Trust and Cause/Effect lessons

In first grade the weeks lesson focused on trust.  The importance of identifying individuals that they trust who they could talk to when they are having a problem or a bad day was the primary focus of this lesson.  Students first globally brainstormed all of the people at home, in the school and in the community who they may have a trusting relationship.  They then identified the three people in their own lives that they feel they have a trusting relationship with and they illustrated their own trust tree with those three individuals.  It is important for all students to understand that adults and peers are there for them when they need them and to stress how important it is to talk to someone when you are struggling with a bad day.  This is the first step for students to begin to get support with and internalize their own problem solving strategies to use when they are needed.

This week the second grade students all had a lesson that focused on cause and effect.  Kim Emerson, the art teacher, and I went over many examples both positive and negative regarding how our actions have "ripple effects".  We illustrated how every action is like a rock being dropped into water and every effect is like the ripples that we see in the water.  Oftentimes students don't think before they say or do things, thus not thinking about the effects that they have on themselves and others.  After the lesson, each student was given three circles of graduating size that they need to use to illustrate a cause and effect situation.  It was impressive to see all of the examples that the students were able to generate on their own.  The students cause and effect examples varied from someone hitting them, helping their parents, giving flowers to a friend, to helping classmates with their schoolwork.