In this chapter, a Canadian high school teacher describes a senior English independent study program requiring that each student become involved in a topic through experience. From previous teaching experiences, the teacher realized that the curriculum was secondary to the method of delivery, that learning happened when a teacher instilled in students a desire to learn, and that every meeting of students with their teacher and peers should have personal meaning. Ontario's senior English curriculum mandated an independent study project developed from students' special interests and literature readings, and culminating in formal oral and written presentations. This independent study unit added the requirement that students become personally involved with their topics and bring their experiences to life for their classmates through an oral presentation. One student took a part-time job in a local nursing home, read literature on gerontology and services for the elderly as well as a novel about an institutionalized elderly woman, and interviewed nurses and residents at the nursing home. For her oral presentation, she came to class in the character of an elderly infirm woman and described her daily experiences and the realities of old age. Another student merged the life story of Michelangelo with a slide show of his art and her own efforts to imitate his style and technique of oil painting. A third student combined his interest in physics and engineering with the novel "Don Quixote," and developed a presentation that addressed humanity's mechanical and metaphoric use of the windmill. (SV)