Decision Education: Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims Third Grade Objective:
Combine
What is a good decision? We consistently review the words “stop,” “think,” and “decide,” in both academic and social areas of the school day.
Deci-
sion Education, comprehension skills, and an understanding of the words prejudice, stereotyping, and equality while reading Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims.
Kate Thorburn
What is a decision? How do we make a decision?
I want to help give the boys the tools necessary to make mean-
ingful decisions both academically and socially. Narrative: What constitutes a good decision? Boys often make impulsive decisions that have a direct impact on their social behavior and academic abilities. My goal is to educate each third-grade boy on
We study the vocabulary words prejudice, equality, and stereotyping, and we discuss the boys’ prior knowledge of these words. Then, we transition to the book The Other Side, stopping as the boys recognize situations that connect to their new vocabulary. Our class discussions reflect on The Other Side. I pose the question: Did the judgmental characters in the book make a good decision? When I introduce the book Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims, we examine the book’s front and back covers, table of contents, and pictures. We read chapter one aloud as a class. I explain how to identify the
decision making. I feel decision making must be woven into daily classroom conversations and highlighted in literature by understanding characters’ traits, in mathematics by problem solving, and in history where decision making has determined the survival of civilizations for centuries. Studying decision making at this stage of a boy’s development is unique. By educating boys at The Haverford School early in life, my goal is for them to form a solid foundation for better decision making that will be essential as they grow older and the decisions become more complicated.
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