Princess Shoes

Happy Monday Y'all!

We started the day out with  a class meeting in which we discussed voting with a bit of common sense. I explained to the students that we should not vote for a person just because that person is our friend, but that we should vote for people who have presented strong speeches that give excellent reasons and detailed explanations as to why they should be student council rep! Your vote should go towards a student that you believe in because he/she has given succinct evidence that makes him/her a prime candidate for student council rep!

We had a quick Lexia session on the computers, went to an assembly having to do with Dandy Day, and then went back for a session of Writer's Workshop! Today's focus lesson was to come up with a strong lead using dialogue! I modeled for students how dialogue, when used  as a lead, will get the reader's attention and make him/her want to keep on reading! We applied this strategy into a small moment that we wrote today!

Silent signal during assembly!

After recess, we had a class conversation about three issues:

1. Disagreements while in line; I explained to the students that it doesn't really matter where in the line we are standing because the line is meant for us to go to a destination, not to be "1st or 2nd" place in line. I reminded the class that if we do get into a disagreement as to who got to the spot in line first, then doing one round of ro-sham-bo would settle everything, and that we should move on, emotionally, mentally, and physically from the situation afterwards.


2.  Getting out of your spot in line;  I got down to brass tacks with this issue! If you get out of line to speak to someone, then you automatically move to the back of the line in a supportive and appropriate manner! You CANNOT reserve or go back to your original spot. Move to the back of the line!


3. Understand that some people are sensitive, and that you should think about what you're saying and how you are saying it! This one took a while to explain and discuss; I told the class that some students have sensitive feelings, more so than others, and that we need to make sure that we are truly thinking about what we say, even if we don't mean it in a hurtful way, and really focus on how we say it, as to come not come off as offensive! We also discussed how to change statements that are blunt (because being blunt or "brutally" honest might come off as offensive) into a statements that are more supportive. I used my wife as an example when discussing being "brutally" honest versus being supportive! Does "That shirt doesn't look good on you," sound more supportive, or does "you're shirt looks good, but you should give these other shirts a try" sound more supportive? Remember folks, we're in the business of molding students into empathetic, mindful, critical-thinking individuals who can take on the world! And to take on the world, these individuals need a strong set of people skills!

Since I needed a moment to specifically talk to certain students about the issues previously mentioned, the rest of the class supported themselves by Reading to Self! Afterwards, we expressed our thinking while reading, by writing about our favorite part in the text or writing out a connection we made while reading!

And then we heard speeches from students who want to be part of the Student Council!

Before having the students come up to present their speeches, I gave a few pointers to all of E-8 on presenting:

• Have a clear voice that is fairly loud so that the entire audience can actively listen
• Make eye contact with the audience from time to time during your presentation

While the candidates were giving their speeches the rest of the class took quick notes in order to make an informed decision as to whom to vote for!

I think that about does it for today! Cheers y'all, and have an excellent evening!