Jumping Into Fair Play

I/we learned fairly quickly that fair play was going to be an important topic this month. Like any classroom we have arguing, nitpicking, and accusations of cheating on a frequent enough basis. Although we are not perfect, we have come a long way. My students are even talking about fair play with their friends from other classes at recess. Woohoo! We began the month by watching Lex's fair play video. After watching his video and discussing how fair play is all around us, we talked about the greatest areas for us to improve on fair play and how to use Habit #6 Synergy and #4 Think Win-Win from The Leader In Me. The playground, PE, and collaborative groups are our areas of improvement. We will continue to work on fair play for the entire school year.

Lex’s Challenge

Lex challenged us to write and record skits using fair play. I allowed my students to create their own groups, decide on their own ideas, and write their own scripts. Their performances are 100% student created. I can only take credit for filming them. They selected the areas that they were passionate about sharing. Here are their skits written and performed for Lex.

Fair Play on the Playground

Fair Play Around School

Fair Play Stories

I am working on improving the writing of my students. I took advantage of fair play month and Lex’s challenge. I added to his challenge by having my students write their own fair play story. Once again I gave them free range on the topic in hopes of sparking some creativity. I asked them to write a fictional or true story about fair play. Here are their stories.

Fair Play Novels

It is amazing how fair play shows up when you least expect it in assignments. I did not intentionally select novels to focus on fair play, but it just so happened that a common theme among this month’s novels was fair play. My students were the first to notice this theme. We read Crash and Maniac Magee (both by Jerry Spinelli), Landry News (by Andrew Clements), and Savvy (by Ingrid Law).  They made connections between the characters in their book and fair play. Additionally students made connections between the characters in the different books; since students only read one book. It was great to see and hear these lively fair play discussions.

Fair Play at Field Day

Coincidentally our school’s field day lined up during the month of October; Fair Play month. We had a class discussion on what it meant to be a teammate while participating in these class activities. Unfortunately, the early arrival of Hurricane Matthew caused a different plan for our outdoor activities. We had to cut our time and activities in half because we were limited to the gym. We all made the best of the situation and truly demonstrated fair play in tight and unfortunate conditions.

 

 

Standards

ELA:

RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text. RL.5.3 Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact). RL.5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text. W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. SL.5.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Healthy Living:

5.ICR.1.4 Summarize how to solve problems and resolve conflict without avoidance or violence.