Want to know the easiest way to get 17 fifth graders off task quickly? Here it is:
And that was at 4:22! Imagine it at noon! Which is the best backdrop for a conversation about RESPECT. As a staff we took a look at the Student Support Forms over the past month and the vast majority had something to do with disrespectful behavior. So we asked ourselves, "What is respect?" Break out groups of teachers in similar grade levels came up with brainstorms.
Here are the 4th and 5th grade teachers' ideas for what respect looks like, feels like and sounds like:
There's a lot of "grumbling" out loud going on in the fourth and fifth grades about activities kids don't want to do. Plus, as teachers, we decided there was a list of NON-NEGOTIABLES for fourth and fifth graders:
- eye rolling, stomping, pouting, groaning
- body away from the group
- calling out
- arguing and back-talk
The next day, with my fifth graders, I had a great conversation with them and shared the startling data about the amount of disrespectful behavior going on. They brainstormed similarly, and here are some of their responses-- please excuse the spelling!
I have a pretty smart bunch of kids!
We also finished Tuck Everlasting-- which is the epitome of why a book should not be judged by its cover. At the beginning of the book I asked the kids if they would want to live forever. The overwhelming majority thought they would like to. The age they would want to stay varied, but none of them wanted to be any older than 21. Imagine thinking that 21 is old! Anyways, later in the book, I asked them again, and many more students were questioning their original choice. They were mesmerized by the adventure, thrilled by the mystery, and confused by the odd toad in the story. I promised them we'd watch the video and compare the movie and the book.
Here's one student's doodle of the scene that takes place at the magic spring near the old ash tree:
