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All About...

Each year I start the year with three writing assignments.  The first is a fun poem called a “Bio-Poem”.  Kids write about their family, the things they love the most, their beliefs, fears, curiosities, and their hopes and dreams for the future.  Their picture accompanies the poem and it hangs on their in-class locker door for the entire year.  It’s a nice way to get to know each child in my room.

The second writing is titled, “It’s All About Me” and the third assignment is titled, “It’s All About Us”.  These two writings go hand-in-hand as the children develop them.

Each of these writings employs three of the six “Character Counts” traits (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, & Citizenship)  as a way for kids to describe how they conduct themselves on a personal level as well as in the classroom.

“It’s All About Me” allows each young author to find ways that demonstrate “Character Counts” traits in their personal life.  It gives them the opportunity to define the traits and provide personal examples of how they demonstrate these traits.  It lets the reader get a more detailed look at the author than the “Bio-Poem” does.

“It’s All About Us” is designed in a way that allows the author to communicate to their readers how they behave in a group, namely the classroom.  It has the author showing how they contribute to the overall good of the classroom community through use of the “Character Counts” traits.  It expands the reader’s vision from the individual to encompass a bigger reality.

These two assignments are mounted on a large piece of construction paper side by side, so that one can see the continuity between the self as an individual and the self as a member of a community with a common goal; the goal of learning.

My students are working hard on these three papers.  From what I have seen I would have to say that I am impressed with the thoughtfulness that is being brought to the writings.  It is wondrous to see how each student is developing their own papers; pulling out personal experiences and writing to their audience.  They are building a three-fold view of themselves.

My hope is that when people see the “All About Me” and the “All About Us” papers in the hallway and the “Bio-Poems” in the classroom they will walk away with a feeling that they are in a place looks at positive personal and community character as a virtue; making a difference in the growth of young people and the world in general.
Mr. Casten
August 29, 2011
  

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten 

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