JUSTICE/FAIRNESS
"Treating others with fairness and dignity is the "rain" that helps them to grow and and be fruitful"
January's trait is justice/fairness. Please devote at least 15 minutes a week during your "specials" block. Your Character Trait book can provide many activities appropriate for your grade level. Janine Brown also has books set aside in the library as well that you can use.
Primary: (Tune of "You Are My Sunshine")
Justice and Fairness, Justice and Fairness,
Treat others kindly, respect the rules.
Stand up for people who are mistreated,
Make a difference in the world.
Upper: Have the students think about who makes their clothes and where. Discuss the injustices that workers including children endured to make clothes. (The full explanation can be found on pg 33 in your lessons book)
Staff Meeting- Morning Meeting 3:05PM February 17th
Teacher Handbook
Communication with Parents
Good communication between parents and teachers is vital to an effective and positive educational program. Attempt to make several positive contacts during the year, especially if you have had to make a negative contact for student misbehavior or academic concerns.
The following contacts are beneficial for establishing positive home-school communications:
- One of the best and proven methods for establishing positive communication is to telephone parents during the first week or two of school to introduce yourself and hold a brief conversation or send a letter of introduction to parents.
- Shortly after the opening of school, a Back to School Night is planned so that parents may meet their child's teacher. At this time, all parents will receive a written statement of grade level goals, teacher goals, and objectives for the year and grading policy.
- Teachers are encouraged to send an introductory letter home during the first week of the school year as well as classroom information regularly. Translation services are available with one week’s notice, minimum.
Important Dates
- No School: Monday, January 16th - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Wedensday, January 18th- Front Row Webinar 3:15- 4:15 in room 18 (where announcements are made)
- Kinder ESGI Letter Naming 1/20/17
- Progress Monitoring T2 #2 Completion 1/20/17
- Progress Reports go home the week of January 23rd
- Jan 23-27 - The Great Kindness Challenge http://greatkindnesschallenge.org/School/event.html
- Staff Meeting- Morning Meeting 3:05PM February 17th
PBIS News
Area
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Data
| |
Time
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12:00, 1:00, 2:00
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Location
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Classroom; Playground
| |
Day of the Week
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Monday (32); Thursday (24) ; Friday (23)
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Problem Behavior
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Minor: Contact (31) /Disrespect (21)
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Grade
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Sixth (38), Fourth (20), Second (19), Third (19)
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Number of Referrals
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178; Violation of School Rules (98), Defiance (12), Threat (12), Horseplay (8), Fighting (4), Disruptive (8)
|
Citizenship Awards...
This month is flying by. Please remember to choose ONE student in your classroom that has exemplified Justice/Fairness ALL MONTH. Click on the Blue Justice/Fairness link to list your student NOW. Other students you would like to recognize can be praised by using Good News Referrals and PAWS, which each staff member has received.
Timberwolf Tip...
This article discusses educating our youth about bias, diversity, and social justice, and gives tips about how to do so!
Instruction: Something to think about............
4 Strategies to Energize and Focus Your Students
2. Involve as Many Students as Possible
3. Give the Students an Urgent Reason to Learn
4. Help Students Feel Success
Additional Planning and Effort—It's Worth It
Instruction: Something to think about............
4 Strategies to Energize and Focus Your Students
2. Involve as Many Students as Possible
3. Give the Students an Urgent Reason to Learn
4. Help Students Feel Success
Additional Planning and Effort—It's Worth It
4 Strategies to Energize and Focus Your Students
2. Involve as Many Students as Possible
3. Give the Students an Urgent Reason to Learn
4. Help Students Feel Success
Additional Planning and Effort—It's Worth It
1. Engage Student Leadership in the Classroom
Some of the students who seem least interested in the learning are also some of the most effective students in organizing and orchestrating classroom projects. These student leaders can also be persuasive in assisting others in their learning. I recently started a project-based learning unit on travel in Spanish speaking countries, and I handpicked a general manager for each class. I chose the student that was self-assured enough to make things happen, and in many cases, these were students with disciplinary issues.
I then asked the class to elect two student helpers for the general manager. I knew that making sure that this leadership team knew how to lead was incredibly important, so I took the time to explain the vision and goals, providing specific tasks that needed to be done. I advised them that they were not the ones that should be doing the tasks, but they are the ones supervising to make sure that the tasks get done. I also gave them liberty on how they could accomplish the tasks. The results were impressive and better than past results when I had been the sole manager of the learning.
Some of the students who seem least interested in the learning are also some of the most effective students in organizing and orchestrating classroom projects. These student leaders can also be persuasive in assisting others in their learning. I recently started a project-based learning unit on travel in Spanish speaking countries, and I handpicked a general manager for each class. I chose the student that was self-assured enough to make things happen, and in many cases, these were students with disciplinary issues.
I then asked the class to elect two student helpers for the general manager. I knew that making sure that this leadership team knew how to lead was incredibly important, so I took the time to explain the vision and goals, providing specific tasks that needed to be done. I advised them that they were not the ones that should be doing the tasks, but they are the ones supervising to make sure that the tasks get done. I also gave them liberty on how they could accomplish the tasks. The results were impressive and better than past results when I had been the sole manager of the learning.
The first segment of our travel project was to transform our classroom into a travel agency. I requested that the leadership team for each class assign students to make artifacts for the agency—business cards, brochures, posters, and travel plan forms. Every student also had to create a passport, so photos had to be taken and a group of students were put in charge of that as well. The language component required that everyone prepare a dialogue (in Spanish) to plan her or his trip with a travel agent. The leadership team kept constant track of where the students were on their passports, their dialogues, and other assigned tasks, and they were also busy on their own tasks.
The first segment of our travel project was to transform our classroom into a travel agency. I requested that the leadership team for each class assign students to make artifacts for the agency—business cards, brochures, posters, and travel plan forms. Every student also had to create a passport, so photos had to be taken and a group of students were put in charge of that as well. The language component required that everyone prepare a dialogue (in Spanish) to plan her or his trip with a travel agent. The leadership team kept constant track of where the students were on their passports, their dialogues, and other assigned tasks, and they were also busy on their own tasks.
The second phase of our travel unit was the actual boarding and flight in our classroom-turned-airplane. We transformed the classroom into a boarding area and the interior of an airplane. Students created colorful cardboard panels designed to look like airplane windows to divide the classroom. They voted on who would play the role of the pilot and flight attendant. The students chosen for the roles wrote scripts they had to memorize and perform as part of their duties. Students had to successfully apply for and obtain a visa, as well as obtain their boarding pass—all through conversations with each other—before they could actually board the plane.
To add to the illusion of realism, once the students were all boarded, they watched a video of a pilot’s eye view of a take-off. Later they viewed a short in-flight movie, and the flight attendant gave them drinks and pretzels. During the flight, each student had to engage their seatmate in a three-topic conversation that I evaluated before they could get their treat. When I asked the students to reflect on this experience and their learning, many happily shared that they could successfully travel to a Spanish speaking country (most of the students had never flown, and this was their “first” experience).
The second phase of our travel unit was the actual boarding and flight in our classroom-turned-airplane. We transformed the classroom into a boarding area and the interior of an airplane. Students created colorful cardboard panels designed to look like airplane windows to divide the classroom. They voted on who would play the role of the pilot and flight attendant. The students chosen for the roles wrote scripts they had to memorize and perform as part of their duties. Students had to successfully apply for and obtain a visa, as well as obtain their boarding pass—all through conversations with each other—before they could actually board the plane.
To add to the illusion of realism, once the students were all boarded, they watched a video of a pilot’s eye view of a take-off. Later they viewed a short in-flight movie, and the flight attendant gave them drinks and pretzels. During the flight, each student had to engage their seatmate in a three-topic conversation that I evaluated before they could get their treat. When I asked the students to reflect on this experience and their learning, many happily shared that they could successfully travel to a Spanish speaking country (most of the students had never flown, and this was their “first” experience).
I told the students:
“We landed safely! The pilot and flight attendant did a wonderful job of creating this project. ¡Aplauso por favor! We need to also thank the management team for all their hard work in creating the plane and the boarding area. ¡Aplauso por favor!”
Each student knew she/he was successful. No one could board the plane without all the boarding tasks completed. They knew they were successful in the dialogues because they could not get their in-flight treat until they performed the dialogue satisfactorily according to the rubric. The basis for performance-based learning and project-based learning is getting the students to do things that show they know how to apply the knowledge and skills to real-life, or life-like, situations. They moved from one completed task to another, and this kept them focused on the ultimate goal: boarding the plane.
Having an end goal will inspire students to stay focused on the task at hand. The next leg of our travel project will take place in the hotel, and in order to get their room, they are going to have to communicate effectively with the receptionist. In order to find the restaurant, they will have to successfully get and follow directions from the hotel doorman.
I told the students:
“We landed safely! The pilot and flight attendant did a wonderful job of creating this project. ¡Aplauso por favor! We need to also thank the management team for all their hard work in creating the plane and the boarding area. ¡Aplauso por favor!”
Each student knew she/he was successful. No one could board the plane without all the boarding tasks completed. They knew they were successful in the dialogues because they could not get their in-flight treat until they performed the dialogue satisfactorily according to the rubric. The basis for performance-based learning and project-based learning is getting the students to do things that show they know how to apply the knowledge and skills to real-life, or life-like, situations. They moved from one completed task to another, and this kept them focused on the ultimate goal: boarding the plane.
Having an end goal will inspire students to stay focused on the task at hand. The next leg of our travel project will take place in the hotel, and in order to get their room, they are going to have to communicate effectively with the receptionist. In order to find the restaurant, they will have to successfully get and follow directions from the hotel doorman.
I saw students’ attitudes change with this project. I saw students who were hard to enthuse come to class excited. They loved having a say in what their passport names would be and the dialogue they would engage in on the plane. Giving students a chance to create a learning environment, engaging all of them in an urgent reason to learn, and providing continual feedback as they progress are ways to help your students focus.
Project planning does require extra planning and preparation on the part of the teacher, but the benefits are worth the risk of bringing a bit of chaos to our classrooms. Real-life application of learning engages students beyond worksheets and traditional methods. Projects like the one described provide an opportunity for students to put to practice the knowledge and skills they have learned in an authentic way.
I saw students’ attitudes change with this project. I saw students who were hard to enthuse come to class excited. They loved having a say in what their passport names would be and the dialogue they would engage in on the plane. Giving students a chance to create a learning environment, engaging all of them in an urgent reason to learn, and providing continual feedback as they progress are ways to help your students focus.
Markham Shout Outs....
Thank you Bobbie for keeping us up to date on the gateway!!Luci- Thanks for team teaching with me!
Nakaren- Thanks for sharing your idea for a prompt for opinion writing! :)
Norma, thank you for being bold and courageous.
Hannah, thank you for sharing your experience.
Thank you to everyone who played a part in my proposal in my classroom before Winter break! It was very special and it couldn't have been done without you. You know who you are :)
Sylvia went of her way to help me reorganize my classroom. She came in over winter break , helped move furniture and offered great ideas for wall space. :) Thanks so much! Shanti
Let out a happy "howl" here - Markham's Staff is HOWLing....
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