#PhenomenalFriday: “Be A Daily Gator”
Following the first week of school, I knew my scholars had to develop their self-efficacy. So, after I played Eric Thomas’ video: Lion or Gazelle, I introduced the weekly theme: “Be A Lion, Not A Gazelle.
The lion gets up because it wants to…the gazelle gets up because they have to. To make it more real, I said that I’d put up a Daily Lions(Renamed Daily Gator) chart to track it. It isn’t based solely on behavior…it could be academic or social, as well.
Tuesday, I gave them their “Daily Schedule”, which tells them the activities they’ll have to do at school and home. In addition to that, I put every activity on a timer. I normally don’t do that too early in the school year , they really need to learn to initiate tasks and finish them on time. And I mean really need to learn how to do it.
As the week progressed, the kids picked up the pace and built their stamina.
Thursday, one of the kids encouraged me with a reflective thought. While participating in “ConverStations”, he answer a prompt: Do you think your parents should give you more cash?
His response: No. I don’t do my work.
Me: I love the accountability.
Friday, I asked the kids two questions for Huddle Up: How do you feel and how did you improve this week?
Many students said that they improved on their Reading. One said Writing. Another said Spelling.
During Power Up (R.T.I.), all the kids were engaged in doing their Daily Schedule activities. I loved it and told them so.
After they completed a few assessments, they closed out the day with a dance off. The coolest thing is that I was able to give all the kids a + for the day.
They’re ready to Be A Daily Gator.
I leave you with one thing.
1. Do you get up because you want to or have to?
Be Phenomenal, Mr. Short
The Phenomenal Student 