Is what we perceive actually real? What about vivid hallucinations or a whole group of people sharing the same false memory (Mandela Effect)? Can a limb you no longer have cause excruciating chronic pain? How is that possible? 
 
These are some of the fascinating questions we’re researching in the new Mindscapes Guided Research and Reflective Essay project!
 
How do these work? I take my 2 decades of teaching writing experience and create pretty much a no fail package for you that takes all the guesswork out of teaching writing. 
 
We have two stages:
 
1 - Saturation in the content. I’ve sourced quality resources (videos, online articles and readings) and created engaging activities to get your kids working with the content and learning research skills. 
 
2 - Guided Writing - I’ve developed a cut and paste prompt system that guides your students through every step of writing a cohesive essay. This is a beefier essay that includes 6 topical paragraphs between intro and conclusion. They’ll also learn to create a cover page and cite sources in APA format.
 
I hear from people all the time who share how these projects made writing enjoyable for both reluctant and enthusiastic writers and how much it levelled up their writing. 
 
My goal is always to choose HIGH INTEREST topics that are fascinating to research. In this project students will explore phenomena that challenge our perceptions of reality including:
 
🧠 False Memories
🧠 The Mandela Effect (collective false memory)
🧠 Deja Vu
🧠 Hypnosis
🧠 Hallucinations
🧠 Phantom Limb Syndrome
 
Ages: 12-16 is the sweet spot but you can go younger with supports and older by expecting a higher level of writing and/or additional research. 
 
Timeline: Typically a 3-4 week project from start to finish depending on your schedule.