hearing other points of view and ideas I would’ve never have thought of myself. Children of the Sea has been one of my favorite pieces of literature I have read this semester.