Teacher to Teacher

“Tie stories to the other literature read throughout the day. Constantly refer to these stories and how the characters in their books compare to the Wisdom Thinker stories.”

“As far as behavior and academics I think these lessons lend themselves to the importance of responsibility and respect. Children learn that they are responsible for their own actions and those actions have consequences, both good and bad. Many of my students have referred back to a story I’ve read and told me how it is influencing their actions.”

“Take this opportunity to have the kids write about what the problem was, how they would solve the problem, has anything like this ever happened to them. Then have the kids share and again have open discussions. This might start out as a teacher directed activity but in the end it’s the students who should lead the discussions.”

“I like to relate the stories to something that has happened to me or even in our classroom. This will usually open up discussions. If the kids can relate to themselves they have a better chance of remembering how they can handle similar situations.”

“After reading one of the stories or watching the videos online it is very important to have discussions.”

“Tie stories to the other literature read throughout the day. Constantly refer to these stories and how the characters in their books compare to the Wisdom Thinker stories.”

“As far as behavior and academics I think these lessons lend themselves to the importance of responsibility and respect. Children learn that they are responsible for their own actions and those actions have consequences, both good and bad. Many of my students have referred back to a story I’ve read and told me how it is influencing their actions.”

“Take this opportunity to have the kids write about what the problem was, how they would solve the problem, has anything like this ever happened to them. Then have the kids share and again have open discussions. This might start out as a teacher directed activity but in the end it’s the students who should lead the discussions.”

“I like to relate the stories to something that has happened to me or even in our classroom. This will usually open up discussions. If the kids can relate to themselves they have a better chance of remembering how they can handle similar situations.”

“After reading one of the stories or watching the videos online it is very important to have discussions.”

“Several years ago I used a handful of these stories with a small group of third-graders. The group was comprised of students who had a tough time reading at grade level. Some were officially identified with reading, writing, or speech/language challenges, others were not officially identified and were struggling just the same. They were a mix of English language learners and native English speakers.
I asked them if they would mind listening to some stories over the next few weeks and giving their feedback to help a friend of mine. They were quite willing to do that, and felt proud that someone had asked for their help/opinions. Over the next few weeks we would take ten or fifteen minutes a few times a week to listen to a story, close our eyes and visualize it, think about how it made us feel listening to this story, think about what came to our minds as we listened to the story, and share our thoughts, feelings, learning’s. Some things that I noticed:
-students began to compare real-life situations to those in the stories
-students began to see themselves, or those around them, as similar to characters in the stories
-students began to make connections to how situations were handled in the stories to how they could handle their own real-life situations
-students began to feel more trusting of being themselves within our group
-students began to help and encourage each other more than put down or compete against one another (both academically and socially-emotionally)
-students loved listening to the stories.
As struggling readers and some English language learners, to be able to hear the story and understand it that way took the pressure off of having to struggle to read it themselves. This way they had access to the story, with no embarrassment or frustration.
These stories could be used in various ways/settings:
-in a classroom setting, whole group, as part of character development/lifeskills/citizenship lessons
-in small groups or one-to-one for students facing social/emotional challenges
-integrated into grade-level Language Arts Common Core units, particularly those that have a focus on folktales/fables
-with parent groups to support/connect learning in school to home life

“Quest for the Golden Rule – Bark Academy, second grade anti-bullying games
Some of our students were struggling with making friends, and the program addressed this explicitly. It provided a good basis for discussion, and the kids loved it and said it was fun! If two students were not getting along, I was able to refer back to Bark Academy–when someone treats you disrespectfully, it is still in your best interest to treat the person respectfully….and ask an adult for help. We’ve seen a positive change in behavior while easily using the simulations to improve both literacy and listening skills.”

“The stories have helped the children quickly internalize behavioral messages that have otherwise been difficult to teach. It has not only benefited the children but helped change the atmosphere here. They will carry these stories with them the rest of their lives.”

“I use it regularly for ELA – it’s helped the children tremendously. It can easily fit into social studies as well.”

“I’d like to see my 5th graders teaching the stories to younger children. We find them easily adaptable to every elementary grade level.”

“They are easy to use and as opposed to taking away from our Common Core requirements, 10 minutes on a story creates such a positive community that you’ll get 6 times more output during the day!”

“I love sharing the little paragraph of where the story comes from – the children are amazed that these have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years.”

“The study guide makes it really easy to incorporate the stories into any part of our day. The essential questions and sample questions get the discussions going and we can guide it from there”

“In the 6 months we have been using the stories, we have seen both positive change in student behavior and in our class culture.”

“Whenever a child is sent to the office, they’re upset. I sit them down, put on a story, and within 5 minutes they’ve calmed down and we have a context to talk about their issue. Stories to Light Our Way, is an invaluable tool for any principal or classroom.”