Kelly Bear

Today 2nd grade students began learning about Kelly Bear.  Kelly Bear teaches us about our emotional development and understanding ourselves.  We watched the beginning of a DVD and learned about different feelings.  To conclude our lesson the students were able to draw a Kelly Bear feeling card from the pile, show it to the class, guess the feeling, and then show us how they look when they feel that way.

If you would like to check out Kelly Bear activities please visit www.kellybear.com.

Trustworthy Hearts

Students at Prairie Valley Elementary had the opportunity to learn about trustworthiness during the months of January and February.  First grade students applied what they learned to an activity related to hearts -- very fitting for Valentine's Day.

Each student received a piece of a giant heart made from red construction paper.  On their piece they drew or wrote one promise that has been kept.  It could be a promise they made to someone else or a promise that someone else made to them.

"I promised that I would do the recycling."

"My grandma promised me that we would go to Good Will."

"Once I promised my mom that I would do the dishes."

After students completed their piece of the heart, the pieces were assembled into a complete heart (one heart per first grade class).  We talked about what would happen if a piece of the heart were missing.  In other words, how would your heart feel if a promise was broken?  This helped students think about the importance of keeping their promises and being trustworthy with their words.

Larry Bell's Power Words

Larry Bell is a motivational speaker, known in education for his twelve Power Words.  It is believed that these twelve words are an important part of anyone's vocabulary.  In order to expose our kids to these core words, I created a display case with a different word and it's definition each day.  Once each word had been displayed, the rotation starts over again.

If you would like to refresh your memory on these twelve words, feel free to use the information below:

Power Word	Definition
trace	outline, list in steps, or follow the path
analyze	break it into parts, tell about the parts
infer	read between the lines; what is the hidden meaning?
evaluate	judge it, tell the good and the bad
formulate	create, put together
describe	tell about, paint a picture with words
support	back it up or prove it with details
explain	teach me or show me, tell me the steps
summarize	tell the main idea, tell the beginning, middle, and end
compare	tell all the ways they are the same
contrast	tell all the ways they are different
predict	What will happen next?

Source: http://meesterc.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/12.pdf

Iowa Assessments: Animal Testing Tips

Some cute creatures appeared in our display case, giving us tips on how the prepare for the Iowa Assessments:  

The Iowa Assessments are here,

to see how your brain grew

These cute creature are ready, 

How about you?

The majestic lion said, "Take pride in your good work!"

"Eat a healthy and filling breakfast," advised the pelican.

Iowa Assessments: Coping with Test Anxiety

PVE 3rd through 6th graders had the opportunity to show what they know on the Iowa Assessments.  This took place from January 21st through February 1st.  During the 6th grade classroom guidance lessons, students explored test anxiety and ways they can cope with those anxieties.  Each student was given two strips of paper.  On one side they wrote an anxiety they had about the Iowa Assessments and on the back side they wrote one way they could cope with that anxiety.  After doing the same for both strips of paper, they linked them together and formed a paper chain with the entire grade.  This chain was hung over the door of the guidance room to symbolizing the students "leaving their anxieties at the door."

One student chose "TAKE DEEP BREATHS" as his/her coping skill to help eliminate test anxiety.

After the Iowa Assessments were finished, each student was able to tear two links from the paper chain, crumple them up, and throw them into the recycling bag -- thus symbolizing getting rid of their test anxiety.

The Giving Tree

Students in TK, kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade participated in a guidance lesson on The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HWNWnm3IX2M).  The story is about a little boy who loves the tree.  The tree provides the boy numerous things throughout his life: branches for swinging on, shade for resting in, apples to eat, apples to sell, branches for building a house, a trunk for building a boat, and a stump for resting on.  Whenever the tree is able to help out the boy, the tree is happy. 

As a group we discussed that whenever they boy is happy, the tree was happy.  We related that to our own lives: when our friends and family are happy, we are happy.  Students were given the opportunity to draw one way they can give to someone else in order to make them happy.  It was encouraged that students thought in non-materialistic ways.  Some examples were: giving Mom or Dad a hug, holding the door open for someone, holding hands with a friend, washing the dishes, and helping to do laundry.  Students drew or wrote their examples on a hand shape and then it was displayed on our 'giving tree.'  This fit very well for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday -- thinking about what we can give to others.



Stone Soup

Third through fifth grade students participated in a Thanksgiving themed lesson over the past week.  The guidance lesson began by them viewing the book Stone Soup by Marcia Brown -- Liz, the story reader, read it to them via the internet.  If you, too, would like to hear the story, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fimOE5_Tm2w&feature=player_embedded.

In Stone Soup, three soldiers are traveling.  The villagers in the village they were soon approaching noticed that they were coming.  Assuming that the soldiers would ask for something to eat, the villagers hid their food.  After going from door to door, and getting denied food at each home, the soldiers asked for simple supplies: a large cooking pot, water, and some stones ... to make stone soup.  Several villagers contributed supplies for the soup and the entire village feasted on a delicious meal. 

While discussing the story with students, we concluded that any amount of food the villagers contributed helped to make a meal for the entire village -- that we don't always have to give a lot in order to make a difference.  Therefore, our theme for our guidance lesson (in the spirit of Thanksgiving) was to 'give a little to help a lot.' 

Students brainstormed ways they help a little (at home, at school, within a club/team/organization they belong to) to make a difference.  Some examples include: stacking chairs in their classroom so the teachers and custodians have time to do other things, setting the dinner table at home so the family can easily enjoy a meal together, reading a story to a younger sibling.