Collins' Cove

April/May - CRCT, Middle School Success, Internet and Summer Safety, Careerss

It's hard to believe we are in the final weeks of school. Time flies quickly when we're having fun learning at The Mill!

In April, Mrs. Richardson and I were busy preparing for, monitoring and administering CRCT make-ups.  Our students began with the end in mind as they made a point to get to school on time and focus on the test each day. My May lessons are geared toward helping our 5th graders transition to middle school as well as emphasizing summer safety for 3rd grade and internet safety for 4th grade.

We're beginning our 5th grade lesson by sharing ideas about the coming changes that are exciting and a little bit scary for our students as they head to 6th grade. Many are excited about meeting new friends, changing classes and teachers, and having the opportunity to become involved in music programs or intramural sports. Others are a little wary of lockers and the amount of homework they may have.

After reviewing the importance of using their agendas, communicating with parents and teachers about academic or friend concerns, and always completing assignments, the students are practicing opening a lock. Many are surpised that they could open it the first time while others took several tries to get the lock open.

As an extension of this lesson, the students will create a "treasure map to success" in middle school. Creating this map will help our students begin with the end in mind and allow them to put first things first so they can continue to be successful.

 In 4th grade, we are learning about internet safety. In our ever increasing technological world,  many elementary age children have access to the internet through email, Facebook, Xbox or Play Station games. Additionally, many have cell phones with internet or texting capability. As I took data at the beginning of the lesson, I learned that in most classes, 90-100% of the students have access to the internet but less than 50% report that their computer is in a common area. It is vitally important that parents supervise their children's access to the internet and establish rules for using social networking and game sites.

Using 3 segments from Brain Pop, our internet safety lesson includes a discussion on "netiquette", the importance of keeping your private information safe, cyberbullying, and the danger of opening attachments. Please check out Netsmartz to help your child stay safe on the internet and make it a point to educate yourself about the ever changing dangers that internet access can often present to children. 

In 3rd grade, our students are viewing safety videos on stranger danger and bicycle safety. The first video depicts some common child lures, emphasizes the importance of having a buddy when playing in various area, and shows how to get help if a stranger tries to lure them somewhere. Parents can help guard children against stranger danger by role playing various scenario.  You may have seen the recent NBC show by Natalie Morales, "My Kid Would Never do That - Stranger Danger". In scene after scene, many children fell for the stranger's lure despite the fact that parents had discussed these situations time and time again.

We are also discussing safety in various places and situations that are common to having summer fun. The children are coming up with several rules that would help them be safe on the computer, in the home or neighborhood, and in the park, pool or at the beach. The discussion also includes car and bicycle safety, skateboarding and playing outdoor sports in the heat.

The students are able to connect the habits "be proactive" and "begin with the end in mind" to summer safety. By taking responsibility to obey their parents' safety rules and asking themselves how to be safe before starting an activity, children can learn to anticipate what could happen if they don't put safety first.

In addition to classroom guidance lessons, our students will participate in Career Day on May 14th and will learn about many exciting careers. Our speakers will share knowledge about what their careers entail, the education required for their careers, and what led them to their career choice.

I hope our Pickett's Mill families have a wonderful summer filled with adventures and happy times. Stay safe!

 The following ASCA standards were covered in these lessons:

5th grade:

GC:AD-B2.1  Establish challenging academic goals in elementary, middle/junior high and high school
GC:AD-C1.6  Understand how school success and academic achievement enhance future career and vocational opportunities

Career Day: (3rd -5th)

• GC:CD-C1.1  Understand the relationship between educational achievement and career success
  GC:CD-B1.8  Understand how changing economic and societal needs influence employment trends and future training

3rd and 4th grades:

GC:PS-C1.2  Learn about the relationship between rules, laws, safety and the protection of rights of the individual
GC:PS-C1.7  Apply effective problem-solving and decision-making skills to make safe and healthy choices

 

 

 

 

More March Lessons - Putting First Things FIrst with CRCT Prep

In the latter part of March, the guidance lessons for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students focused on preparing for the CRCT. Each grade level viewed a powerpoint appropriate for their grade level, followed by a question and answer period.  

Parents can help their children prepare for the CRCT in several ways:

1. Daily preparation is the key to success. Take time to superivse and check your childrens' homework. This time investment will pay off in the long term.

2. Encourage your child to go on Study Island, First in Math and other skills tutoring sites. These sites make learning fun and provide great reinforcment of skills.

3. Help your children discover their strengths and weaknesses and help them address their weak areas. If they don't know their multiplication tables by memory, help them drill and memorize them. This will help them save time on the math portion of the test.

4. Make sure your child is getting plenty of sleep, exercise and a healthy breakfast during testing.  Studies show that foods higher in protein prevent a drop in blood sugar levels that can cause hunger and mental "fuzziness." Although many of us can get by on 6-7 hours of sleep each night, growing children need 10-12 hours of sleep for optimum brain functioning!

5. Help allay fears about the test by encouraging your children to talk about it. Encourage them to think positive thoughts, think of images that make them feel relaxed and take deep, slows breaths to calm them down.

The lessons covered the following ASCA standards and competencies:

Academic Domain Standard A: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span.

GC:AD-A2.1 Apply time-management and task-management skills GC:AD-A2.2 Demonstrate how effort and persistence positively affect learning Standard B: Students will complete school with the academic preparation essential to choose from a wide range of substantial post-secondary options GC:AD-B1.2 Learn and apply critical-thinking skills

March Lessons

Pickett's Mill 3rd graders had an interactive lesson on active listening. After a discussion on on how to listen actively (squaring our body to the speaker, maintaining eye contact, using our mind to focus, and sitting up tall and straight), the students were divided into groups and given a cue word to listen for as I read "The Wonderful Listening Story."

Each group had their own word and said their special line whenever they heard their word. We discovered that as the story grew longer, their responses became delayed or forgotten altogether as they grew tired of actively listening. The students then divided into pairs and used their listening skills to carry on conversations with each child taking turns being the listener or the speaker. The students concluded that in order to be a good listener, they have to make a choice not to talk or play with things around them when the teacher is instructing.

Like all skills, the skill of active listening becomes stronger through practice. Parents can help their children develop good listening skills by modeling good listening skills in the home and frequently engaging their children in conversation. 

The students were able to connect the habits, be proactive and seek first to understand, then to be understood as habits that will help develop good listening skills.

 Standards covered:
Academic: Standard A: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span.
AD-A1.5  Identify attitudes and behaviors which lead to successful learning
Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others.
PS-A1.8 - Understand the need for self-control and how to practice it.
PS-A2.7 - Know that communication involves speaking, listening and non-verbal behavior

Our 4th grade students have learned that gossip is another form of bullying. Reviewing our RAP definition, the students concluded that gossip is repeated over and over again, it involves an imbalance of power because there are many people involved in spreading the gossip around, and it's done purposely with the intent to embarrass, hurt or continue to spread the gossip.

The students were able to play "gossip telephone" using scripted cards.  It was interesting to see how much the story changed by the time the last person heard it.  The students learned that gossip causes confusion, hurt and embarrassment and violates a person's rights and privacy. They also learned that bystander strategies can also be used in gossip situations: stand up for the person by saying "you're gossiping and I won't listen to it" or distract the person by saying, "instead of talking about them, why don't you tell me something about yourself."

I concluded the lesson by reading a folk tale, "A Sack full of Feathers", a story of a boy who learns that gossip is like feathers blown away by the wind - once the gossip is out there, it can never be taken back and it goes wherever it goes. If students are proactive in their choices, they can choose to not participate in gossip. When they seek first to understand, then to be understood, they understand how hurtful gossip is to friendships.

This lesson covered following ASCA standards:

PSA1.7: Recognize personal boundaries, rights and privacy needs
PSA2.8: Learn how to make and keep friends

 The 5th grade students are learning about online safety and  how to have "cyber-sense" .  Topics include online dangers, cyber-bullying, social net-working safety and internet responsibility.
Students used the Premier booklet, Online Safety, to assess their knowledge of the pitfalls of cyberspace and to learn proper "netiquette." The booklets will be coming home with them so be sure to reinforce the need to be vigilant when it comes to cyber safety. 

Our young people are so computer savvy today and many of them already have Facebook accounts even though it is not legal for them to have an account so it's important for parents to monitor their childrens' internet use and block potential harmful sites. Other potential dangers involve online game chat rooms, harmful viruses that hijack your computer or capture personal information, and the perils of getting angry and saying regretful things in a chat, email or text.

With new bullying laws in many states, it is unsure how cyberbullying will play out in our legal system. Children must learn to be proactive and "walk away" from any exchanges that make them want to lash back via the keyboard. Parents should always monitor their childrens' computer use and make sure that the family computer is in a visible place. Set clear expectations about what sites are allowed and which sites are off limits, and have consequences to back it up. Discuss with your child how you want to handle inappropriate language in chat rooms, emails or texts and learn how to print that information..

For more information about cybersafety, visit Cobb County's Prevention Intervention.

This lesson covers the following standards:

PS:C1.2 Learn about the relationship between rules, laws, safety and the protection of rights of the individual

PS:C1.4 Demonstrate the ability to set boundaries, rights and personal privacy

PS:C1.7 Apply effective problem-solving and decision-making skills to make safe and healthy choices

Summer opportunity for parents of special needs children

First Annual

Summer Activities Fair

“What will my kids do this Summer?”

 

● What are my options?

● What will my special needs kids:  LD, ADHD, Autism, Intellectual

   Disabilities… do this summer?

● How about their typical siblings?

 

Come check out local:

Day Camps, Overnight camps, activities, Daycare, respite and Special needs organizations

WHEN:   Wednesday, March 7^th

               from 4:30 till 6:30 PM.

WHERE: Marietta Middle School

               121 Winn Street NW

               Marietta, GA 30064

Park off Polk Street behind the Middle School and follow the signs!

 

There will be Pizza and drinks!  Lots of information!

So bring the family and check out the options for this summer. 

 

Sponsored by Parent Mentors in Cobb and Marietta City:

Nancy Grabe                                            Judith Steuber  and  Ijeoma Ajoku

Marietta City Schools Parent Mentor        Cobb County Parent Mentors

nancy@marietta-city.k12.ga.us                  judith.steuber@cobbk12.org

 770 429-4631 ext 312                             ijeoma.ajoku@cobbk12.org

                                                                            770-529-0046

Beginning with the End in Mind with Career Lessons

During the second half of the month of February, the focus of classroom guidance lessons was on Careers as our students "began with the end in mind" and thought ahead to the future. These lessons covered the following standard:

ASCA National Standard(s):  Career Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions.

Our 3rd grade students made connections between interests and future career choices.  They heard the stories of three different students from the book, Journey to Jobs, and guessed what careers the students would persue based on their interests. In each scenario, the students interests and opportunities changed and so did careers. The students were able to conclude that changing interests may provide the opportunity for career changes during the course of one's working life. The students also took an interest inventory and were encouraged to discuss their interest and potential careers with their parents and to ask their parents to share about how their career paths followed their interests.

This lesson addressed the following compentencies:

• GC:CD-A1.3  Develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests and motivations
• GC:CD-A1.8  Pursue and develop competency in areas of interest

 

The Pickett's Mill 4th graders learned about career clusters by playing a  Career Cube game.  Six bins of different colored blocks representing various interests were placed around the room and the students had to choose between color-coded interests for each turn.  For instance, if they would like to work with tools, they would get a yellow block and if they would like to organize their notebook, they would select a blue block.  At the end of several turns, the students sorted the blocks to discover what their dominate colors were. The different colors represent different career clusters, ways that jobs are group together based on the interests and traits of people.  Prior to playing the game, the students were asked to name a couple of jobs they would like to do in the future. They were able to confirm whether their color choices matched their careers.

This lesson addressed the following competencies:

• GC:CD-A1.3  Develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests and motivations
• GC:CD-A1.7  Understand the importance of planning
• GC:CD-A1.8  Pursue and develop competency in areas of interest
• GC:CD-C1.3  Identify personal preferences and interests influencing career choice and success
• C:A1.3  develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests
• C:A1.9  develop hobbies and vocational interests

Our 5th graders learned about the education level required for certain jobs. They listened to stories from Journey to Jobs about three different students who had several career opportunities available to thenm based on their interests and abilities.  As the stories progressed, they had to predict the level of education required for that particular job.  Our students did a pretty good job of connnecting education levels to careers.  Parents can help their children devlop realistic ideas about post- secondary education by sharing their own stories of their education.  Our students were also able to make the connection between higher education and higher salary and career opportunity. 

This lesson adrressed the following competency:

Standard A: students will inquire skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions

Each class was able to make connections to the habits that will help them prepare for future careers. They understand that they must begin with the end in mind and start considering how their interest can lead them to a career and plan ahead for the education that will get them there. They also see the importance of putting furst things first so that they can make goood grades to get into college as well thinking win- win and seeking first to understand which will help them to get along well with others in the world of work.

 

 

 

 

Bullying and Bystanders

This month, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders reviewed the definition of bullying and learned five strategies that bystanders can use in a bullying situation. Since bullying occurs many times outside of the watchful eye of the teacher or other adults, students often are the only witnesses.  Our own student survey taken earlier in the school year, revealed that some bullying is occuring on the bus, at recess, and at ASP. Students aren't likely to tell because they don't want to be seen as a "snitch" or they are afraid that they'll be disliked or picked on by the bully. We discussed 5 strategies that can be used by by-standers, discussed many examples and role-played these strategies in the 5th grade lessons. The five strategies are as follows: 

1.  Distract the bully or get their attention away from the target. A great way is to start a conversation with them or ask them a question.  Most of the students agreed that this was an easy strategy that they could do.

2.  Support the person being bullied privately.  The bystander can give some encouragement or ask the target to sit with them at lunch or play with them at recess.  Being included in a group is important in preventing bullying.

3.  Refuse to join in the bullying.  For a bystander, this means not to laugh or encourage the bully in any way. This sends the message that their peers disapprove. 

4. Support the person being teased openly. This may involve saying a simple statement such as "stop it" or "that's not cool".

5. Report the bullying to an adult.  Reporting is not tattling. When people are being hurt, emotionally or physically, an adult needs to be told.  

Our students made great connections to the 7 Habits and shared that "be proactive" is one of the best habits that can deter bullying. When we are responsible, we step in and do the right thing when needed. They also shared that if everyone "thinks win-win" or "seeks first to uderstand, then to be understood", bullying will not happen.

The students also learned the meaning of the word, "assertive", and its importance in a by-stander situation. Parents can help their children lean to be assertive by helping them role- play non-threatening situations and practicing what to say. Also, discussing real situations and reviewing what could have been said is another way for children to gain confidence and have the opportunity to rehearse what to say. Encourage your child to stand up for themselves and others and to report bullying when they see it taking place. Children also need to have opportunities to problem solve and handle conflict so whenever possible, let them try to solve problems with friends on their own before stepping in.

This lesson covered the following Personal/Social Development standards and competencies:

Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others.

PS:A2 Acquire Interpersonal Skills
PS:A2.6 Use effective communications skills

Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals and take necessary action to achieve goals.

PS:B1 Self-knowledge Application
PS:B1.6 Know how to apply conflict resolution skills

Standard C: Students will understand safety and survival skills.

PS:C1 Acquire Personal Safety Skills
PS:C1.5 Differentiate between situations requiring peer support and situations requiring adult professional help

 

January Lessons - Teamwork,Traits, and TV ads

As we "begin with the end in mind" this new year, our January lessons continue to address standards and competencies in the academic, personal/social and career domains.

This month, in 3rd grade, we have been learning more about cooperation. Learning to work cooperatively is a skill that is improved with plenty of practice and good feedback from others.

I began the lesson by having the children describe what cooperating behaviors look like: listening to others, sharing ideas, taking turns, involving everyone, being respectful, etc.  We also explored behaviors that prevent cooperation in a group such as pouting, not participating, speaking unkindly, put downs, etc. The class made great connections to some of our habits that help us cooperate: be proactive, think win win, put first things first, synergize, and seek first to understand, then to be understood.

We then listened to a story, "Agree to Agree", and learned that "bossiness" and "silence" are two behaviors that can impede cooperation. The students in our story had to learn to compromise before they could complete their project.  Our students were divided into small groups and asked to create a report of a new animal that their zoological team has discovered.  In their groups, they had to decide the name of this new animal, and it's habitat and special care. In addition, they had to draw a picture and write a  brief report. They had 15 minutes to complete the task and were told that they would need to synergize and cooperate with each other to accomplish this task.

The results were quite interesting.  Many of the groups were able to accomplish their tasks quickly and showed great cooperative skills while others needed some assistance. As each group reported, they were asked what went well and what was difficult about their group work.  The groups reported that it was important to come to a quick agreement and get their ideas out in the open in order to complete the assignment quickly. We ended the lesson by having the children explain why it is so important to learn to cooperate. Many were able to draw connections between being able to get things done in school as well as in the world of work when they're older.

Learning to cooperate is a very important life skill for children to learn.  Parents usually foster this trait in children from the time that they're toddlers and continue encouraging tcooperative behaviors as they grow older. Sometimes, we have to be very watchful and really praise cooperative behaviors when we observe them in order to keep reinforcing them. By third grade, children should be outgrowing "pouting" behaviors (crossing arms and stomping off, leaving the group and refusing to participate, shutting down and not being a part of the group, or giving the "look that kills"). If this is a problem for your child, be firm in your expectations about how they should express their disappointment when they cannot have their own way. We all experience disappointment from time to time but must learn to deal with it in an appropriate manner. Learning to give up that "control" or need to be in charge will help them learn to cooperate with others.

This lesson covers: Career Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions. C:A1.4 Learn how to interact and work cooperatively in teams
Personal/Social Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. PS:A2.2 Respect alternative points of view
Personal/Social Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals and take necessary action to achieve goals. PS:B1.10 Identify alternative ways of achieving goals

In 4th grade, we have been learning "Real Colors" personality in classroom guidance.  Based on the work of Keirsey, this system provides an easy way for students to identify and understand their "Real Colors" personality. By exploring characteristics and traits of each color, the children were able to identify their main "Real Color" as well as combinations of colors. Simplified, the system is as follows:

True Blue - True Blues love to make friends and be with friends. They are often creative, artistic, and concerned about the feelings of others.
Curious Green- Curious Greens love to learn about things that interest them.  They ask many questions and want to know how or why things work. They often explore, invent and play challenging games.
Solid Gold - People who are solid golds are responsible, reliable, and organized.  They like to know the rules and obey them. They like to organize activities for their friends.
Action Orange - These people put the "A" into action.  They love to be active in play and need variety in their activities and interests. They usually enjoy team sports, tend to get easily bored, and love to have fun.

By watching a Winnie the Pooh episode, the children were able to match the color personality to the Pooh characters and see the personality traits exhibited in the characters. While most children share some traits with all of the colors, many were able to identify with one or two main colors.  They were also able to see how understanding their "Real Colors" as well as the "Real Colors" of others can help them appreciate differences in people, get along with others or gain insight into why they may react differently to situations  than others.  Habit #5 - Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood, helps us understand about these differences and why it's so important to try to listen to and understand other people. 

 Having an understanding of personality is especially important as students begin to choose a career path. We ended our lesson by making connections between personality and interests and abilities in order to explore future career choices.

For more detailed information on your child's personality (and a test, too) click here.

This lesson covered the following standards and competencies:

Personal/Social Development: Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. PS:A1.1 Develop positive attitudes toward self as a unique and worthy person

Career Development: Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions. C:A1.3. Develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests and motivations

Pickett's Mill 5th grade students are learning the importance of becoming "mediawise" and scrutinizing commercials  for advertising techniques that are used to pursuade them to purchase products.  The students reviewed old examples of cigarette ads and determined the message advertisers were sending and who was being targeted. After reviewing  peer pressure and how to stand up against negative peer pressure, the students discussed how advertising is similar to peer pressure. They learned that some advertising can have a positive influence while other advertisers  resort to techniques other than presenting the truth about a harmful substance in order to sell products.

We concluded our lesson by breaking into groups and completing T graphic organizers to determine the influences of several areas of popular culture. The groups looked at TV ads, popular songs, popular TV shows and social media and then selected a genre to discuss the negative and/or positive influences of that genre.

The students were able to make connections to Habit 1, Be Proactive, in that as they grow older, it will be their responsibility to make good choices in learning to "scritinize" the many messages that bombard them every day.

With the Super Bowl approaching, this is a great opportunity for your children to "read" the commercials for  true intent and to determine to whom the ad is targeted and what type of influence the ad may have on others.

Standards and competencies covered:

Career Development: Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals and take necessary action to achieve goals. PS:B1 Self-knowledge Application, PS:B1.8 Know when peer pressure is influencing a decision

Standard C: Students will understand safety and survival skills. PS:C1 Acquire Personal Safety Skills, PS:C1.8 Learn about the emotional and physical dangers of substance use and abuse

Transition Fair for parents of students with disabilities

Click here for more information.

Download LTTF Flyer v 1216

 

Free Parenting Workshops

The Guiding Good Choices parenting program is a 3-week class for parents and caregivers of elementary and middle school children.  Workshops cover:

• Developing clear family guidelines and expectations for behavior
• Teaching children the skills they need to stay out of trouble while still having fun
• Learning about the nature and extent of teenage drug use and how to prevent this within your own family
• Managing family conflict in a way that maintains and strengthens  bonds
• Increasing children’s involvement with the family in the teen years
• Creating a parent support network

 

Classes will be January 17th, 24th, 31st

11:30 AM — 1:30 PM

 McClure Middle School

3660 Old Stilesboro Road

Kennesaw, GA 30152

Class provided FREE of charge

 Space is limited!

For additional information or to register contact:

Stuart.Bachman@cobbk12.org/678-736-9419

The Incredible Years Parenting Program is a 6-week class for parents and caregivers of children ages 3—8  years old that encourages:

• Promoting parent competencies and support
• Teaching positive discipline
• Handling misbehavior
• Establishing household rules, routines and limit setting
• Strengthening children's social skills & emotion regulation
• School readiness skills
• Using play and praise to strengthen parent-child relationships
• Coping with stress and anger management

 

Powder Springs Elementary School

Wednesdays 9:00 -  11:00 AM

January 11th—February 15th

Class and book provided FREE of charge

Facilitated by: Stuart Bachman & Chris Wilson, CCSD

 

To pre-register, contact Stuart Bachman, LMSW

Stuart.Bachman@cobbk12.org or 678-736-9419

 

 

December Lessons - Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood - Understanding ourselves and others

The focus of December lessons was to help students understand themselves (4th grade) and others (3rd grade, 5th grade).

In Third grade guidance, we read Is There Really a Human Race?, by Jamie Lee Curtis. Though most of us know her as a movie actress, she is surprisingly a very talented children's book author.  Her books seem to convey the concerns, imagination and thinking processes of young children and are wonderfully illustrated by artist, Laura Cornell. They all contain little "life lessons" that are equally important for both children and parents. Through the course of this lesson, the students were able to learn and define the words diversity, tolerance and empathy and understand the relationship between them.

 This book was inspired by Jamie Lee Curtis's  young son who heard the term "human race" at school and thought it was really a foot race.  The  "race", of course, is a metaphor for how we live our lives.  The story shares lessons of cooperation, respecting others, making good choices, learning from mistakes, and making the world a better place. 

We concluded our lesson by working in groups to have a "pep rally" for the human race. Our cheerleaders opened our pep rally by performing a cheer to some of the words from the book.  The coaches explained their "game plan" so that our students can run the best race possible. Some of their strategies included respect others, be kind to everyone, try your best, and help others. The referees explained how to make various unfair situations fair, and the fans performed short skits demonstrating how they can encourage each other.

Check in with your child and ask how they are doing in their "human race".  Find out what they think is going well and where they think they can improve.  Help them brainstorm ways to make small improvements whether it's sharing more with their little sister, "talking back" less to you, or being more patient with a friend who isn't as athletic or academically talented as your child. Talk to your children frequently about the importance of respecting others and being tolerant of all people and remember that they will learn the most from watching you.

This lesson demonstrates the following standards and competencies:

Personal/Social Domain - Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them understand self and others.

• GC:PS-A2.4  Recognize, accept and appreciate ethnic and cultural diversity
• GC:PS-A2.3  Recognize, accept, respect and appreciate individual differences

Career Domain -  Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions

• GC:CD-A1.4 - Learn how to interact and work cooperatively in teams.

In fourth grade, the students learned about multiple intelligences or the 8 different ways that people can show they're smart.  This theory, developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard University, proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of potential in both children and adults. The multiple intelligences are Visual/Spatial, Verbal/Linguistic, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical/Rhythmic, Logical/Mathematical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic. 

The students took a survey to understand which of the intelligences were dominant for them.They were also able to make the connection that intrapersonal intelligence was necessary for students to synergize, think win-win and sharpen the saw. The students also made connections with the three learning styles: auditory, visual and kinesthetic and through the powerpoint viewed careers that were suitable for the intelligences.

We summarized the lesson by concluding that students learn and show they are smart in many different ways and they can enhance their learning by focusing on their own learning styles and intelligences.

This lesson covered the following standards and competencies:

Academic: Standard A: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span.

• GC:AD-A2.4  Apply knowledge and learning styles to positively influence school performance

Career: Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions

• GC:CD-A1.5  Learn to make decisio

Our 5th graders learned how to build bridges to diversity.  We discussed how stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination can build walls between people and how developing the character trait of tolerance can help build bridges. 

After watching a brief video segment, "Not all Kids are the Same", the students learned about perspective or point of view and discovered that our culture influences our perspective.  Because we come from diverse cultures, we won't always see things the same way, but we can have tolerance for different points of view.

In this video, the mothers of  four different cultures told their duaghters to play with children who were just like them. During recess, as the the diverse groups were jumping rope with their own groups, the four girls were not able to join in.  They began jumping rope together and had a wonderful time. When each child was asked by their mothers whether they played with children just like them, they all said yes. Our students were able to discern that the mothers and daughters had different perspectives of what "playing with children who are just like you" meant. The mothers' intent was for the children to play with children of the same ethnic background while their children looked beyond ethnic differences and saw the common interests that made them alike. We used the analogy of a Venn  diagram to demonstrate that though there are differences among various cultures, there are also commonalities that can bring us together. Focusing on that common ground helps develop tolerance.

Habit 5, Seek First to Understrand before being Understood, can help students strive to look at other perspectives and understand others. Parents can help their children develop this quality by asking them how they think others feel in certain situations.

We ended the lesson by brainstorming ideas that help build bridges to diversity and some of the suggestions included sitting by someone at lunch that you normally don't sit with, playing with someone different at recess, trying to find a connection or something that you have in common, and asking someone about their family or customs. The students concluded the lesson by completing a writing prompt explaining how they would build their bridges to diversity.

Standards and competencies included in this lesson are:

Personal/Social Domain - Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them understand self and others.

• GC:PS-A2.4  Recognize, accept and appreciate ethnic and cultural diversity
• GC:PS-A2.3  Recognize, accept, respect and appreciate individual differences