Today we read a story about a tree who’s wish to be a Christmas Tree came true in an unexpected way. This story sparked a discuss about friendship and kindness. We shared our thoughts through Flipgrid:
A Wish To Be A Christmas Tree
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Category Archives: character education
Classroom Agreements
Our classroom agreements are now complete. I believe that these 4 agreements are so important that it takes us a full 2 weeks to explore them. We’ve talked about them, read about them, thought about examples of them, practised them, displayed them, and continue to talk about them each and everyday.
Room 102 is a unique community made up of a group of amazing learners and teachers! All of us play both roles everyday! In order for that to happen successfully we only need to follow 4 agreements. With these agreements our community is a safe and positive place to be!
Inclusiveness – Thinking with PSA’s
February’s character trait in Simcoe County is Inclusiveness and today is Pink Shirt Day. We started our thinking at our classroom door with the quote:
“Care, concern and love can bridge our differences.” by Terry Bennet
We brainstormed some ideas:
Now watch the following public service announcements and respond to this post.
- What message do you think these public service announcements are trying to present?
- Do you think this message is important? Why/why not?
You can find the second video at: www.psacentral.org and search, “love has no disability”
Community Agreements – Attentive Listening
There are no written rules in our class! Instead, we recognize that we are a community and agree to 4 agreements.
Today we discussed the first one – attentive listening. We talked about what attentive means, when it is important to listen attentively, and why it is important. Students created and performed short skits to help them visualize what this agreement looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Then we came up with this chart.
The Goat Lady
Today we read a story about how two children and their mother befriended an elderly lady who raised goats. The lady’s neighbours did not like the lady’s house, her clothes nor her barnyard animals, and so, held a low opinion of the lady.
- Why do you think the children became friends with Noelie when none of the other neighbours would?
- How did the children’s mother change people’s opinions of Noelie?
- What do you think the message in this story is?
Character Trait of the Month – Integrity
The character trait focus for the month of March is Integrity. Integrity is about doing the right thing even when not one is looking. Watch the short video below and answer the following questions.
- What did the boy in the video do that did not show integrity ?
- What could the boy do to fix the situation, and repair the harm he has caused?
- What do you think the boy should have done instead?
- Is being thought of as someone with integrity important to you? Why, or why not? How would you feel if someone accused you of not having integrity?
Show, Not Tell
Today we continued our discussion about the character trait, caring. We read a story, “Zen Ties”. It’s story about how a group of children changed an elderly woman’s life simply by showing they cared.
That story inspired us to write our own stories. After drafting quickly we then used our critical thinking skills to revise our work. Today’s focus was on “show, not tell”. Thank-you Mitchell for sharing your story and helping us to recognize when it would be better to write descriptive details instead of simply telling the reader that, “he was happy”.
Character Trait of the Month – CARING
The character trait that we are focusing on this month is CARING!
Watch the video below and then answer the following questions in a reply to this post.
Visitors: We’d love to hear your ideas, too! Please respond!
- Summarize what happened in the video. Think about the beginning, middle, and end.
- What is the main idea in this video. What does the author want you to think about?
- What do you think is a caring person?
Character Trait Of The Month – HONESTY
Simcoe County School Board has designated honesty as the character trait of the month for January. Watch the following video and answer the questions below.
1. Do you think that the dad did the right thing? Why or why not?
2. What do you think is the most important thing to know about honesty?
3. Describe a time in your life when you used the character trait honesty.
Courage
This month we are focusing on the character trait “Courage”. Think about what courage is. Write your ideas on the Padlet below.
Now watch the following video and answer these questions by replying to this post.
1. What is the message in this video? What does this video want us to think about?
2. Describe a time when you needed to be courageous.