Everything's more fun with food!

The lesson above is a "snapshot" of what was used for our classroom lesson last Thursday. (Ula Ula won't be forgetting this one any time soon-18 Principals, Vice Principals, and Building Coaches standing around watching your every move tends to linger in the mind of the young--and the old for that matter!)

I call this lesson the Oreo cookie lesson since the hook is completed for me, just by placing a bag of Oreo cookies on the corner of my desk... Each child is first given a napkin and a cookie in an agonizingly slow procession where they must watch each of their classmates receive their treat, but then hear the instruction that they may only look at their tasty morsel, and not savor any of it's chocolaty goodness. We then take time to write about the procedural aspects of what has occurred in class so far, and take notice that this writing is very impersonal, very procedural--and somewhat dull!

Now that students have written and responded with those around them, we clarify the difference between critical thinking and analytical thinking. Those differences will be charted in a mini-lesson I will post tomorrow, but for tonight, it's all about the cookie lesson. After making sure we understand the basic differences between these two types of responses for reading, it is finally time to relish that cookie that has sat motionless and defeated on it's napkin throughout. It's amazing how slowly teenagers will eat when they are only given one cookie and have had to wait nearly 40 minutes before being allowed to taste it... For our finale, we then write a descriptive "show" writing paragraph full of our individual opinions of the activity, ripe with self-expression for our love of Oreo cookies!