Exclamation Marks: a Micro-genre Activity

According to Wikipedia, a microgenre is a very specialized genre of music, literature, film, and art. As a teacher, I value time, and I try to consider how it can be used well as a resource. I sometimes ‘feel’ the time, and it becomes tangible to me. Yes, I hear you thinking it is my ‘déformation professionnelle’! Professional Deformation is a term used to describe how the job we are doing changes our behaviour and thinking patterns, or even distorts us a little, and how we don’t notice this when we are with colleagues). To satisfy this part of me, I am always on the lookout for some exciting but short classroom ideas to experiment with. Even not being in the classroom as such recently, thinking about these simple ideas is what I like. 

Let me share an example. Earlier this year I was looking for a quick and efficient start for my writing and online training day. I needed something creative and easy to do, but at the same time exciting and fun. It had to be a task for no more than 2-3 minutes of my time. Less was fine, longer was not accepted.

With the Art Therapy course I have been taking, and with my search for practicing creativity, I had an idea. Every morning, I drew one small exclamation mark, visualising the main task for the day. I was using the colours I felt ‘right’ for me at the moment, and trusted my hand to come up with a new pattern, shape, or even size of the picture. 

I noticed how much this small activity gave me at the beginning of a work day: I felt more focused, refreshed, alert and concentrated. The fun part was to turn the page over immediately and not to look at what I had. I basically forgot about the picture as soon as it was created, and went on with writing or responding to course participants’ assignments and forums. 

A fun fact: when my 6-year-old nephew was visiting us, I decided to share the idea with him. He listened very attentively to the idea, and took it seriously. I asked him to predict how many I could draw, and when I saw the pile in my hand he started… laughing very happily! His reaction prompted me to share the pictures on social media, and it was warmly welcomed. 

I wonder if there is something more in this small technique: could it be done at the end of the day instead, as a kind of journaling task? Does the paper size matter in this case (mine was 9×12 cm, but it could also be an A-5 or A-6 pieces, with more time to spend on the drawing process)? What materials could be used? I had pencils and markers on my desk and I did not take the choice of materials seriously. I wonder if paints would make it much harder in terms of logistics (getting water and brushes, etc.) but at the same less predictable. Or perhaps crayons could bring a variety of lines and patterns. Instead of exclamation marks, those cold be question marks (Readers may remember my 2020 creative micro-project.) There could be other objects that are easy to replicate, e.g., pencils (for writing/writers, for example), umbrellas (for planners who need to see a bigger picture of a project), windows, mugs, buttons, and many more. 

What (micro-genre) ideas come to your mind when you are reading these lines? Is there anything you would like to try out with your students, teachers, or by yourself?