Since my youthwork days when I first came out in NZ I have seen the effectiveness of incorporating a co-constructed treaty amongst a group of kids you are working with. However, I've also seen them be thoroughly adult directed (guilty myself) and the following effect of the children having no buy in. Last year I had my kids sign a teddybear (year 3-4 class) and on his back it said "everyone in class 4 has the right to learn". This held some effectiveness...especially in getting-to-know-you activities when "Rex" (as they named him) wasn't allowed to drop on the floor.
I think this (below) is a great way of displaying the treaty, everyone is presented (Weemee style) in their own way making their own comment. It is up their street too...most of my children probably already have various Avatar characters of themselves through different programmes on the net.
I think this (below) is a great way of displaying the treaty, everyone is presented (Weemee style) in their own way making their own comment. It is up their street too...most of my children probably already have various Avatar characters of themselves through different programmes on the net.
I plan to do a jigsaw activity on Monday which is an effective way to get everyone's thoughts as it is a paper based activity. It will also give me a fair idea of the leaders in the group and other dynamics.
The basis of the activity is as follows
1) Each child has a piece of paper and writes one rule/phrase they think would be essential for our class this year
2) Children join in pairs and discuss which is the better of their two phrases/ideas
3) Children join in 4's and show all four pieces of paper. They choose 3 to move forward with
4) Children join into 8's and show all 6 pieces of paper, discussing which is worth keeping
5) Class merges and we look at the chosen phrases altogether, discussing which can be combined, which can be discarded, which to be kept.
The remaining chosen phrases/rules will then form the basis of our treaty. I will also add mine if I think they haven't been represented in the children's choices. They can argue/discuss/accept these and we will think about what is best for the class.
The basis of the activity is as follows
1) Each child has a piece of paper and writes one rule/phrase they think would be essential for our class this year
2) Children join in pairs and discuss which is the better of their two phrases/ideas
3) Children join in 4's and show all four pieces of paper. They choose 3 to move forward with
4) Children join into 8's and show all 6 pieces of paper, discussing which is worth keeping
5) Class merges and we look at the chosen phrases altogether, discussing which can be combined, which can be discarded, which to be kept.
The remaining chosen phrases/rules will then form the basis of our treaty. I will also add mine if I think they haven't been represented in the children's choices. They can argue/discuss/accept these and we will think about what is best for the class.