sutton007

At the start of each new school year my students are introduced to a lesson in Citizenship.   This lesson will lay the groundwork as we work together to establish rules in our classroom.  made with Doodlebuddy Here are some definitions which help students understand this often-confusing term.  The highlighted definition will be the focus of instruction this year. "Citizenship" as defined by Dictionary.com :     noun :  1. the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen.             2. the character of an individual viewed as a member by society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations and functions of a citizen. Students will be introduced (via a Smartboard Notebook lesson) to the following 5 categories that help define citizenship; Respect, Fairness, Caring, Responsibility,  and Honesty (categories based on information provided by the Scott Foresman Soci...

How does one decide that they want to change the world?   Especially when that "one" is an elementary student.  Is she sitting in class one day daydreaming and thinkng “Hey, I think I’ll save the rainforests?”  Or is she eating dinner one night and say to a parent, “Hey, I think I’ll save the whales?” Whatever it is that drives an individual or group of individuals to go beyond the scope of their own small universe, it doesn’t really matter.  All that matters is that they want to make a ‘difference’ (just like the star thrower in Loren Eiseley’s inspirational story .   It intrigues me more when I hear about young people who set out to change the world.  From a young girl selling lemonade to raise money to find a cure for neuroblastoma to a  young man inventing a fool-proof communication device for people who are blind, there are children who don’t realize how their efforts are far-reaching. Just recently three students at our school decided...