At-Risk or At-Promise:Language Matters

Book Study: Choice Words by Peter Johnston

Lets start with a personality test!

• You have two minutes to draw a dog on the blank piece of paper provided.

Take a look at your drawing, lets talk about what it reveals about you:

• If your dog is drawn toward the Top of your paper, you are an optimistic person with a positive attitude. You generally anticipate the best possible outcomes of actions and events. In other words, you see the glass as half full.

• If your dog is drawn toward the Bottom of your paper, you tend to be more of a pessimistic person. You generally expect the worst. You see the glass as half empty.

• If your dog is drawn toward the Middle of your paper, you are a realist who tends to face facts and deal with them realistically. You see the glass as dirty and put it in the dishwasher.

More interpretation…..• If your dog is drawn facing Left, you

believe in tradition, are friendly, outgoing and tend to remember dates and birthdays. Hint for husbands: remember your wife's birthday but never her age.

• If your dog is drawn facing Right, you are innovative and active but not as good about remembering dates.

• If your dog is drawn facing Forward, you are direct, straightforward, welcome discussion, and often enjoy playing the devil's advocate.

• If your dog is drawn with Many Details, you are analytical, cautious, careful and may be distrustful.

• If your dog is drawn with Few Details, you are more impulsive, care little for detail and are willing to take risks.

• If your dog is drawn with 4 Legs showing, you are secure, stick to your ideals, and can be stubborn.

• If your dog is drawn with Less than 4 Legs showing, you may be insecure, uncertain, or living through a period of major change.

Final analysis:

• The Larger the dog's Ears you have drawn, the better Listener you are.

• And last but not least, the Longer the dog's Tail you have drawn, the more satisfied you are with the quality of your love life.

• DISCLAIMER

• THIS PERSONALITY TEST IS NOT RESEARCHED BASED AND IS NOT INTENDED TO GIVE AN ACCURATE ANALYSIS OF A PERSON. HOWEVER IT IS UNCANNY HOW PRECISE IT HAS PROVEN TO BE.

Let us reflect on this activity…

- Did the descriptions make you want to change part of your drawing?Where you scowling because you did not like what the personality test revealed about you?Did you assume a passive aggressive response such as “Whatever, this is stupid?”

Imagine…

• Imagine how our words, our language be it verbal or body language, affect our students. We are their mentors and what we say means the world to them whether we wish to take responsibility for that or not.

Turn and talk to you shoulder partner:

- What language do you use to mentor your students in the classroom?

- What language do you avoid using when conferencing with students?

All of your feelings are valid, think about what caused it: a “silly” ice breaker about drawing a dog.

In the words of Haim Ginott (School teacher, child psycologist, psychotherapist & parent educator):

“I’ve come to the FRIGHTENING conclusion that I am the DECISIVE element in the classroom. It’s my PERSONAL APPROACH that creates the climate; it’s

my daily MOOD that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous POWER to make a

child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture, or an instrument of inspiration. I can

humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated or a child humanized or

dehumanized.”

The reason we are here today discussing this book is that we want to be:

INSTEAD OF:

Why the words that we speak need to planned. A simple research-based example:The Teacher Says: Group B, get back to

work or you can forget about recess.

When you are loud like that, it interferes with the other discussion groups and I feel frustrated.

This is not like you. What is the problem you have encountered? Okay, how can you solve it?

Questions answered by comment:

ANSWERS ANSWERS ANSWERS

What are we doing here?

Laboring. Living in cooperation.

Living collaboratively.

Who are we? Slaves and owner. People who care about others’ feelings.

Social problem-solvers. Normally admirable people.

How do we relate to one another?

Authoritarian control.

Respectful with equal rights.

Work out our problems.

How do we relate to what we are studying?

Do it only duress. (No implication) (No implication)

Let’s get down to business!

• ACTIVITY:

• Starting on page 11 you will find TEACHERS’ TALK that has proven effective.

• We will read the 8 examples of TEACHERS’ TALK and you should find and be ready to discuss:

• 1 example that you have used

• 1 example that you would like to use in your classroom next week

• 1 example that reminded you of a particular student and why

• All examples that specifically address writers’ workshop.

• Your thoughts on why this chapter was given the title Noticing and Naming.

CHAPTER 2 –

NOTICING AND NAMING

Quiet Reading time: 20 minutes

MRS- MODIFIED WHIPAROUND

SHARING TIME!

Noticing: How one teacher goes about it

IT’S BREAK TIME!!!!

SEE YA’ IN 15 MINUTES!!!!

CHAPTER 3IDENTITY

“Building an identity means coming to see in ourselves the characteristics of particular categories and roles of people and developing a sense of what it feels like to be that sort of person and belong in certain social spaces.”

Q & A• As you read pages hightlight the

TEACHERS’ TALK presented and the “AHA” moments you experience as you read about them.

• You will have 15 minutes to read and then we will play ………

Chapter 4: Agency and Becoming Strategic

• A child must have some version of, “Yes, I imagine

I can do this.” And a teacher must also view

the present child as competent and on that

basis imagine new possibilities.

• Dyson, 1999

• What is important about this chapter:

• Your students want to do well on their own, not to please you, the teacher.

• Your students have internal motivation towards school.

• You need to offer prizes and privileges in order for them to perform.

Please read the TEACHERS’ TALK presented in this chapter. THEN…..• With the members of your table

come up with a skit, yes acting is involved, where you use the three TEACHERS’ TALK your table was assigned.

• There are picture books and samples of students’ compositions on the materials table that you may feel free to use.

• Your skit should not be longer than 5 minutes.

PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES!FIND YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS!

• Please turn and talk with your table about the name of this workshop: AT-RISK or AT-PROMISE and share what you believe it refers to and how you feel about it.

• Please fill out the Workshop Evaluations before you leave.

• We thank you for your time and participation!