different but connected meanings. This means that when we put the meanings together, we are able to know what a dream is.
Firstly, a dream happens when there is very little brain activity, when the outside world cannot enter the brain, and when the system that thinks about ‘I’ or ‘me’ is shut down. This might sound very complicated, but it is explained this way because we don’t just dream during sleep, but also when we are in a very relaxed, waking state. This is when we ‘drift off’ and suddenly realise that we have been dreaming.
Secondly, a dream is something we ‘experience’ because the thinking is very real and makes use of our senses, especially seeing and hearing.
Thirdly, a dream is what we remember in the morning, so it is a memory of the dreaming experience.
Finally, a dream can also be the spoken or written report we give others about the experience. Talking or writing about your dreams is the only way anyone else can ever know about them.
So, to sum up these four connected meanings, we can think of a dream as the report of a memory in your brain. The dream happens under conditions that are most often formed in a state of sleep.
2. Now discuss the following questions with your group:
(a) How many different meanings of a dream does this article talk about? Name them.
(b) It is important to know all four meanings in order to know the exact definition of a dream. Why?
(c) Do we only dream when we are asleep? Give a reason for your answer.
(d) What two senses are often used in our dreams?
(e) Can we know about another person’s dreams?
3. If John wakes up terrified of the monsters he had been dreaming about, which of the meanings of dream should we use?
4. If he tells his brother about his dream, which meaning should we use?
Talk, write and draw
In the next activity you are going to tell your group about dreams you have had in the past. Then you will write a journal entry in which you will describe one of these dreams. Finally, you will draw a picture of this dream to make it more visual to your classmates. Put these pictures up in your class. The picture here shows a boy writing about the dream he is remembering.
1. Tell your group briefly about a dream you had recently.
2. Here is an example of a journal entry:
Now write a journal entry about a dream you had.
(a) Draw a picture of the dream you told your group. Draw as much detail as you can. Show your dream picture to your group.
Read and write about dreams for success
It is important for everyone to have a dream for the future so that they can plan their lives and have a goal to reach. Although we are not always sure how to achieve such a dream, we are inspired by other people’s stories of how their dreams became a reality. In the next activity you are going to read an article about the Wright brothers’ dream. You will then answer questions on the article.
1. Read the following article about the Wright brothers’ dream aloud. Each member of the group can read one paragraph while the others listen and follow in their books.
The Wright brothers’ aeroplane
In the nineteenth century two brothers had an idea which eventually became their passionate dream. Their determination to achieve their dream changed world travel forever.
When Wilbur and Orville were young boys, their father came home one evening with a toy that would change their lives. In the boys’ words, ‘Late in the autumn of 1878, our father came into the house one evening with some object partly concealed in his hands, and before we could see what it was, he tossed it into the air. Instead of falling to the floor, as we expected, it flew across the room till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered a while, and finally sank to the floor.’ This simple toy made of bamboo, cork and stretched rubber bands fascinated the Wright brothers and sparked their lifelong interest in human flight.
The Wright brothers always enjoyed learning new things. At first they recycled broken parts to build a printing press and opened their own printing office. They later decided to move their interest to bicycles. In 1893, they opened the Wright Cycle Company, where they sold and repaired bicycles.
However, Wilbur (the older of the two) had his heart set on flying. The brothers spent many hours researching, making and testing their machines. Although there were many unsuccessful attempts at human flight, they were determined to succeed. What had started out as a hobby soon became a passion, a dream.
On 17 December 1903 at 10:35 am, Wilbur and Orville Wright realised their dream. On a cold, windy morning at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they flew ‘the world’s first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine in which man made free and controlled flight’.
Their life long dream had become a reality. So, the next time you hear or see an aeroplane, remember where it all started.
2. Now answer the following questions in discussion with your group:
(a) What was the Wright brothers’ lifelong dream? Scan the text and give the exact quote.
(b) What words in the text tell us that the writer thinks that the dream the brothers had was positive?
(c) Who sparked the Wright brothers’ lifelong dream? What did he give them? Explain their story in your own words.
(d) What did the Wright brothers do with the broken parts they recycled?
(e) When and where did the Wright brothers finally achieve their dream of human flight?
3. Write an explanation of the title of the article, in your own words. Think about the four meanings of the word dream that we have discussed before. Here in the title the word is used differently.
4. What, in your opinion, was the main ingredient for the Wright brothers’ success?
Talk and write about the future
It is important to have dreams about your future. Your dreams motivate you and urge you on. Without their dream, the Wright brothers would never have invented their aeroplane. Think about your own dreams for the future.
In this part of the module you are going to make a 3D-autobiography to show your teacher and classmates who you are. You will present yourself as you were in the past, as you are at present
