Category: Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills

Giving Back!

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

I have written about this story before, but it is so important to me that I feel I should repeat it at the holiday season.

When I was about 11 or 12 years old, my great-grandfather gave me face powder as a holiday gift. He was in his 90s and had no idea that pre-teen girls didn’t wear face powder. After he left, I expressed my disappointment to my mother, in tears – my usual mode of pre-teen communication. Instead of lecturing me that I should be grateful or telling me I was spoiled etc, my mother agreed that this was not a great gift for a girl my age. She didn’t offer to replace it, instead she suggested we find an older woman who might not be getting gifts for the holidays, and donate this to her. After some discussion, my mother, brothers, and I decided to find an entire family that we could donate gifts to for the holidays.

This was before the internet, and giving-trees etc, and it was actually not easy to find out how to accomplish this. But my mother persevered, and we found a family in need, bought and wrapped gifts, and delivered them to the family – including the face powder that started this all.

We continued this throughout my entire childhood, and as adults have all continued this tradition with our own families. I can’t imagine a holiday season where giving to some one in need isn’t a part of it. It is definitely my favorite part of the holidays.

So authentic project idea – brainstorm with your class, children, family a way to give back this holiday season. Something as simple as a home-made card can really brighten up someone’s holiday.

Authentic Project Ideas – Planting Trees

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

Teaching our children that they can make an authentic difference is something that I think is really important. There are so many current problems we have on our planet. And it can seem like, “why bother,” we really can’t make a difference. But we can! If everyone just tried to make a bit of a difference, think of the changes that we could make.

Our planet desperately needs trees planted. There are many, many groups that are planting trees. A great authentic project would be to learn why we need trees, what we use trees for, what are all the different types of trees… Then involving our students in either planting trees, or fundraising for groups that are planting them. Tons of authentic reading, math, science, social studies… Learning and a good cause – can’t beat that!

Authentic Project Ideas – Understanding Others

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

I live in the heart of Amish country in Central Pennsylvania. Because of this, I have interacted with the Amish and learned a great deal about their culture.

They are a fascinating group of people. The more I know about them, the more I want to learn. There are definitely some things they do, and believe in, that I would like to try to incorporate into my life, and some things I would not. (Totally not interested in giving up my washing machine and dryer.) But, isn’t that true for everyone. And isn’t it true that the more we learn, understand, and appreciate other people, the better we will get along.

I think a great authentic project for students in my area would be to learn about the Amish. What group(s) of people who practice different or unique religions, customs, or ideas are in your area? And what are your students interested in learning about these people? It won’t and shouldn’t be the same for every student. I am especially interested in Amish clothing. My friend down the street is interested in Amish cooking. Both topics are authentic and can lead to further discovery on different topics.

And just let me say…I do NOT want the Amish recipe for those little chocolate donuts stuffed with peanut butter filling. I have worked too hard to lose weight this year to get my hands on that recipe!

Authentic Project Ideas – Save a Starfish

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

The whole point of authentic teaching is that it is – well – authentic!  Make it real.  Make it count.

Teaching social skills is definitely something that is authentically real, and certainly counts.  But coming up with driving questions and project ideas that develop these skills can seem daunting, especially if you want what you are doing to really make a difference.  But, I think sometimes the problem is that we think that to make a difference we need to save the world.

There is a story about a boy on a beach who is picking up starfish and throwing them back in the water.  There are thousands of starfish washed up on the beach and there is no way that the boy can throw them all back in the water and save them all.  A man is watching him, questions this, and asks him why he even tries.  As he throws another starfish back in the water, he replies, “It made a difference to that one.”   (Adapted from The Star Fish Thrower by Loren Eiseley, 1907-1977)

I love this story.  I repeat it constantly.  To me it is the core of everything I do when I do something for someone else.  I don’t have to send a card to every elderly, lonely person to make a difference.  Just one.  I don’t need to donate a toy to every needy child at the holidays.  Just one, or two, or however many I can handle. I don’t need to clean up litter on every street in my town.  Just one block. I don’t need save the world by myself.

And when I devise a driving question, or come up with a framework for a project, I don’t need to come up with something that will save the world.  Just one starfish.  And imagine if every educator devised a project to save one starfish.  We might just end up saving all of them. This is the truly authentic lesson we need to teach children.  Save one starfish.

Authentic Learning Turning Into an Authentic Project

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Authentic Teaching, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

I finally learned how to bake cookies.  Seriously!  I have never been able to bake cookies – my result was always a melted, burnt mess.  But thanks to a lot of instruction and patience from my daughter-in-law, I have finally mastered baking cookies.

So, for the first time, I am going to make holiday cookies this year.  I am going to use the recipes I have already mastered and change them slightly for the holidays.  For example, using red and green M&Ms only for my M&M cookies.  I am also thinking about how to tweak my chocolate chip cookies for the holidays.  Any ideas?

I have written about baking and cooking many times on my blog.  This is one of the best authentic ways to teach so many math and reading skills.

With the current pandemic, I was also thinking about authentic social awareness skills.  There are many single people in my neighborhood who have been isolating alone now for months.  I am thinking about leaving a plate of holiday cookies on several doorsteps.  I thought about doing this anonymously, but with food I think it is better that the receiver knows where the treats came from.

Doing this with children could easily turn into an authentic project.  Baking is just the starting point. Conversation while baking could turn into a project of making and leaving home made ornaments on doorsteps to brighten people’s holiday.  Or maybe making a small homemade gift. 

Perhaps this could turn into an authentic project learning about all the holidays people celebrate this time of year, and what gifts are usually given, if any, for these holidays. I would love to receive a gift from another religion/culture with a written explanation of what this gift represents. 

So, I started writing about my new-found ability to bake cookies, and am now thinking about leaving some unique gifts from other religions/cultures on my neighbors’ doorsteps, with an explanation about what the gifts represent. I need to do some research and planning. I will need to do some writing. And I am going to need to be creative. This is an authentic project!

Authentic Project Ideas – What to do with those Holiday Cards

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

For the first time, I am making my own holiday cards this year.  I realized while I was doing this, that I have a huge stash of new holiday cards from previous years that I will probably never use.  I did a little digging on line and found out that nursing homes love to receive new holiday cards for their residents to use.

This would be a great authentic project.  Collecting new cards and donating them to a local nursing home.  Finding out which nursing homes or organizations would like cards donated, organizing this, getting the word out, having a drop off spot…

All of these authentic activities could cover many different academic goals. Reading – researching on line. Math – counting, tallying, predicting, graphing. Writing – composing letters/emails to ask for donations, writing to organizations asking if they would like new cards donated. Social Responsibility Skills – donating time and effort for others.

This may also lead to an authentic project of sending greeting cards to residents of a nursing home or hospital.

I also have a collection of cards that I have received over the years. They are just too gorgeous to throw out.   I found out that St. Jude collects used cards to recycle for future use.  Just doing the on-line research is an authentic activity that could lead to many authentic projects.

Safe and Happy Holidays!

Authentic Project Ideas – Thanksgiving

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

I am feeling a little guilty looking at these guys knowing that the American holiday of Thanksgiving is coming up.   I was going to write a blog about authentic experiences cooking, but then I looked at these guys and decided to go a different route.

What is the history of Thanksgiving in the United States?  What similar holidays do other countries have?  What are the different traditions of these holidays that remind us to be thankful for what we have?

Research these holidays, write a report, develop a timeline, propose a new holiday…  And a wonderful authentic project would be to have learners do something special for someone who is less fortunate than they are.  Especially now, these are easy times to fall into feeling sorry for ourselves, instead of looking at what our blessings really are.

And speaking of fortunate…I found out those guys in the photo are pets!

Authentic Project Ideas – Lemonade Stand That Makes a Difference

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized

Summer is finally here, and kids are out of school and home for the summer. (Officially that is – most have been home for months.)  This is the time that summer lemonade and baked good stands start to appear. 

With so many people struggling to make ends meet due to the Coronavirus and the economic impact of the shutdowns, it would be a great authentic project to turn these summer stands into fundraisers for local food banks. 

An authentic project such as a lemonade stand with home-made cookies includes reading recipes, using math to make the lemonade and cookies, writing signs, more math to sell the lemonade and cookies…the authentic experiences are endless.

And it is never too early for kids to learn how good it feels to help those in need, and that every little bit helps.  It may not seem like much to donate a few dollars to a food bank, but it means the world to the family that gets food due to that donation. 

Authentic Teaching – Protecting Our Environment

by Eleanor K. Smith, posted in Authentic Project Ideas, Authentic Teaching, Blog, Social Awareness and Responsibility Skills, Uncategorized
FactoryQuiltQUILT BY CHRIS STAVER

The last two months have been a fascinating look at what happens to our planet when we cause less pollution.  Photos of Venice and the clean water are astounding.  Pictures of the clean sky over Los Angeles – amazing.  Animals coming back to their old habitats.  All of this in just a few months.

Obviously, at some point we will all re-emerge and begin to interact more with our environment.  But maybe some good will come out of this and we will do it a little more responsibly.  We have certainly seen how quickly our planet can begin to recover from some of the damage caused by humans.

I have written about several project ideas that have a theme of protecting and cleaning up our environment.  Teaching children how to learn and think authentically is something I am obviously passionate about.  We also need to take a good, hard look at what we are doing to our planet, and what we are leaving behind for our children and grandchildren.  What better way to cover both than an authentic project about our environment.  And the timing, with what is currently happening in our world, is perfect for this authentic exploration.

There are some really neat organizations out there that are making a big difference in cleaning up our environment.  For example, 4ocean sells bracelets made of beads from plastic pulled out of the ocean (a huge environmental problem).  For every bracelet they sell they pull a pound of plastic from the ocean.

There are many other grassroots organizations, businesses, and charities that are making a huge difference.  Most started as a simple project. (Read about the start of 4ocean, it is an interesting story.)  A really cool authentic project could be to develop a new way or idea to clean up, or prevent pollution, on our planet.  Who knows…this project may become something that makes a difference.

Stay Safe!