Origami Group

After learning about how to make Never Ending Cards, I started thinking about what kids could learn from folding paper. Turns out there is quite a bit that can be learned by making a few folds in a sheet of paper! Below are just a few of the benefits that students would gain from learning Origami.

Academic

• Shapes (Identifying basic shapes, new shapes made from folding)
• Symmetry (Much of Origami is symmetric)
• Angles (You had a right angle, but folded it in half. Now how many degrees is the angle?)
• Fractions (You just folded this paper in half three times. How many sections do you have?)
• Following Directions (Some instructions for making Origami can be very specific and detailed.) 
• Reading with a purpose (For an added challenge, only provide step-by-step instructions and no pictures)

Personal/Social

• Teaches patience and concentration through attention to detail
• Teaches perseverence- if they get frustrated with a project, keep trying
• Making mistakes is a part of the learning process
• Problem Solving skills- How can you fix your mistakes/ "happy accidents"
• Gives students a positive hobby/ skill that can be shared with others
• Gives an outlet for ADHD energy and fiddling
• Kids can share their hobby through making gifts for others (encourage Random Acts of Kindness!!)

Career

• Learning how to create a 3D object out of a flat sheet of paper = foundation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
• Students learn to pick up on and apply patterns from folding to other subjects and careers 

Origami Group

I have not yet run an origami group, but it's definitely on my list of groups I'd like to run! I would gear it to 3rd grade and up. Each week, we would focus on a different topic such as having patience, making mistakes, following directions, etc. I would also have them create at least one project each week. I might even throw a challenge at them to deconstruct and recreate a completed origami project. They could make origami to sell as a school fundraiser, or lead a school wide service project making origami for Sandy Hook.

Classroom Guidance Lesson

Using the book, Spread Your Wings and Fly by Mary Saunders, have students fold along with the story in the book as you read. Here is the book description from Amazon.com: An Origami Fold and Tell...the ancient Japanese art of origami provides a framework for enhancing self-esteem and achieving spiritual attunement that will stay with readers as they work through the book, as well as the various phases of their lives.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes: Here is the book description from amazon: Born in Hiroshima in 1943, Sadako was the star of her school's running team, until the dizzy spells started and she was forced to face the hardest race of her life-the race against time.

Empowering Kids 

I would like to leave you with one final note- a direct quote from an article on Enso Journey: The Power of Origami: How it can make you a better person: (I definitely encourage you to read this article!)

"I created something out of nothing. From a simple piece of paper, a new creature was born. For each new piece I made, I felt I had the power to change the world. I could do anything, even if I had nothing to begin with, I could do it."

The Power of Words Name Calling and Compliments Lesson

During first and second grade classroom guidance this week, we talked about  how powerful words are. Words can either tear a person down or build them up. They can make a person feel really sad or angry, or can make them feel happy or proud.

Introduction:
I introduced this topic by writing the following phrase on the board: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." We discussed whether or not this was a true statement. If someone hit me in the arm with a stick, would that leave a mark? If someone threw a rock and hit me in the leg, would that leave a bruise? What if someone said something really mean to me? What would that hurt? Sticks and stones may physically hurt your body- leave bruises or scratches, but words hurt a different part of your body- your heart/feelings.

Video:

We watched a short video about someone who got called names, and then talked about how it makes people feel to be called names, and we discussed what they did in the video to make things better between them. We then reviewed how powerful words can be when used to either build someone up or tear them down.  

Class Activity:

For the activity, I wanted the students to practice using their words to build others up- by using compliments. I taped a sheet of paper to every kid’s back with their name on it, and instructed the class to write something positive about each person in the class. Afterwards, I collected each of their sheets of paper- (before they looked at it so that I could read over them to make sure everyone wrote kind things).

Closure:
As the students left, I gave the papers back for them to take home and to remember how powerful their words can be.  How did the compliments make you feel? Was this easy or hard to come up with compliments for everyone? Knowing what we learned about the power of your words, what will you try to do differently this week? Many of the students were very excited to have all of the nice things said about them during today's lesson! 

Confessions of a Former Bully Lessons

I just got the book, "Confessions of a Former Bully" by Trudy Ludwig, and I have already used it several times!

Here's the book description:

"After Katie gets caught teasing a schoolmate, she's told to meet with Mrs. Petrowski, the school counselor, so she can make right her wrong and learn to be a better friend. Bothered at first, it doesn't take long before Katie realizes that bullying has hurt not only the people around her, but her, too. Told from the unusual point of view of the bullier rather than the bullied, Confessions of a Former Bully provides kids with real life tools they can use to identify and stop relational aggression."

So far, the 3rd and 4th grade girls that I have used this with really seemed to grasp the concepts. This opened the door to talk about the motives behind one girl's bullying behaviors, helped another girl understand ways that she could help when she is a bystander, helped a girl begin to see what the good and bad qualities of a friend are, and gave some useful strategies for another girl who is often the target of teasing. While this book could easily be read from cover to cover, I have been using it more as a reference book depending on the specific situation. I could see this book being the topic of a girls small group, discussing a few pages at a time.

Once concept in the book talks about using "empower" tools as a way of dealing with bullying/teasing. I created these cards as a takeaway for kids, using the same wording from the book and clipart of the tools that correspond with the book.

Empathy and Perspectives Lesson

I did a lesson with 4th graders on empathy and seeing a situation from another person's perspective. We discussed how two people in the same situation can see things completely different. 

To emphasize this point, I had two volunteers stand up and face each other, a few feet apart. I put a picture of a "6" in between them, and asked them to name the picture. One said it was a 6, the other said it was a 9. Then I asked the class: Who is right? How can both be right? 

The same thing applies in conflicts. Even if you know for sure that you are right, take a moment to consider why the other person also thinks that they are right. Is there another perspective?

Other ways to use concept is to use optical illusions such as this one: