Part 1:

Present the following challenge to students:

Think of something (e.g., objects, places, people) that you think is truly beautiful, but that at the same time you think others might not notice and/or consider as beautiful. What do you think it is that makes it beautiful?

Take a couple minutes of quiet time for students to write and/or draw their thoughts.

Go around in a circle and have everyone share what they wrote about/drew. If anyone forgets to share why they think their chosen thing is beautiful, gently remind them to before moving to the next person. As students share, write down the “whys” they use to describe the thing on the board, particularly the adjectives they use to describe their chosen thing.

After everyone shares, ask them to think about something another person shared that they also think is beautiful and why, particularly if their reasons for thinking the thing is beautiful are different. After a couple minutes, ask them to share again. As students share, add to “whys” on the board.

Part 2:

Have students look for a pattern in the “whys.” From the list, how might we define “beautiful”?

Sample questions for part 2:

Note: If you meet with a class regularly (e.g., weekly), parts 1 and 2 can be done in separate sessions. If you do that, you can make a list of the “whys” for the second session and use it as a worksheet to prompt the discussion. A sample worksheet is available in the lesson attachment above.