W-O-W. I have had a whirlwind week so far!
As an inclusion teacher, I know each year will bring new challenges. This year is no exception. I’m really really really glad we are using the clip chart system. It has been the perfect system so far, and it fits in well with our 7 Habits focus. Speaking of the clip chart, I have to say THANK YOU to everyone who has encouraged me to try this. Know that you not only changed my thinking, but you impacted my entire grade level. All 6 of us are trying the clip system this year. Our 7 second grade teachers are trying it as well. W-O-W!
We’ve also started to dig deep into the first three habits ~
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Today I taught a lesson using Habit 1: Be Proactive. Since I departmentalize, I was able to use two different books with the lesson. I couldn’t decide which one to use, so I pulled a different book for each class. One of the texts was significantly shorter than the other, so this was a great way to differentiate for my inclusion group. This early in the year, they have the attention span of a flea. 🙂
Group 1: Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jordan
Group 2: A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting
I’m sharing the T-Charts we made today. We had some really rich discussions about what it means to be a proactive person and the books lend themselves really easily to this habit.
Habit 1 Lesson T-Charts
I found our talks were better when we made notes after reading the book instead of stopping and talking as we read. I have to give credit to my co-teacher, Schona, for that nugget of truth. Of course, your classroom may work differently.
I hope this has been helpful! Don’t forget to enter the Lakeshore giveaway – it ends tomorrow night at 11pm!!
I love these habits! I think it's fabulous how you're helping the kids make a connection between the characters and themselves using the habits!
Dana
3rd Grade Gridiron
Thanks for sharing these book ideas. Do you think these would be good to introduce the habit for the first time ever or should I stick with the story from the 7 Habits of Healthy Kids book? ~Amanda @ The Teaching Thief
What is the clip chart system???
@Hollie –
Christina Bainbridge has a really excellent description of the clip chart system on her blog. It's a fabulous behavior management system that takes the typical red-yellow-green clip chart and adds incentive and the opportunity to turn your day around to it.
@Amanda – I would stick to the 7 Habits of Happy Kids when it comes to introducing the habits. Use additional read alouds to support. 🙂