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The three templates provided can be used to enhance the delivery of any English, language arts or social science program for grades K-12. The templates consistently use the Nine Winning and Losing Practices to perform character analyses of the persons encountered in the academic material. The applications are countless, limited only by one's imagination! Below is the opening page in this book, an introduction by Robert Newberry.
I remember clearly watching the faces in my classroom light up, one after the other, each registering the unmistakable signs of understanding. I knew, in that moment, I had stumbled onto something brilliant. It was the first time I had used narrative as a means to teach children about winning and achieving. By combining the stories contained in the narrative, with pointed questions about the practices used by the characters in the narrative, the cause and effect relationship between behavior, or the practices a person uses, and the outcomes that result had become crystal clear to my students. I knew I had gained a powerful weapon to add to my arsenal of teaching aids. Narrative, in its diverse forms, offers many opportunities to enhance learning. I had been showing the students one of two short video clips that are favorites of mine. This clip, which I retrieved from ESPN on a Thanksgiving morning, features a young man, who, at an early age, walked away from an abusive, addicted parent. After a series of foster homes, he connected with several caring adults, school and football. At the time of the video, he was about to graduate from Lehigh University. What an accomplishment and what a bright future! He demonstrated a positive, thankful and optimistic outlook for his future and the people who became his "new family." The second clip, from a newsmagazine show, features a woman, who, as a child had been severely burned from an electrical shock. As a result, she lost both arms. The video tracks her progress from a sad young girl learning to navigate without arms, to an independent wife, mother and aerobics instructor. She was even capable of driving her own vehicle through a fast-food drive-thru, retrieve her order with her foot and drive on. Amazing! Both clips always silence students. I think what students find hardest to comprehend are the devastating circumstances from which these two people come and the optimistic, hopeful and grateful attitudes that have helped them achieve and overcome. After viewing the videos, I always ask the students to identify which of the Nine Winning Practices are most apparent in these two main characters. Quickly the consensus focuses on Winning Practices #1 and #5:
I then ask the students to do the following. Pick one of the characters and imagine that instead of his or her using Winning Practices #1 and #5, the accompanying Losing Practices were used:
Next I ask each student to construct a class presentation about the selected character’s life resulting from this change. In addition, I ask the student to reflect on any personal lessons learned from the exercise. These curricular applications will assist educators to effectively teach the content of their academic discipline and help students learn how to win and achieve. Thank You,
© 2003-07 ReBrilliance. All rights reserved. |
As
literature and history come alive, so do the essential concepts
surrounding positive character and achievement. These curricular
applications are natural and compelling
techniques that will help students to master academic content and internalize core
ideas and practices essential for winning and achieving.