Throwing Stress and Worry Away

I am linking up with a fellow 4th grade teacher Alyssa at 4th Grade Racers for her Bright ideas Link Up. 

For our read alouds this year we have been reading a lot of traditional literature books that I found in the dollar bin a target. I have quite a few of the books I have collected over the past couple years. So far this year we have read Pollyanna (to teach about being glad and grateful), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (for Halloween), The Adventures of Huck Finn (to teach about making the best of a bad situation), and now Pinocchio. This week we have read though Chapter 8 and we have learned a lot of good life lessons. This week we discussed discernment, honesty, remorse, cause and effect and guilt. In teaching at a Title 1 school I realize I am more of a parent to these kids than I am a teacher. I spend more of my day putting out fires, and teaching etiquette than I ever realized I would, but if I don't teach them about it then who will? Each day this week the students had to write in their Reader's Notebooks letters to me regarding the topic of the day and the relation it had to the story of Pinocchio. Each day we would have a topic and a connection that we were trying to make for example text to self, text to text, or text to world. I gave the students a length requirement and they had to write to me about their thoughts and feelings regarding the issues discussed in the text. I will add some pictures of their journals when I get back to work on Tuesday. On Friday the students were to write to me about a time they felt remorse. We were practicing our text to self, because in the chapter we read Pinocchio was reflecting on his bad behavior and for the first time in the book he showed guilt and remorse. It should be interesting to see how the students have felt remorse or guilt for. Pictures to follow!

Update confessions of fourth grade funky town....