Tag Archives: classroom writing

What Are Your Favorites – Teacher’s Corner

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Teacher’s Corner
The prompts below can be used for writing about or discussing what is important to them.
Why favorite things are important::
  • We all deserve to have some of our favorite things. That means as an adult, you need to make those things known, and as a  teacher you need to ask students what their favorite things are.
  • A child’s MOST favorite thing (blanket, stuffed animal, picture of a beloved family member, pet, etc) should not be taken away as a consequence for bad behavior. The harshness of doing so would do more harm than good.
To learn more about your students’ favorite things:
  1. Start by playing the chorus from “My Favorite Things” by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers (The Sound of Music).
  2. Share one or two things that would be among your favorite things (people, places, things) and why.
  3. Then, have the students respond to these prompts.
    • Make a list of 2-3 of your favorites things.
    • Explain why these things are important to you.
    • Think of someone you care about. Do you know what might be on that person’s list of favorite things? If not, how could you find out?
  1. Teachers, you can use this blog in classrooms. Here are two ideas about how.
  4. For middle or high school parenting or child development courses:
    • Use the blog for discussion topics
    • Require students to research the topics and agree or disagree with what the blog is suggesting.
  5. For all courses, especially English Language Arts:
  • Use the blog for writing prompts for paragraphs, theme papers, journal entries, class starters, etc. Have students read the blog and respond to:
  • Do you agree with what is being said about kids? Do kids really act, think or feel that way?
  • Do you agree with what is being said about parents, grandparents, teachers and child caregivers? Do or should they act, think or feel that way?
  • What would be your advice on this topic?
  • What was left out of this article?
  • If you were a parent, would you use any of this information? How?
  3. Why can this blog be a useful teaching tool?
  • Students that see connections between their coursework and their lives do better in school.
  • Most students will either be parents one day or have children in their lives that they care about, so the topical information can help them build their knowledge about children and parenting and develop a positive image of the type of parenting they want to do.
  • The new core literacy standards adopted by most states call for frequent writing in all courses.
  • Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can think critically. These prompts help students practice critical thinking.
  • Newly developed end-of-course assessments to be used by many states will require that students demonstrate that they can analyze what they read. These prompts help students practice analysis.