Jumping Into Leadership

I thought leadership month was going to be easy for us because we are a Leader In Me school and leadership is around us everyday. Well, I was quickly reminded, that we need the helpful tips from Lex to truly be successful. Most of my students have mastered what true leadership means, while others are still making strides to prove they are true leaders themselves. We began the month by watching Lex’s video. He shared qualities of a leader and inspired us to be leaders.

Lex’s Challenge

This month, Lex challenged us to think of a leader in our life and write three characteristics about that person. Students wrote about their parents, grandparents, teachers, and even Lex. Watch our video to find out more about the leaders impacting our lives.

Leadership Essays

Each week I focus on a different writing prompt and I try and mix up the genres. One week this month I selected leadership biographies. Students selected a leader in history and researched their leadership qualities. They wrote their essays focusing on at least three characteristics that made the person a leader. Their essays are on display outside our classroom on our monthly Classroom Champions bulletin board. Students wrote about Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, Malala, Neil Armstrong, Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and a few others.

Leader of the Week

Each week in our classroom we vote for a “Leader of the Week”. This month I had students write the reasons for their nominations. Once the winner was selected, I shared how they were a leader throughout the week and the characteristics that their classmates deemed leadership worthy.

Nataly (March 3)

Nataly is a leader because she gets her work done, listens, and follows directions. She is respectful, quiet, kind, helpful, organized, and responsible.

Sarahi (March 10)

Sarahi is a leader because she is quiet, helpful, respectful, organized, funny, kind, and responsible. She completes her work and follows directions.

Max (March 17)

Max is a leader because he is nice, fun, helpful, and quiet. He completes all his work, listens, and follows directions.

Courtney (March 24)

Courtney is a leader because she is nice and funny. She gets all her work done.

The Leader In Me

Our school is a Leader In Me school. We live out the 7 Habits every day. Part of our school’s mission statement says, “To Lead”. Each morning students say the Bullock pledge, “We are Leaders on TRACK…”. When you walk through the doors of our school, you breathe leadership. It is painted on our walls, hanging from our ceilings, and resonating in our classrooms. Listen as my students share a brief summary of the 7 Habits.

As a part of The Leader In Me, our school hosts a Leadership Day each Spring. This year’s Leadership Day will be the first week in April. Students will be able to showcase how they are leaders at our school. Our classroom will be sharing Classroom Champions with two sets of visitor groups. Students also applied, interviewed, and were selected for various leadership roles throughout the big day outside the classroom. Here are our leaders.

Nataly (Master of Ceremonies)

Racheal (Speaker)

 

Sarahi and David (Conductors- Tour Guides)

 

Courtney and Akira (Greeters)

 

Monse and Kamai (Leadership Dancers)

Lakiah (Invitation Designer)

Thank you Lex for reminding us to be the best leaders we can be every day!

Standards

ELA RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.