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 GRADE-PERFECT THEME CLUB 4-8 |
An integrated theme unit with activities, reproducibles, and other resources to help your students connect classroom learning and life lessons
Teacher Made Activities for Teaching Responsibility
by Adam Berkin
At Brooklyn Friends School in New York City, where I teach the middle grades, we work hard to develop responsibility in our students. Here are some of the strategies that my colleagues, Jodi Cooperman and Monique Rothman, and I use with our upper-elementary students.Why Responsibility Matters
At my school, we want students to learn to take responsibility for themselves, each other, and the community. Learning to pick up after yourself and monitoring your behavior and your work are important steps to becoming a responsible member of a larger society. From the very first day, I emphasize to my students that this is their classroom. If they make a mess, they are responsible for cleaning it up; if they get into an argument, they are responsible for clearing it up; if they miss a homework assignment, they are responsible for making it up. I am there to help but not to do things for them — including keeping their physical space neat and organized. Therefore, our classroom job chart includes chores such as watering the plants, cleaning the tables, serving snacks, cleaning the floors, restocking classroom items, and so on. I find that when I empower my students, they take responsibility and ownership for their work and their classroom, much more than if I did things for them.Individual Responsibilities
Good Morning Board
I have a flexible arrival time in my classroom; students filter in between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. I use this time to conference with them and have them start work on independent projects (including activities such as cooking or repotting plants, which other students can join in on as they arrive). To make the best use of this time and to ease students into the day, I post a "Good Morning Board." The board tells students what they need to do before I call the class together for our morning meeting. For example:Good Morning!
The list of activities changes daily and includes some time for catch-up work. If students finish their work, they can use the time for a free-choice activity such as drawing, playing checkers, or playing a math game. Students who do not finish up their work by the end of the week have to take it home for weekend homework.
1. Take down a chair.
2. Hand in your homework.
3. Work on page 12 in handwriting book.
4. Finish your social studies diorama.
5. Quiet choice.The Organized Classroom
Monique likes to set up her classroom so students are free to take materials and work independently without constantly asking "Where are the scissors?" or "Can I borrow a clipboard?" She explains, "I label the areas where I keep pens, rulers, and so on so kids know where to get them — and also where to put them back! Areas that aren't labeled contain materials that students must ask permission to use. For example, the shelf where I store my colored paper is not labeled because this paper is expensive and I don't want students taking it freely." Monique's students take turns re-stocking supply areas at the end of each day.Homework Helpers
Jodi, the fifth-grade teacher next door to me, sees homework as an ongoing opportunity to teach kids responsibility. She says, "Students can't give me excuses like 'The dog ate it,' 'My mother left it in the car,' or 'The computer blew it up,' because I put structures in place to help them keep track of their homework." Monique starts out the year by passing out plan books just like the one she uses. Students label their plan books for dates and subjects; as Jodi writes homework assignments on the board, it is the students' responsibility to copy them in the appropriate place in their book. ("Every year the issue comes up of which date is the best for recording an assignment — the day on which it is assigned or the day it's due," Jodi says. "We discuss the pros and cons of each approach, but the final decision is up to each kid.") Jodi shares some organizational tips — such as using a highlighter to mark important assignments — and encourages students to keep a section for personal reminders.Class Responsibilities
Let's Plan a Party
A few years ago, Jodi's class got an exciting crash course in responsibility. "The kids planned a surprise shower for my wedding, and I was actually surprised!" she says. "Not only did they organize all the food and music, but they planned a diversion for me so they could set everything up without my knowing." Now students regularly plan parties for teachers' birthdays and new babies, as well as holidays such as Valentine's Day or Kwanzaa.Getting Groups Going
Monique meets often with students in small literature groups. "I don't like wasting time waiting for students to rummage through their desks for pencils or books, or to drag over a chair," she says. So Monique tells her students that they are responsible for making sure the group has all its materials and enough chairs (including one for her) before they select a representative to call her over to join them.Discussion Etiquette
I use group discussions in all areas of my curriculum. To make sure my students make constructive contributions and act responsibly toward one another during discussions, I write the following suggested phrases on a large poster:I agree because ...
When I introduce these phrases, I model their uses by saying, "You are adding on Steve's idea" or "You are agreeing with what Helen said." Gradually students start to use them and become much more conscious of their role in discussions. I deepen their understanding by having them fill out self-evaluations (like the reproducible included with this theme unit). I don't look at these forms; they are for students' own use. Before completing a new form and filing it away in their reading folder, kids are encouraged to compare it to previous ones.
I'm unclear about...
I'd like to add on to 's idea...
I disagree because...
I'm confused about ...
In other words, you're saying...School Responsibilites
Book Fair
Every year our school organizes a presummer book fair, which is always a big hit because we get students to help pick out the books from a nearby discount book warehouse. Students then help decide how to display the books — by theme, popular authors, and so on — and man the register. We also ask for their input about what to do with the money we earn, though we try to steer them toward helping our library or reading program.Taking Care of Our School
Three times a year our school comes together for whole-school projects. We divide into mixed-grade groupings, and then teachers and students together brainstorm projects we could do to help our school. Over the years, our to-do lists have included cleaning mats in the gym, helping the librarian reshelf books and alphabetize records, making recycling boxes, and planting flowers in front of the school. The students enjoyed these projects and felt like they made an important contribution to our school.Becoming A Responsible Citizen
Action in the Community
Every year I have my students do something to help the community. My students have adopted a park to help clean up and replant, made sandwiches for a local soup kitchen, and visited people at a nursing home.The key is to have kids come up with the ideas themselves. The most successful activities happen close to home, where kids can see the difference they make.Through the Ages
When we're on the topic of responsibility, I have my students interview their parents using the reproducible included with this unit. For extra credit, I encourage them to interview other family members as well. Afterward, we tally the responses on chart paper and discuss the results. Usually the last question, "Do you think kids today are more/less responsible?" generates a heated discussion about the changing meaning of responsibility.Three Steps to Responsibility
Educating for Character author Thomas Lickona talks about how to develop responsibility in the classroom.
- Goals and rules. Setting goals and rules together makes explicit everyone's responsibility to act in a way that considers the good of all. Students are helped to think, How do my actions affect other kids and the class as a whole?
- An ethic of interdependence. Fostering the feeling that one person's problem is everybody's problem....Translated into the life of the classroom, this means that if one person loses something, others help to look for it.
- Coping with a crisis. The sense of community in our classrooms provides the cohesion and caring needed to deal with the crises that may occur.
Ages & Stages: See How They Grow
About using logical consequences in discipline:
"Logical consequences...teach kids to make choices and be responsible.
Logical consequences say to kids,'You hold all the cards. It's your choice.'"
— Alex J. Packer, Bringing Up Parents
(Free Spirit Publishing, 1992)"Once a child has fulfilled the obligation that comes with responsibility,
he or she gains a sense of satisfaction....
It's these positive feelings that help motivate the child
to continue taking on responsibilities in the future."
— Lawrence Balter, professor of applied psychology,
New York UniversityBooklist
Family Responsibilities
Angel in Charge, by Judy Delton (Houghton Mifflin, 1985)
Angel and her little brother, Rags, must cope with unexpected crises when they are left home without a sitter.Stone Fox, by John Reynolds Gardiner (Harper Collins Jr. Books, 1980)
Willy enters the National Dog Sled Race to win the cash prize for his discouraged grandfather.Responsible Friends
On My Honor, by Marion Dance Bauer (Clarion, 1986)
Joel has to deal with his best friend's death, panicked by guilt and questions of responsibility.When Kids Drive Kids Crazy, by Eda LeShan (Dial, 1990)
A how-to guide to being a good friend to oneself and others — and even getting along with your enemies!Taking Care of Oneself
On My Own: Helping Kids Help Themselves, by Tova Navarra (Barron's, 1989)
How kids can learn to behave responsibly at home and out with their friends.Safety Zone: A Book of Teaching Children About Abduction Prevention Skills by Linda D. Meyer (Warner, 1985)
A resource for parents and children to prevent kidnapping and sexual abuse.Taking Care of the Earth
Litterby Donna Bailey (Watts, 1991)
Exploring everybody's problem of litter and what to do about it.Come Back, Salmon! How a Group of Dedicated Kids Adopted Pigeon Creek and Brought It Back to Life, by Molly Gone (Sierra Club, 1992)
A true story about the young environmentalists of Jackson Elementary in Washington State.
Booklist compiled by Kathy Kim. See also Books Kids Will Sit Still For and More Books Kids Will Sit Still For, both by Judy Freeman (R.R. Bowker).
Technology Tip
Taking Responsibility
Tom Snyder Productions (URL TK)[800] 342-0236; Mac, Apple II, and MS-DOS; $99.95)
Part of the Choices, Choices series for one-computer classrooms, this program gets kids talking about honesty, making decisions, and learning how to take responsibility.
