Connecting with characters
I came accross the book “Sitti’s Secrets” by Naomi Shihab Nye while I was getting ready for the new school year. I instantly connected to the message of being close to family, no matter how far away they may be.
As I was reading to the class, I felt inspired by the memories of food within the story. Mona’s grandmother shares lemonade with mint from the garden, and fresh cucumbers with yogurt and dill. I decided right there at about 3:00pm that I would bring in those exact snacks the next day, from my garden.
The taste was new for most of us, but more than half of the class seemed to really enjoy the flavor combinations. The runnaway hit was the Naan flatbread that we ate with everything. My favorite part was crushing the mint in our hands, just like Mona did with her Sitti.
Growth Mindset
I have always started the year with the concept of a growth mindset. This book, about overccoming fears, pains, and failures helped us discuss the concept further.
When students have a growth mindset they:
-embrace challenges
-learn from mistakes and feedback
-understand that failure is not an ending
-never give up
Support your student with the power of “yet.”
If they say “I don’t get math.”
You can respond with “Yet.”
If they say “I will never win a race.”
You can respond with “You haven’t won a race, yet…”
Yet- opens doors. I hope you try “yet” in your day too.
Teamwork
This challenge filled my heart with joy. Our 4th grade class competed against the other 4th grade class in the first week. We tried to get the hula hoop down the line of students without breaking hands.
I was so happy to see my class automatically encouraging eachother, instead of yelling at them to do better. I heard “You got this!” “Don’t worry!” “You are so close!”
The sportsmanship was wonderful, and I knew that I had an amazing class right away.
Academic Conversation (look closely to see the yarn)
Oral language (speaking) is just as important as written language when it comes to student (and adult) success. I will be asking students to leave their casual language at the door more and more. The classroom will have a higher expectation for “academic speech.”
This activity showed us how conversations weave in and out of a group. By holding on to the string, you can see how many times a student has contributed, and if anyone needs to be invited into the discussion.
Students have begun saying
“I hear what you are saying, but have you considered….”
“Excuse me, but I want to clarify. What do you mean when you say…”
“What evidence do you have to support your thinking?”
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