upper elementary students and their world
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Upper Elementary Students and their World. by Jane, Catherine, Laura, Lani, Myranda & Jackie. Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development Level One: Preconventional Stage One: Obedience and Punishment Focused on direct consequences of their actions on themselves - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Upper Elementary Students and their World
by Jane, Catherine, Laura, Lani, Myranda & Jackie
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral DevelopmentLevel One: Preconventional
Stage One: Obedience and Punishment• Focused on direct consequences of their actions on themselves• Egocentric, not aware that other’s points of view are different than
their ownStage Two: Self-Interest Driven• What’s in it for me?• Right behavior will result in what’s best for me• Concern for others involves both people receiving something from
each other
Level Two: Conventional• Judge morality of actions by comparing them to society’s views
and expectations• Typical of adolescents and adults
Elementary School Students• Transitioning from stage one to stage two of the preconventional
stages and then to conventional as they reach adolescence• Most moral decisions based on self interest• Provide students opportunities to move beyond self interest
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentConcrete Operational (Ages 7-11)
• Moving beyond egocentricism: recognizing others have a different viewpoint• Can think logically about objects and events• Classifies objects according to several features and can order them in series
along a single dimension such as size• Conservation is the realization that objects or sets of objects stay the same
even when they are changed about or made to look different. • Achieves conservation of number (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight (age 9)• Transition to Formal Operational Stage around age 11, where students think
abstractly and hypothetically
Tribes by Jeanne Gibbs
Purpose: building a learning community Why?• promotes human growth and learning• helps develop resiliency• fosters collaborative, pro-social skills Specifics:• inclusion, influence, community• heterogeneous groups that remain together for an
extended period• a democratic system...choice and control• 4 agreements
Activity: Cooperation Squares
Objectives:• encourage cooperation• build awareness of how own behaviors help or
hinder the group• build inclusion and influence
Rules of the Game• no talking• may only give pieces...no taking or requesting• if your tribe finishes, silently think about the
reflection questions
Reflecting on the
Activity
Questions to Ponder What did you learn about non-verbal cooperation?What social skills did you need to make this activity successful?Why is giving a social skill?
Good community building activities... • have a win-win
outcome• include everyone• highlight contributions
of individuals• are fun!
Building a Safe
Classroom Environment
We already are - let's do it intentionally and choose what values we want to pass on.
Should we teach values and character?
Developing feelings of self-worth and security by providing opportunities for each child to build on his or her successes.
Teaching children to have caring,
empathetic, and compassionate
attitudes towards others.
Behaviors:• comforting• sharing• working
cooperatively• displaying
empathy• being kind and
respectful
Benefits:• caring classroom
community• children are more
likely to offer assistance to other children
• children more likely to connect with other students and teacher
End result:• increase child's
school success• create lifelong
learners• create
contributing members of society
Strategies:• teaching it directly• books, movies, other media• peer tutoring• peer buddies (for new students)• adult role modeling of ideal behaviors• service work (in school and in the community) • infusing the target behaviors into the curriculum• discuss actions of kindness and caring versus those that did not (above)• have students write about the kindest thing anyone ever did for them• students research various charitable organizations• instead of having a class holiday party the students could organize and host
a party for residents from a local nursing home
How do we develop these behaviors if we live in a culture that largely promotes self-preservation and the enhancement of individuality?
Students need to be aware of their feelings!
Children need to move beyond identifying emotions such as "happy", "mad", and "sad".
After reading a story or part of a book discuss the characters emotional reaction to the events.
"How did the character's body language or voice let you know what the character was feeling?"
Classroom as a community!Normal Instead
Student responsible for cleaning up their
own desk area
Student responsible for one task that affects the whole
classroom
Each student having their own pencil box and
supplies
The supplies are classroom property - not belonging to any one person
Student feels safe
Student takes risks
Student engages in authentic learning
Promoting Personal Responsibility
How teachers can help promote responsibility:
• regular homework• classroom jobs• goal setting• organization assistance• expecting more self control
Upper elementary students are expected to take on more responsibility. This is an important skill for the rest of their
lives--and it starts now.
Regular Homework
Why?
• Develops time management skillso Students should learn to
set aside the right amount of time each night for homework/playing/other responsibilities.
• Promotes responsibility o Parents shouldn't make
excuses for their students• Extends classroom learning
Classroom Jobs
Types of jobs:procedural, organizational, cleanup, etc.
Ex: supply monitors, recyclers, paper handlers, librarian, reporter, secret admirer
Why:Classroom job teach students to be responsible for their learning environment and follow through with jobs they hold.
Goal Setting
• Short-term vs. long-term goalso set both
• Talk to kids about their progress toward goals
• Write the goal and why it's important
• Set an example• Children are accountable
for reaching their goal
Helping Students Get Organized
• Encourage use of planners• Implement research
techniques to organize ideas
• Show them how to set up their binders
• Keep a model notebook/planner
• Use class time to teach organization
• This skill will help students for the rest of their lives.
Student Accountability
Upper elementary students become expected of more self-control and are held increasingly accountable for their behavior.
Impact on Curriculum
Reading for Content Knowledge- • The focus on learning to read is now replaced with
reading to lean content. • Science books, social studies books and health books
are being introduced.• Students are now beginning picture in their minds
what they are reading without the assistance of illustrations.
Writing for an Audience
Students now have to think about who they are writing to.• academic or non-
academic• letter, poem or essay• narrative, persuasive,
compare and contrast• Cinquain, couplet, haiku,
name poem and more.
MathSymbols and Abstract Concepts
• Multiplication tables• Division facts• Multiple digt addition and subtraction• Fractions• Perimeter• Area
Being able to express multiple step problems clearly is KEY
Assessments
State3rd Grade- Math and Reading 4th Grade- Math, Reading and Writing 5th Grade- Math, Reading and Science
ClassroomRubrics Self Assessments Portfolios Reflections
How did we do?Reading• 3rd Grade 83% (down from 84% in 07-08) • 4th Grade 84% (up from 83% in 07-08) • 5th Grade 76% (up from 75% in 07-08)
Math • 3rd Grade 77% (no change from 07-08) • 4th Grade 77% (no change from 07-08) • 5th Grade 77% (no change from 07-08)
Writing 4th Grade 44% (up from 43% in 07-08)
Science 5th Grade 75% (no change from 07-08)
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