NAME Kierston Beets

EDCEP 856
GRADE(S) 5-6
THEME Celebrating Talents
DATE 4/1/2015
GRADE(S) 6
STANDARDS: PS: S1. B1. 1, PS: S1. B1. 2, PS: S1. B2. 4, PS: S1. B2. 5
A: S1. B2. 2, A: S1. B2. 8
C: S3. B2. 3
MATERIALS: Colored Paper,
Markers,
Colored Pencils,
Scissors,
Spy Supplies (Black clothing, spy glasses, top secret folder, etc.),
approval from teachers to allow students to leave class for a small period,
provide students with permission slips,
student groups assigned
OBJECTIVE: Students will develop and post quotes, sayings, words, etc. around the school to
help promote differences and develop self-esteem in peers and themselves.
ACTIVITY: (STEP BY STEP DIRECTIONS TO FACILITATE- INCLUDING KEY
QUESTIONS)
1. Have a spy message typed up on the computer, put it on a timer or leave a note for a
student to push play once all students have arrived or give a note to the student and
sneak out of the room. Allow students time to watch the video or listen to the message.
This message should include their mission objectives (to post positive messages around
school). This message would include something like Your mission, should you choose to
accept it, is to promote differences around the school. On top of these differences you will
be asked to celebrate talents and make people smile. This will be a dangerous task and
one you should not take lightly. Should you or any of your teammates be caught will need
to disavow any knowledge of your actions or the actions of your teammates. This
recording will self-distruct in five seconds. Good luck. Five, four, three, two, one.
2. Once students have listened/watched the video come back into the room or come to the
front of the room and ask the students if they accept their mission (which they have to :) ).
Inform the students of the directions of the activity. They are to make positive signs to
post around the school. They will be given permission slips to leave designated teachers
classroom at a time that is acceptable for the teachers. They will only be allowed to leave
for four minutes and will need to return to the classroom. They are also allowed to do this
before or after school. Provide students with a few start quotes or positive notes they can
leave around school, but also allow them to create their own.

3. Students will get into groups, paper, writing utensils, scissors will be already on the desks
and allow the students to get to work.
4. As homework the students will then take their notes and post them around the school.
Key Questions:
What is something you would like a peer to say to you when you are having a bad day?
How can you help to celebrate the differences of your peers?
What can we do/say to a peer that just accomplished something big for them?
EVALUATION: Students have created positive notes to place around the school and then take
the time to do this.
ESTIMATED TIME: 20-30 minutes
SOURCE(S):
Adapted from http://www.elementaryschoolcounseling.org/self-esteem.html
SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS:

If opportunity doesnt knock, build a door

An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of the superior personality.
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or
treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an
obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.
We focus so much on our differences, and that is creating, I think, a lot of chaos
and negativity and bullying in the world. And I think if everybody focused on what
we all have in common - which is - we all want to be happy.
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and
celebrate those differences.
What we have to do... is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our
differences without fracturing our communities.