Caregiving is not a job. You do a job to make something for yourself. With caregiving, you have to give something back from within yourself.

— Terrell Scruggs, preacher, caregiver

Brief But Spectacular activity

F or a google doc version of this Classroom activity, click here .

Terrell Scruggs is a Tennessee native with a strong sense of his “life’s calling.” He is a preacher and caregiver, providing services to seniors in his Nashville community throughout the pandemic. Scruggs shares his Brief But Spectacular take on living a life of service. Brief But Spectacular segments feature a subject's personal take on a theme that they feel is personally important. Segments are quick-paced and are only a few minutes in length.

Directions

Watch the PBS NewsHour video, A preacher and caregiver’s Brief But Spectacular take on helping people . For the transcript, click here . You may want to ask your students if they have ever been a caregiver or if they know someone who is a caregiver or what they think the term caregiver means.

Next, conduct your own Brief But Spectacular interview! This activity is a shortened version of the longer lesson plan What’s your 'Brief But Spectacular' take? written by the show's producer Steve Goldbloom.

Option 1

Conduct your own Brief But Spectacular interview. Don’t forget the clap!

• Ask students to think about topic they feel passionate about or is personally important to them.
• Then have them make a brief outline and start rambling about a topic they feel passionate about. Wait, really start rambling? Yes! Behind the scenes, Brief But Spectacular producers ask the subject to talk for 30-45 minutes straight, answering a series of questions one right after the other in a fun, casual way.
• Make it clear that students don't have to say it perfectly. In fact, it's better if they don't!
• Interview the other person for one minute straight about a subject that is personally important to them.
• Skip the editing room. Have students share their 1-minute video with you or upload to the learning management system.
• Have a video watching party and ask students what they learned about another person in the class that they never knew before and why that might be important.

Option 2

Break up students into groups of three. Rotate through so each student takes a turn in the spotlight. Follow the instructions above — and don't forget the clap!

Tips for shooting:

• Make sure your camera or the webcam on your computer are steady; for support, lean camera against a stack of books.
• Use natural light whenever you can; fortunately, classrooms tend to have a lot of this.
• Look directly into the lens. This gives the feeling that students are speaking to the viewer and it’s been critical to Brief’s success as an intimate form of storytelling.

Sign up for NewsHour Classroom's ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning. To receive NewsHour's education newsletter click here. Write us with any questions, concerns or lesson ideas at education@newshour.org.