Hey, friends! In an attempt to finish up my 90 report cards that are due tomorrow, I am blogging…but just super fast. *pinky promise*
Last week was scrimmage week, so my 5th grade friends spent 3 days taking practice tests that mimic the ‘real’ KPREP that they’ll take in 6 weeks. With all this scrimmaging, we had awkward pockets of time (15 minutes hear, 25 minutes there), and some students were being negative nickles. So negative, in fact, they could have made quarters or half-dollars. 😉
Inspired by Fieldcrest Elementary’s School’s anchor chart, we spent some of our ‘spare’ moments talking about ways to adjust our thinking. I introduced the chart below with the phrases on the left already written. Then, in partner pairs and as a class, we discussed how we could shift our thoughts into constructive POAs (plans of action). Here are what my friends’ ideas look like!
We also discussed that when we change our thinking, we are NOT saying our feelings don’t matter. We ARE saying that our feelings start with “I Statements” and contain emotion words, not “I give up.” and “This is stupid.”. When we make statements like “I give up.”, we stop working and it hinders our success. Instead, we want to believe and say things that empower us and our friends. Here enters our class theme, “Our Words Have Tremendous Power.”
Since our class conversation, it has been neat to listen to my friends suggest different way of saying something. I love when my students challenge each other and show that they are awesome humans-beings up for any challenge. *insert sentimental comment about how great 5th graders are* 🙂
I love this idea! Thanks for showing how your class answered. I think my kiddos might need a booster, too! 🙂
Jivey
I saw this idea a little while ago…thanks for the reminder. I definitely want to do this with my class, and next year I want to do it at the beginning of the year.
Rebecca
Ladybugs Lounge
Love this! I am always trying to get my kiddos to think positively and this would be a great reminder for them!!
Molly
Lessons with Laughter