In grades 3-5, we read Marilyn's Monster by Michelle Knudsen. In the story Marilyn's frustated because all the other kid's monsters have found them and she waits and her monster never comes. I asked students to stretch their thinking, and think of the "Monsters" in the story as any skill or problem they are simply supposed to have the solution for.
We discussed that academically some students understand concepts the first time through and often leave us who struggle with a concept to feel like everyone gets this concept or understands this skill and I just can't. ( This also called a fix mindset ...we'll talk about this topic again). Marilyn decides to try a different strategy to get her monster...her brother tells her "It's doesn't work like that." But Marilyn decides to go after her monster anyway. Spoiler Alert*** she finds her monster. Who says " I got lost, that I got scared, and then I got stuck". I ask the children, can't they relate when they get stuck in their thinking for same reason. I explained that for some problems, we do know the solution, we have been taught, or it just seems logical, but sometimes things happen outside our control: friendship issues, academic challenges, time -management etc... For the times when don't know what to do an feel stuck, here are the steps we can follow to help us. The choices we make may still have unexpected outcomes be it positive or negative and we may have to problem solve the new situation. Students wrote down a problem they had or are having and then went through the Problem-Solving Steps. Students who wanted to share did. It was great to walk around and see students thinking through the situations and even asking friends for help. I told them asking for help is always an option. Students learned these steps of Problem-Solving: D- Deep Breathing at least twice. S- Say the Problem T - Think of a way to solve it. E - Explore what could happen. P - Pick the best choice. Not to be ignored is the vital role that Deep "belly breathing" plays in being able to problem solve. It helps us get from the Amygdala, the emotional center in our brain, to the Prefrontal Cortex or the Thinking, Logical, Problem-Solving part of our brain. We have the power to choose how we react to a situation, even if when we have no control over the event itself. Comments are closed.
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AuthorLena Sheets Archives
January 2020
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