Laws of Life in the Visual and Performing Arts
in PHS: 2004-05
Dena Schoenholz, Amy DeLuca, John Zisa, Maurice Elias
During the 2004-05 school year we continued to collaborate with the Visual and
Performing Arts (VPA) staff at PHS to integrate Laws of Life projects into the VPA
curriculum. We designed and implemented many successful projects this year, while
accumulating knowledge and experience along the way. The following document
summarizes this year’s accomplishments, and outlines recommendations for the future.
What did we do?
Visual Arts Block 2, Mr. Jones
 Students were introduced to the Laws of Life and asked to identify pieces of
artwork that convey Laws of Life (see Appendix A; for specific responses contact
the RU SEL Team).
 Students selected artwork from art history books that they felt expressed a
personally meaningful Law of Life.
 Images of the artwork were sketched and painted onto canvas.
 Upon completion, students reflected on their work orally; each student presented
their work to the rest of the class, sharing which Laws of Life were represented in
their painting and why these Laws of Life were important to them.
 Students’ artwork was displayed on the PHS VPA website.
Graphic Arts Block 4, Mr. Smith
 Students were introduced to the Laws of Life and asked to reflect on their own
Laws of Life related to friendship (see Appendix B; for specific responses contact
the RU SEL Team).
 Mr. Smith and his class decided to create a “friendship banner” that would consist
of pictures of multiple groups of friends surrounded by a border of flags
representing the different countries PHS students come from.
 Students took photographs of over 175 students, masked them, and combined
them, along with the border, to create one cohesive digital image.
 Once the banner was complete, it was printed by Kinko’s and hung in the
cafeteria. It was displayed during the Laws of Life Banquet and acknowledged as
part of the Laws of Life work at Plainfield High School and the district overall.
 Students completed a reflection exercise that asked them to reflect on their
experiences creating this banner, the message they thought it conveyed to the
school, and the reactions of their peers (see Appendix C; for specific responses
contact the RU SEL Team).
Instrumental Music Block 4, Mr. Rucker
 Students were introduced to the Laws of Life and asked to reflect on their Laws of
Life related to “teamwork” (see Appendix D; for specific responses contact the
RU SEL Team).
 Students composed a song about teamwork – they wrote lyrics and developed a
rhythm and melody (refer to Mr. Rucker).
 Mr. Rucker continued to work with his students in and outside of class to record
their song, and hoped to eventually record an entire CD.
 A reflection exercise was completed that asked students to reflect on the
importance of teamwork, both their music class and their life in general; these
reflections were to be used as the liner notes for their CD (see Appendix E; for
specific responses contact the RU SEL Team or Mr. Rucker).
Theater, Mr. Guinan
Project #1
 Students were introduced to the Laws of Life and asked to identify the Laws of
Life important to them and other kids their age. (refer to Mr. Guinan)
 Students composed and delivered a personal monologue that conveyed the Laws
of Life most important to them.
 Following each performance, the students provided constructive critiques of each
other’s performance (refer to Mr. Guinan).
Project #2
 After learning about medieval morality plays, students were asked to think about
what Laws of Life and values guide their decision-making process.
 Students wrote and performed their own contemporary morality play; the plays
had to include characters with symbolic names, include a journey and have a
moral (refer to Mr. Guinan).
PAC Dance Block 3, Mr. Taylor
 Students were introduced to the Laws of Life; they were asked to identify Hip
Hop performers whom they respect and the Laws of Life these artists exemplify.
 Working individually or in small groups, students choreographed one 8 count in
the style of the selected artist or to the music of this artist.
 The students worked together to combine their contributions to create a dance
tribute to the “new generation of hip hop.”
 Their dance was performed at the Black History Month assembly.
 Following their performance, students participated in a reflection exercise where
they reflected on the Laws of Life represented in their dance, the obstacles they
encountered developing their dance, and the Laws of Life they believe are
important for succeeding in dance in the future (see Appendix F; for specific
responses, contact the RU SEL Team).
What have the students learned?

Students’ responses on the kick-off activities and reflection exercises, as well as
informal classroom observations and notes from the Rutgers SEL Team members
working in classrooms during the 2004-2005 school year, indicate the following:
o students have a tremendous capacity for reflecting on the values and laws
that guide their everyday actions.
o students appreciate the opportunity to discuss, reflect on, and express their
Laws of Life in modalities other than writing.
o students value creativity and uniqueness in themselves and in others.
o students not only learn about their own Laws of Life when doing these
projects, but also learn about the Laws of Life important to their
classmates and teachers.
o many of the Laws of Life projects require more time and effort from
students and teachers compared to typical lesson plans; however, these
projects also inspire in students and teachers a greater sense of
commitment, enthusiasm and pride.
o living their Laws of Life in the classroom (e.g., teamwork, respect) has
been challenging for many students at first; however, it has allowed
students to successfully complete their projects and overcome many of the
challenges common to learning.
o by sharing their Laws of Life projects with their classmates and peers,
students learned that they can impact the larger PHS community.
How are we evaluating the impact of the Laws of Life projects?



During the last few months of the school year, we used a method of research
called Ethnographic Analysis, which deals with the systematic description of
human cultures, to gain a deeper understanding of the LOL projects are impacting
the students, teachers and administrators at PHS.
This included:
a. Individual interviews with teachers, administrators and students
b. Classroom shadowing/observations
A summary of these findings will be prepared for the start of the 2005-2006
school year.
What are the key steps for success in the future?

Our work over the last three years, as well as a review of recent literature on
evidence-based approaches to character education and SEL, suggests the
following instructional sequence, applicable with minor modifications to any
VPA area, as most likely to lead to internalized gains by high school students:
o Introduction to curricular unit (e.g., song writing, photography, etc.)
o Introduction of Laws of Life (includes a kick-off activity that allows for
class discussion and brainstorming)
o Implementation of project
o Brief written component to accompany project (3-4 sentences describing
Laws of Life expressed in the project)
o Reflection exercise (includes individual reflection on how well students
felt they were able to express their Laws of Life, any obstacles they
encountered throughout the project, how they currently exemplify their
Laws of Life, and how they can live their Laws of Life in the future; also
includes class discussion where students can listen and share their
responses)
o Sharing of project with class, school, and/or community (e.g., school
performances and assemblies, school and community displays, website
displays)

Essential ingredients for success include:
o an intentional, explicit focus on students’ Laws of Life with reflection and
reminders to students that there is a purpose to their work; this facilitates
the process of internalization and positive changes in behavior;
o the process of sharing students’ work with their classmates, school, family
and community, which creates new norms in all of these contexts;
o components that continue and are complementary to broader
SEL/Character Education programming taking place at the High School
and the district as a whole.

Our experiences also suggest that when teachers and staff have the opportunity to
get together and discuss their own experiences integrating LOL into their
classroom, for example as part of regularly scheduled faculty meetings, it creates
a support network where ideas and ways to implement them realistically and
effectively can be generated and shared.
Appendix A
LAWS OF LIFE KICK-OFF ACTIVITY, Fall 2004
Visual Arts, Mr. Jones
1. Throughout history, art has been used for many purposes (e.g., communication).
Please list 3 examples of uses of art.
a.
b.
c.
2. Do you have a favorite piece of art? Please describe it below. If you do not have
a favorite piece of art, please describe something you created in one of your art
classes.
3. What do you think was the purpose of the artwork you described above?
4. Can you think of a Law of Life represented by this artwork? Please describe the
Law of Life below.
5. How does this Law of Life relate to your own life? Can you think of an example
where you demonstrated this Law of Life in the past, or could demonstrate it in
the future?
Appendix B
LAWS OF LIFE KICK-OFF ACTIVITY, Fall 2004
Graphic Arts II, Mr. Smith
1. Think of all the different groups that you belong to at school, at home, and in the
community. Please list the groups below.
2. What characteristics do you possess that allow you to contribute to these groups?
Please list 3 of these positive traits.
1.
2.
3.
3. Choose one of the above characteristics and describe a situation in which you
exhibited this positive trait.
4. What does it mean to you to belong to a group? Is there anything that you are able to
do as a result of belonging to a group that you would not necessarily be able to
accomplish alone? Please describe.
5. What makes one group different from the next? Describe the differences between two
groups that you belong to (i.e. group dynamics, values, individual responsibilities) What
are some similarities between these two groups?
6. What Laws of Life do you follow that allow you to contribute to a larger group?
Appendix C
LAWS OF LIFE REFLECTION EXCERCISE, Fall 2004
Graphic Arts II, Mr. Smith
1. Over the last few weeks your class has been working together to create a banner
that represents your laws of life regarding friendship. Now that you are able to see your
combined efforts completed, what are your thoughts and feelings while looking at the
finished product for the first time?
2. As you worked together to create this banner, what did you learn about your
classmate’s laws of life about friendship? Are any of these laws of life the same as your
own? How are they different?
3. How are some specific laws of life about friendship represented in the banner (e.g.,
loyalty, listening, supporting your friends)? Please describe how one of these laws of life
relates to your own beliefs about friendships.
4. What are some obstacles that your class encountered when working together on the
photojournalism banner? How did you overcome them?
5. How was this project different from other graphic arts projects that you have done in
the past? Please describe both the positive elements of the project as well as the elements
that you believe need to be improved on.
6. When this banner is displayed for all Plainfield High School students to see, what
message do you hope they will take away from it? What does this message mean to you?
Appendix D
LAWS OF LIFE KICK-OFF ACTIVITY, FALL 2004
Instrument Arts, Mr. Rucker
1.
What does the word teamwork mean to you?
sentences.
Please define teamwork in 1-2
2. Think of some situations in your life that require teamwork (in school, at home or
in your extracurricular activities). Please list three specific examples.
a.
b.
c.
3. Think of someone in your life who you think exhibits good teamwork skills.
Write their name down.
4. Why do you think this person is good at teamwork? Please describe 3 qualities
they have that make them good at teamwork.
a.
b.
c.
5. Please describe a situation where this person exhibited one of the teamwork
qualities you listed in question 3.
6. How can the quality you talked about in Question 5 help you in one of the
situations in your life that requires teamwork (Question 2)? Please describe how
you can exhibit this quality in your own life.
7. How can this quality help you and your classmates work together as a team to
write, perform and record music?