Surprised in a good way.

[franceslievens]

My 22 little caged monkeys aged between 6 and 8 have surprised me today. Last week I'd given them the task to say nice things to each other. They all received a sheet with pictures that signified various compliments you can give another kid: you can draw very well, you are a good puzzler, you are strong... I explained what they could do with those (hand them out to friends, family, teachers) and I asked they would pay attention to saying nice things about others. I left it at that, figuring they'd probably forget at the end of the day.

They didn't. One pupil immediately told me what she'd done with her "compliment sheet". A teacher asked what it was all about, because most kids had been cutting and handing out pieces of paper. At the start of my lesson today it became apparent most pupils had been busy and were eager to talk about what they'd done with the task I'd given them over the week. Most of all they had fun with their friends and were listening to each other. This is a class that's difficult to manage. It consists of two age groups that usually don't have lessons together, and with me only teaching them one time a week some guys tend to wreak havoc. Now they were interested.

Having their attention I could go on to my next task: drawing and writing a Valentine's card for another pupil. I mixed all their names in a bag, including mine. We all took a name from the bag and for that person we had to draw a card. Extra difficulty: the name of the person to whom the card was addressed had to be a part of the drawing, hidden or in plain sight. The message would be a compliment to that person. They all did their best, thought about compliments, wondered what to say to those pupils they didn't know very well. At the end of the lesson we made a little exhibition with the cards, so everyone could see them all and find the one that was made for them.

I love how this lesson plan had it all: expressing yourself through art, learning to be friendly with other kids who aren't necessarily your friends, and learning about other cultures. Giving Valentine's cards to your friends at school is ultimately an American tradition. It was a good day.

Comments

[comava.livejournal.com]

I like the way you treated Valentines Day. At my primary school, kids gave Valentines to each other. But none of it was mandatory, so it inevitably ended up being a popularity contest... Not fun! But your way was much more fun and creative.

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

The mums where I found the tradition made cards for every kid in the class. I assumed this was mandatory or maybe simply something the parents wanted to teach their kids?
Usually I don't do Valentine's Day in school. It's not a Belgian tradition and it's very much considered a celebration of people in love (as was the thing with the actual Saint), so it's not something to do with primary school children. But this fit in with what we were doing, and it shows cultural differences with a country that we see a lot of on the television.