Celebrate Your Thinking!

Many kids are very critical of themselves and are hesitant to problem solve using their own intelligence. We need to recognize the gift of thinking differently. The lesson was taught to Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. This activity is a lesson that could be taught in any grade level.

Part One: Introduction to "Celebrating Our Differences"

• Read I'm Like You, You're Like Me, by Cindy Gainer. Discuss parts about accepting others and celebrating our differences. 

Part Two: Introduction to "thinking" activity

• Give each student was given a page of shapes and a "canvas" (a piece of construction paper).  "What pictures do you think you could make with these shapes?"
•  Students answer. Acknowledge similar answers and go into detail briefly. Often kids say, "that was my answer!". Have them notice that their idea of a car might be similar, but not exactly the same. One might decide to color it a different color or have two windows instead of one window. 
• "Today we are going to celebrate the way we think! We will be stopping you throughout the activity to reflect on they way we are uniquely thinking and working on the project."

Part Three: Activity

• Possible Guidelines: "You have to use all the shapes and all the shapes need to be attached to the canvas. You can add to the picture using crayons."
• Let the students begin. Stop them after two minutes and begin a brief discussion on how they are thinking:
• "Who decided to cut out all the shapes first and then color them? Who is color one shape and the cutting it out? Who is coloring all the shapes first and then cutting them out?"
• "How did you come up with your idea?"
• "I love football so I am making a game." (Personal Hobbies and Interests)
• "I saw my friend making a castle and I like the idea." (Cooperation and Brainstorming)
• The students continue the activity and then stop them again. Begin another brief discussion on how they are thinking and their work habits. 
• "How many of you have a lot of details and are carefully coloring in the lines before cutting out the shapes? Do you notice that you sometimes take longer on activities? How does that affect your classwork? How do you organize your time so you make sure to complete all your work?"
• "How many of you colored across the shape and over the lines because you knew that you were cutting it out and it wouldn't matter?"
• The students continue for a few more minutes. Those that are not finished are reminded that there are times during the day when you can work on unfinished projects. 
• "Following directions and stopping is respectful and completing the project later is responsible."

Part Four: Conclusion

• When most of the kids are finished and if there is extra time, take a quiet gallery walk. The students move around quietly looking at all the masterpieces. 
• Encourage the students to quietly compliment each other's artwork and recognize similar thinking strategies and work habits between classmates. 
• "Look Joe! We both had the same idea!"
• "Wow, Sally, you are so creative!"

Celebrate your thinking today!