Skills for a Lifetime: Teaching the Habits of Success

1. Skills for a Lifetime:Teaching the Habits of Success Connections Conference Pheasant Run Resort St. Charles, Illinois March 16, 2011 Lois BarnesSREB/HSTWLois.barnes@sreb.org Welcome!

2. Do Now! Draw a Pig! • Use a pen or pencil and the page in your handout to draw a pig. Draw the entire pig, not just the head. • Do not glance at others’ drawings! • You will have a couple of minutes to draw your pig.

3. High Schools That Work (HSTW) • The largest and oldest of SREB’s school improvement initiatives • 1987 – 27 sites • 2010 – 1,000+ sites in 30+ states • Additional initiatives • Making Middle Grades Work for middle grades schools • 1998 – 25 sites; • 2010 – 450+ sites in 22 states • Technology Centers That Work for shared-time technology centers • 2010 – 150+ sites in 15 states

4. High Schools That Work

5. HSTW Key Practices • High expectations • Program of study • Academic studies • Career/technical studies • Work-based learning • Teachers working together • Students actively engaged • Guidance and advisement • Extra help • Culture of continuous improvement

6. Session Objectives • Explain the six habits of success that all students need to learn • Describe and practice a variety of strategies for teaching those habits.

7. Essential Question Why and how do weneed to help students learn the habits of success?

8. If the pig is drawn:  Toward the top of the paper, you tend to be a positive, optimistic person.  Toward the middle of the paper, you tend to be a practical, realistic person.  Toward the bottom of the paper, you may look at the pessimistic side too often.  Facing left, you tend to believe in tradition, are friendly and remember dates, including birthdays.  Facing right, you tend to be innovative, creative, energetic and active, but perhaps forgetful.  Facing forward, looking at you, you tend to be direct, enjoy debating different ideas and viewpoints and are at ease with ideas and discussions. more……=>

9. If the pig is drawn:  With many details, you may be analytical, careful, thoughtful and deliberate in making decisions.  With few details, you may be ruled by emotion more than by thought, enjoy risk taking and prefer action as opposed to planning. With four legs showing, you tend to be secure, self-confident, well-grounded and loyal to your ideals.  With fewer than four legs showing, you are seeking or are experiencing a period of major change in your life.  With small ears, you may not be as good a listener as you would like to be.  With large ears, you are a good listener.

10. Teambuilding “What’s in a Name?” Lois Barnes

11. Jigsaw ReadingThe Habits of Success

12. Skills for a Lifetime: Teaching Students the Habits of Success Three sections to walk schools through a process for creating their own system to teach the habits of success: • Section 1: The case for teaching the habits of success — research supporting the need • Section 2: Approaches for teaching the habits of success — three examples from successful schools • Section 3: Model lessons and activities — tools teachers can use now to embed the habits into their classrooms

13. Jigsaw Reading - The Habits of SuccessRead the following excerpts: • #1’s – “Chapter 1 –Connecting High School to Students’ Talents, Interests…. • #2’s - “The Case for Teaching the Six Habits of Success” and habits 1 and 2 • #3’s – Habits 3 and 4 • #4’s – Habits 5 and 6

16. Creating Positive, Productive Relationships • Two central principles: “One, positive change cannot occur in isolation. In order for children to feel supported, the whole class, as well as the teacher, must be cheering for them, and believing transformations can occur. And two, classroom power has to be shared among its members. Children are more likely to work hard at learning if they’re included in the process of running the classroom and making decisions.” Adults set the tone for the class, but students have a voice…” • From: Belonging: Creating Community in the Classroom

17. Creating Positive, Productive Relationships – Four Key Topics • Getting to Know Each Other • Involving Students in Extracurricular Activities • Understanding How Families Support Academic Success • Team Building

18. Creating Positive, Productive Relationships - Strategies • Journaling • “Check In” • Message Center • “Worst Case Scenario” (Analyze This) • My Motto • Cooperative Learning • Teamwork Strategies • Please and Thank You – How to Ask, How to Appreciate • Teamwork Scoring Guide ( see handout) • Administrative Speeches • Formal Introductions • Extra Curricular Fairs, Participation • Intro to Conflict Management

19. Learning to Study, Manage Time and Get Organized - Strategies • Study Environment • Agenda Planners (handout pp. 5-6) • Agenda Reviews • “Check-In” • Where Is It? Backpacks, Notebooks, Lockers • Two-Column (Cornell) Note-taking • “Study Buddies” • Teaching Test Prep • Tips for Taking Notes • Class Performance rubric/checklist • Teaching Test Types • Listening Skills/Habits

20. Improving Reading and Writing Skills Literacy Skills • Reading • Writing • Speaking • Listening • Observing

21. Literacy Across the Curriculum

22. A Baker’s Dozen of Literacy Strategies Any Teacher Can – and Should – Use Double entry or two column notes Admit slips/Exit slips ReQuest Interactive CLOZE Anticipation Guide/ Pre-learning Concept Checks Jigsaw reading Paired Reading GIST KWL charts Graphic organizers (i.e. Frayer) Riddle Me RAFT Readers Theater

23. Improving Mathematics Skills Focus on: • Active Student Participation • Development of number and operation sense in mathematics • The use of many representations in developing knowledge and skills • Helping students learn to communicate about mathematics • The use of graphing calculators and computers in mathematics learning

24. Goal Setting and Planning - Strategies • Journals • Agenda/Planner • Check In • Sports Analogies: • “Goal Line” • “Half Time in the Locker Room” • “Score!” weekly celebrations • SMART Goals • Being WISE • Goal Grid • Create Class Goals • Career Planning and College Planning Activities

25. Sample Journal Prompts – Goal Setting • There is only one thing that feels worse than being ready and not having opportunity knock…and that’s having opportunity knock and not being ready. • Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. • If you wait to do everything until you’re sure you’re ready, you’ll probably never do much of anything! • If you can DREAM it, you can DO it. –Walt Disney • We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is nothing but a habit. – Aristotle • The future depends on what we do in the present. – Mahatma Gandhi • Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. – Michael Jordan • Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you • Yes, risk-taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking.

26. Being WISE about Goal Setting A goal doesn’t do the actual work for students ; it just helps them focus. Have students work in teams to brainstorm personal traits that help people reach their goals. Discuss ways of staying on track with goals. Students can create a master list and their own acronyms as a mnemonic device. One example is WISE: Will power Initiative Stamina Enthusiasm!

28. Accessing Resources On-Campus Resources: • College/career center, testing center • Counseling offices • Media Center • Computer labs • Distance Learning Lab • Homework or Learning Center • In-school suspension and/or alternative programs • Peer tutoring • Peer mediation • Health clinic, school nurse • School Resource Officer

29. Accessing ResourcesCommunity Resources • 100 Black Men of America • ASPIRA (Puerto Rican and Latino Community Technology Centers) • Big Brothers Big Sisters of America • Boy Scouts of America • Faith-based organizations’ programs • GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training) • INROADS • Junior Achievement • Kiwanis • La Raza (mentoring and tutoring for Hispanic youth) • Lions Club • Museums • Upward Bound • YMCAs/YWCAs

30. http://publications.sreb.org/2010/10V25_Skills_for_a_Lifetime_Intro.pdfhttp://publications.sreb.org/2010/10V25_Skills_for_a_Lifetime_Intro.pdf

31. Ordering Skills for a Lifetime • Foreword and Introduction are available at www.sreb.org • Printed copies cost $12 each or $10 each for orders of 10 or more. They can be ordered: • online — (www.sreb.org) • by phone —(404) 879-5536 • by e-mail — publications@sreb.org

32. Thank you for participating! Enjoy the conference! Lois Barnes SREB/HSTW 615-423-1588 Lois.barnes@sreb.org