Artifact #4

Social Justice

TEP believes that educators must be open to and respectful of diversity and difference. Educators require the ability to see beyond their own ways of defining the world and to be advocates of social justice and the inclusive classroom. A high value is placed on the ethical responsibilities of educators. 

One of my favorite things about working with grade 1 students in that they are still open to magic and make believe. I used a program called Fin's Friends to teach the students about kindness and perseverance. This program is designed to connect with the B.C. curriculum and teach the students Social Responsibility. They loved the idea that Fin from the Canucks was hanging out with them in the classroom.

I used three different lessons from this program. I started off by introducing the word "perseverance" to the students. I had them talk about something that they had to work hard at, be it something at school, such as math, or a sport, such as hockey. I then read them the book "The Little Engine that Could". After the story we talk about the different engines and what made the last engine successful.

The second lesson directly tied into the first. First we review our new word, then we talked about times that we should persevere instead of getting frustrated or upset. After that I had the students think about something they would like to persevere at. Each student received their own train car to write "I can _____" on, then they decorated them. Once they were all complete and dry I put them on a track to display on the board in the hallway.

The third lesson reflected on the engines from our story "The Little Engine that Could" that did not stop and help, and that made unkind comments. We talked about how unkind words made us feel and how we don't want to make our classmates feel this way. We decided, as a class, to get rid of our unkind or put-down words. I went around the circle and had the students tell me either an unkind word, or a put-down. I wrote these onto a slip of paper and gave it to them. After I had gone around the entire circle the students were able to crumple up their paper and put it into a box. As a class we took this box outside and we buried it in the sand.

I really liked this program and would definitely use it again in the future. The students loved Fin visiting and the hands on activities. They talked all year about things they were going to persevere at. I think the symbolic gesture of actually burying the hurtful words makes it clear to the students that we are getting rid of them. This program helps teach them how to take responsibility for their actions and make good choices and was fun for both myself and them.