Monthly Archives: November 2009

11 Shadows and a Teacher

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Friday, November 13, the Grand Forks Herald participated in a special NIE project with english teacher, Sheila Moser and her 11 students from Leeds, ND.  Mrs. Moser has been using the Grand Forks Herald in her classroom and bringing students to tour the newspaper for many years.  I also have to mention their dedicated bus driver, Gary Rollie, who has brought the teacher and students every year to Grand Forks.

This year Mrs. Moser wanted to try something new in addition to the regular tour.  She asked if it would be possible to have her students job shadow Herald employees for a couple of hours after the regular tour.  I checked to see if there were enough employees interested to make it work and there were. A special THANK YOU to all of the Herald employees who volunteered to be a part of this NIE project.  Below are photos of the Herald employees with their job shadows and comments from the students. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unique You! All About You

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This is the last installment of the character education activites from the KRP supplement "Unique You" geared for elementary age children. I hope you have enjoyed these activities.

This section is going to be all about you and your character.  Answer the following questions.

YOUR FAVORITES                                                                               

My favorite food :

My favorite color:

My favorite book:

My favorite TV program:

My favorite part of the newspaper:

My favorite sport:

My favorite thing to do:

CARING                                                                                                                        List five people you show caring toward.

List five people who show caring toward you.

COOPERATION                                                                                                              Give an example of how you cooperate with your family. Give an example of how you cooperate with your friends.

FAIRNESS                                                                                                                     Describe one time that you waited your turn.

Give an example of rules that you have followed this past week.

HONESTY                                                                                                                     How have you shown your honesty this week?

COURAGE                                                                                                                     Give an example of a time when it took courage for you to do something.

RESPECT                                                                                                                      Describe one way that you show respect for yourself.

Describe one way that you show respect for another person.

Describe one way that you show respect for your community or country.

RESPONSIBILITY                                                                                                            List two things you are responsible for.

PERSEVERANCE                                                                                                            Describe a time when you learned to do something really difficult because you kept on trying.

MY VERY OWN HEADLINE                                                                                         Write a headline that describes a time that you did something that made you proud of yourself.

MY REAL CHARACTER                                                                                                Clip three words from the newspaper that describe your real character.

 

 

 

Unique You! Making Mistakes

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The following character education activites are from the KRP supplement "Unique You" and geared for elementary age children.
 

Making mistakes is only a bad thing if you keep making the same mistake over and over again. In fact, you can learn a lot from your mistakes if you are paying attention. If you make a mistake on your math paper, you can look at the problem and see what you did wrong. Then you try not to do it again on the next paper.
 

It does no good to go around being angry or disappointed in yourself if you make a mistake. Nobody is perfect, and you are an intelligent person who is going to learn from the mistake.
 

MAKING INTELLIGENT CHOICES                                                                                   One of the best things about being a human being is that you can think before you do something. If you think about the consequences of your actions before you act, you can make an intelligent choice. And you can save yourself from making a lot of mistakes!
 

ACTIVITIES

MAKING MISTAKES                                                                                                     Find a photo or a story in the newspaper about someone making a mistake. What was the mistake? Do you think the person will make the same mistake again?
 

CHOICES                                                                                                                     Find an example in the newspaper of a choice someone had to make. Did the person make the right choice? Do you think he asked himself the two questions before he acted? What choice would you have made?

Unique You! Perseverance

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The following character education activites are from the KRP supplement "Unique You" and geared for elementary age children.

Perseverance is a long word, but it is easy to understand. It means not giving up, even if the job is difficult. Few people find it easy to learn everything without working hard on some things. It’s important not to give up. When you keep trying, you will find that your teacher, your parents and even other students are glad to help you. At times almost all of us feel like saying, “I can’t do this! It’s too hard!” The next time you feel that way, take a deep breath and say to yourself, “I can do this. I’m not giving up yet!”
 

ACTIVITIES

AN OLD SAYING                                                                                                           Have you ever heard the old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”? Find a newspaper picture of a person who is showing perseverance and paste it on the same sheet of paper.
 

FRUSTRATION                                                                                                            One of the feelings you might have when you can’t do something even after trying is frustration. That means you really want to give up and forget about it. Find a character in the comics who is frustrated. How could the character solve the problem that is frustrating him?
 

POSITIVELY!                                                                                                     Remember the story about the little engine who kept saying, “I think I can! I think I can!” That little engine was positive. Look through the newspaper for some positive words that you can use to encourage yourself and others.
 

 

Unique You! Respect

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The following character education activites are from the KRP supplement "Unique You" and geared for elementary age children.

When you respect other people, you show good manners toward them and settle disagreements peacefully. And when you respect yourself, you expect other people to treat you the same way.

GOOD MANNERS                                                                                                      There are lots of other ways to show good manners toward people.
• Sometimes you don’t agree with what another person is saying, but you can disagree without putting the person down.
• Your teacher will appreciate the respect you show by listening quietly when she is talking. You can show that you respect your school by not running in the halls or throwing trash on the floor.
 

RESPECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND YOUR COMMUNITY                                          When you work to keep your community looking good and to take care of the environment, you are showing respect for the people who live there.
 

RESPECTING YOUR COUNTRY                                                                               Showing respect for your country is called patriotism. When the National Anthem is played
at a ball game or other event, you stand up to show your respect for a symbol of your country. You also show respect to the flag because it is a symbol of the United States.
 

ACTIVITIES

GETTING TO KNOW YOU                                                                                           Look through the newspaper and find a photo of someone who seems to be unlike you. Perhaps the person is much older or lives in a different part of the world.Clip the person’s picture and paste it on your paper. Write three questions you would like to ask the person about his or her life. Then write three things you would like to tell the person about yourself.

FINISH THE SENTENCES                                                                                              Find words from the newspaper to finish these sentences. 

1. It would make me _______________________________ if my friends wouldn’t let me play a game with them.

2. I would be _____________________________ if everybody listened to my idea.

3. I would feel ____________________________ if other students laughed when I gave a wrong answer.

 

Unique You! Responsibility

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The following character education activites are from the KRP supplement "Unique You" and geared for elementary age children.

 

When you are responsible, you do what you are supposed to do without your parents or your teacher having to remind you over and over again.

Being responsible also means you think about things before you do them.

Learning to be responsible is an important part of growing up. When you learn to take responsibility for the things you do, you feel better about yourself. And you get to do more.

ACTIVITIES                                                                                                          TAKING RESPONSIBILITY                                                                                               Do you have certain chores you are responsible for at home? Draw a picture of yourself doing one of your assigned chores. Across the top of the picture write a headline that announces you have done your chores without being reminded.
 

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?                                                                                              Check the newspaper for photos of well-known people. Clip one of the photos and paste it to your paper. Under the photo make a list of some of the responsibilities this person has in his job.
 

SAYING THANKS                                                                                                       Look around your school, your neighborhood, and your home. Think about someone who makes your life better by living up to one of their responsibilities. Make a thank-you card for that person. Fold a piece of colorful construction paper in half and decorate it with pictures and words cut from the newspaper. On the inside write a note thanking the person for what they have done for you. Be sure to give the card to the person.
 

Unique You! Caring

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The following character education activites are from the KRP supplement "Unique You" and geared for elementary age children.

Your family gives you food to eat. They buy you new shoes and wash your clothes. They provide a place for you to live. In short, they take care of you.

SHOWING YOU CARE                                                                                                    Do you ever play with your little brother just because it makes him happy? Maybe you help your big sister find her keys when she is in a hurry. Or you carry the grocery bags in from the car for your grandmother. All of these are ways of showing people that you care about them.

CARING ABOUT YOURSELF    It is just as important to care about yourself as it is to care about other people. In fact, other people will find it harder to care for you if you don’t care about yourself.

CARING ABOUT OTHERS IN YOUR COMMUNITY                                                  Sometimes you show caring to people you don’t know personally. You collect canned goods for people who are hungry or donate clothing that keeps strangers warm. You don’t expect anything in return, but you can have that good feeling inside that you have helped someone.

ACTIVITIES 

PICTURE THIS!                                                                                                           One of the ways people show they care about others is to be good listeners. Pay close attention as your teacher reads a short article from today’s newspaper. When she/he has finished reading, draw a picture that shows what was going on in the story. When everyone is finished drawing, share your picture with the rest of the class. Did everyone hear the story in the same way? Make a bulletin board display by posting the pictures and the newspaper story.
 

WHO CARES?                                                                                                         Search your newspaper to find examples of caring in your community. Discuss ways kids can show they care about people beyond their families and close friends.

 

Unique You! Courage

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The following character education activites are from the KRP supplement "Unique You" and geared for elementary age children.

Being brave or courageous doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid. It means you try to do the right thing even if you feel scared or unsure of yourself:
 

•If you stand up for someone who is being teased even though you are afraid you will be teased, too, you are being courageous.
 

•When you refuse to do something you know is wrong even if your friends are urging you on, then you are being courageous.
 

•If you are afraid you will fail at something but you try to do it anyway, then you are a brave person.


 

ACTIVITIES

COURAGE IN THE COMICS                                                                                          Read your favorite comic strips in today’s newspaper. Do any of the characters show courage or bravery in their actions? What would you have done if you had been in the character’s place?
 

COURAGE ON DISPLAY                                                                                                  As you read the newspaper each day, look for photos, headlines and stories that tell you about people who have shown courage. Work with other students to create a bulletin board display of these items that show courage.

 

Unique You! Honesty

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The following character education activites are from the KRP supplement "Unique You" and geared for elementary age children.

Honesty is all about telling the truth. Sometimes it’s tempting not to tell the whole truth. The problem with that kind of dishonesty is that you almost always get caught.
 

STEALING                                                                                                             Stealing has the same consequences as not telling the truth. If you steal something, you feel bad about yourself. Other people avoid you because they don’t trust you and they don’t want to be hurt.
 

CHEATING                                                                                                               Cheating is really a way of being dishonest with yourself. When you cheat to win or make a good grade, then you know you are lying to yourself and you feel guilty and ashamed.
 

ACTIVITIES                                                                                                       

CONSEQUENCES                                                                                                         Find a story in the newspaper about someone who has been dishonest. How was the person dishonest? How was it discovered that he was dishonest? What will happen to the person because he was dishonest? Do you think the person would be dishonest if he could start all over again?
 

COURAGE AND HONESTY                                                                                         Think of a time when it took courage for you to be honest. Draw a cartoon strip that tells what happened. Use the cartoons in today’s newspaper as a model.
 

AN HONEST STORY                                                                                                  Think about a story or book you have read in which the character told the truth, even if it was difficult. Rewrite the story as a news story. Be sure to include the 5 W’s – Who, What, When, Where, Why.