OLW 2009

I can’t believe that I go back to school tomorrow!  I do love the new year, though, because it’s so much fun to reflect and look ahead with my students.  I first heard about Ali Edwards’  “One Little Word” last January and wanted to try it with my students.  However, I just never got around to it.  This year, I decided to make it a priority.  It is a great extension of the Hopes and Dreams my students wrote about back in September.

 

I spent the last few hours designing a 3 day assignment for my students to complete during writing workshop this week.  On Monday I will introduce One Little Word with examples from various blogs.  I came up with a 2 page list of possible words my students could use (to help those who get stuck) and my students will spend their independent writing time brainstorming a few possible ideas and why those words are important to them.  On Tuesday they will choose their final word and begin to design a square for our paper OLW quilt bulletin board.  They will look up their word in the dictionary and write a simple definition for their OLW as it applies to their life.  On Wednesday they will complete their squares, including 1-2 sentences about why they chose their particular OLW.

I am really looking forward to doing this with my class, as this year is such a huge one for them.  They will be finishing their time at our intermediate school in June and starting middle school across town in September.  It’s always a tough transition and I think that the OLW exercise will help them begin to sort out their goals for this year.  Hopefully it goes as well as planned!