On 31 May 2022, I worked with my 10th A graders on the worksheet, \u2018Words\u2026 in a jar\u201d during the English class. I prepared a power point presentation with some information about the project, the novel \u201cDavid Copperfield\u201d and the questions and activities suggested in the worksheet available on the platform. We read some extracts from Chapter 5 which I introduced one after the other so as to stimulate the students and arouse their interest and make them predict the content of the next extract. They commented on them, expressed their opinions and brought valid arguments. The students concluded that the novel was written in a different period of time when people had different mentalities and what was acceptable then, is unacceptable nowadays. Many students said a student would not accept to be treated as David was. Such a treatment is unacceptable, and they will not tolerate to be dishonoured. Then, each student wrote an anonymous note with the worst thing they have been called and put it in a jar. They insisted to continue the activity by drawing a note from the jar, reading and commenting on what was written on it. There were labels like, \u2018fat\u2019, \u2018stupid\u2019, \u2018bitch\u2019, \u2018gypsy\u2019, \u2018adopted\u2019 etc. and they disapproved with them. I could also notice that students had different perceptions about what means \u2018to be labelled\u2019. Some of them, if labelled, don\u2019t seem to be affected and deride the labels while for others, the label is seen as an urge for change. A student gave himself as an example. His friends used to call him \u2018fat\u2019 (and that\u2019s how he was), so this made him lose weight. Overall, it was an interesting activity that made them more aware of the consequences of words. They talked openly about the words they use both in face-to-face conversation and online to label their friends and about the impact of labels in the online environment.
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