5/18/06 - From Anthony Pearson from Sky View Elementary

Title: The Importance of Rules or "duck, duck, huh?"

Grade Levels: 2nd and 3rd Grade

Time: 30-45 minutes

Materials: index cards, pencil, paper, marker board, markers

Write one game per index card. I used "Checkers," "Go Fish," "Duck, Duck, Goose," "Tag" and "Hide and Go Seek"

Description: This is a lesson about the assumption of rules and the importance of knowing why rules are important. Even universal games have specific rules to follow.

Walk into the classroom without saying a word. Only use hand motions to get the class to settle down.

Again, without speaking, draw a tic-tac-toe board on the markeboard. Silently pick a student to play you in the game. Start the game normally, but let the student win (or get a cat). Just as the game reaches it's conclusion, connect all of your X's (if you were the X's) together and say out loud, "Well, it looks like I won!"

The class will probably say, "No you didn't" or "You cheated!" After they have a bit of fun with it, say, "Well we never went over the rules, did we? What if we were playing a game with a different set of rules?"

Begin a discussion of why it is important for everyone to know the rules. Bring in real world discussions about laws. (I always make an example of stop lights, "What would happen if I stopped at every green light and drove on every red light?)

Next, have the class think up the rules to Tic-Tac-Toe. Write down their suggestions on the board until the games rules are established.

Finally, ask them if they want to play one more game. In this game you will hand out index cards with the names of different games on it. In their groups (if at tables; if they aren't at tables, place them into groups), they will have to write all the rules to the game on the index card.

When they are done writing the rules, each group will take turns reading the rules of the game. They are not to say the name of the game! The other groups in the class then take turns trying to guess what game they described.

This leads into the final discussion about why students should have a clear understanding of the rules/laws before they ever start an activity. If they begin without understanding, they have a greater chance for error.

In the final portion of the lesson, question the students on the two discussions of the day as a review.

5/17/06 - From Anthony Pearson at Sky View Elementary

Description: "Patience" or Delayed Gratification or "Good Things Happen to Those Who Wait"

Grade Levels: Pre-K and Kindergarten

Time: 20-40 minutes

Materials: Stickers or Marshmallows (any reward type material) and any type of story book. I used "Ivy Can't Wait" from the Alphabets Series.

History (just because this is how I thought about doing this lesson):

A little bit of background (i.e. research, ugh). I read an article from an old psych. experiment done in the 50's or 60's. A man placed a 4 year old in a room with a bell and a marshmallow. The man would explain to the child that if the child rang the bell, the he/she could eat the marshmallow, but if the child waited for a minute or two, them man would walk out of the room, come back in and give the child two marshmallows.

In this longitudinal study, children who did not ring the bell (i.e. Delay their gratification) excelled at many things. They did better at school; attended college at a higher rate; and tended to avoid detention/ school consequences.

Delaying gratification appears to be a major factor in success!

Method: Say-"Today we will be learning about patience. Patience is a form of waiting. Can you all think of some ways we wait at school? After accepting responses, explain that you want to do two things today. One, you want to give everyone some treats. Two, you want to read everyone a story.

Explain that each student has a choice of when he/she gets the treat. If they want the treat now, they can have ONE treat. But if they wait until the end of the story, the they can recieve TWO treats! (for the younger students, I had to explain this a couple of times)

Say, "Now, who would like a treat before I start my story?" Once children raise their hands, give them their prizes. Explain to the other students that they chose to wait and they will get their prize later

Read the story and ask a few discussion questions before awarding the other students with two treats.

When awarding the students who exercised patience, make sure to really "highlight" those students. Let them know that they have made a great choice by waiting.

Review with the students what happens when people show patience. Ask if they can define "patience" and see if they can think of examples outside of the school environment.

5/17/06 - From Janey Gill at Addison Elementary School

Name:  Career Payday Game

Grade Levels: 4-12

Description: I purchased "Career Pay Day Game" from MARCO to use this year in 5th grade. Students are given a card with a designated career and salary. Seperate cards list different monthly bills and the amount for each one (like electricity, water, car insurance, etc.) Each student is given a calculator and a worksheet to help them subtract their monthly bills from their salary. It only cost $6.95, but it was worth so much more. The students and teachers loved this lesson. It taught them some real life lessons about careers, salaries, and monthly expenses. It is suggested that the game be used in 4-12 grade.