Chanting to Engage

Last week, I had great fun substituting in a 1st grade classroom.  The classroom was set-up like a well oiled machine with students knowing exactly what they were supposed to be doing for each transition and activity.  It was a pleasure to work with the students in this sort of organized, respectful, and engaged environment.  And speaking of engaged.  One of the first things students do in the morning to get the day going is a chant based on the letters in the word ENGAGE.  They do it with gestures and jumping and clapping and at the top of their lungs.  It was one of the most boisterous and meaningful morning warm-up activities.  I decided to include the entire chant on the blog for my own future use and for anyone else out there who is looking for a resource for elementary teachers that will get the kids moving and introduce ideas about responsibility, achievement, and positive attitudes into their classrooms.
Chant leader or teacher asks: What do you choose to do today?
Students answer: I choose to Engage!
One student shouts out the letters and all the students participate in the chant.

E.  I make a choice to Expect Excellence.  I will set high goals and make positive changes in my quest for excellence.  I have what it takes to be great.  The greatness was built within me at birth, but education and success are the fruits of my hard work.
N.  I accept No Excuses, just results.  There are no shortcuts in the pursuit of excellence.  I accept responsibility for the choices I make.  I will learn from my setback and keep working towards my goals.
G.  I will Get in the Game!  I will be productive and give back to my community.  I am a thinker.  I am a doer.  I am a peace-builder.  I will go to and through college.  I will not rest until my good is better and my better is best.
A.  Attitude is Everything!  Life is a gift.  I will work with passion and strive to look for the positive.  I will seek out wise and uplifting people.  I will affirm cultural values that foster kinship, respect, perseverance, and hard work.  It is my responsibility to maintain honor and respect in my family and community.
G.  I will Give Help When Needed.  I will respect others at all times, and I choose to do my part as a source of positive change.  I will communicate hope and eliminate negative influences in order to build healthy relationships.
E.  Enjoy Every Challenge!  I will find a way to achieve excellence and I choose to find joy in the experiences and challenges that life brings my way.

The chant can be finished with a brief overview of the message by having individual students shout out each letter and all the rest of the class response back with the key message (bolded).

The chanting contains within character building ideas as well as very positive and self-affirming messages.  It could be modified for the needs of the teacher or the school and the types of gestures the teacher decides to use can be as creative as they would like.

Borrowed from Hmong American Peace Academy in Milwaukee, WI

No Negatives Diet

Came across this cute little post about a Complaint-Free Diet and thought the quote the author used and the concept could be easily transferrable into school counseling work.  Starting in third grade, I have seen some interpersonal conflicts among students, primarily girls, that involve put-downs, criticisms, negative and disparaging remarks and looks.  All of these things contribute to a school-culture within which teasing and bullying can thrive.  One of the ways to help improve school and classroom climate is to focus on positive behaviors and teach students how to interact with each other in positive and cooperative ways.  I could see how this simple idea could be spun into a school-wide campaign or a classroom intervention or several activities for small group work.

Here's the quote:

"We have no more right to put our discordant states of mind into the lives of those around us and rob them of their sunshine and brightness than we have to enter their houses and steal their silverware." 
– Julia Moss Seton

Considering and really thinking about this quote with students could create a wonderful discussion about how we impact others around us and what it means to them and us.

Teaching channel

Quick posts today and tomorrow.
This morning, I thought I'd go visit the Teaching Channel.Org, which has been a wonderful source of inspiration to me so far.  One of the first videos I watching this morning was from a 7th grade English classroom.  The teacher in this classroom decided to engage her students in the idea of understanding how their classroom learning and activities are connected to the common core standards.  She gave each student a copy of the standards and before starting on a new unit or concept, she connects back to the standards and goes through the language of the standards to show the students that their learning is purposeful and thoughtful.  I think it's a wonderful idea, and I also see as being transferrable into the school counseling curriculum and lessons.  Even though the common core standards have not yet come out for school counseling, there are definitely standards that could be connected to the overall teaching goals of the guidance lessons.  If an English teacher is using common core standards to connect the students to their learning, it could be a wonderful opportunity for a school counselor to build on that as well and show the students that what they're learning in one classroom has connections to other learning in the school.  So here's the short clip that got me thinking about all this.

Careers Trivia

Sometimes when I'm at school or just driving somewhere, an activity idea will pop into my head, but I won't write it down right away and of course, even though, I think it'll still be there, it never is. Doing this blog is a good way for me to be self-motivated about writing things like that down, so that I could post them on here daily and keep a record of things I would actually do in the classroom.

Today I was thinking about the Pre-College workshops I have been involved in over the last year. I have been teaching middle and high school students about careers, learning styles, study skills, etc. I haven't done one since January, however, but am thinking of doing one in April or May and it'll most likely be about career exploration. I thought about the structure of the career workshops I did last year, and how not all the kids were engaged. Even though most of them enjoyed exploring careers on websites like, O-net and figuring out where their interests lie by taking the Interest Profiler, there were a few here and there that weren't as motivated. Not sure if the idea I have will work for all, but I like starting with a fun activity that connects to prior knowledge and also peeks kids' interest levels by introducing some neat concepts and ideas. So i'm thinking of putting together a trivia-like game to start the workshop with, or it could also be a good intro for a counseling unit on career exploration.

It could be done simply as a Jeopardy game or I was actually wanting to adapt the Quizmaster Trivia format, which has six categories with 5 questions in each and also uses a visual component by including photos, fuzzy pictures, maps and the like to provide a variety to the clues. There are so many professions out there that the students have never heard of (and that i have never heard of), and I think it would be fun to make it into a trivia game/guessing game by using clues that kids will be confident about, such as, "What level of education is required to become a medical doctor?" and things they might have to pick the best educated answer for from a multiple choice listing, such as "What does a Millwright do?" So I could start a workshop with a quick trivia to get students thinking about professions, education levels, skills, types of interests and strengths one has to have to engage in them, and all other related information that is available on sites like O-net. Could be fun!
For instance, do you know what an Aquacultural Manager does, or that it is one of the "bright outlook" professions students could benefit from knowing about when thinking about their futures?

Millwrights