If you follow me on Instagram then you know how much I love a good quote. Whether it’s inspirational or funny, I can identify with so many. I enjoy sharing them out and finding ones that represent where I am currently as an educator and as a person.
Over the summer I came across the book 365 days of Wonder: Mr. Brown’s Precepts. Having read the novel, Wonder, I had to have this book. A precept is a rule or thought that will guide someone’s behavior. This book has 365 precepts, one for each day of the year. Each day I write the precept on the board and we talk about it as a class. In the future, I am going to extend upon this activity but for right now, I enjoy spending a few minutes each day asking my students what they think about it.
Check out the book here using my Amazon affiliate link.
This year I decided to add a quote to my desk. I felt it should reflect how my upper elementary students feel about themselves. It took me a few weeks to find the perfect one but it finally came to me.
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken,”
– Oscar Wilde
was the one that I felt could accurately depict how a middle schooler is feeling at any given moment. My students loved the new quote and we spoke about how and why it is important to be yourself and not try to fit into a mold that someone else wants you to be.
To further this philosophy, I am giving away my desk letters for FREE! When printing out, I chose to print them four to a page. I also included a box around each letter which made cutting so much easier. To do this, click the option that says, “print a page border”.
Looking for more ideas for helping students become more responsible for themselves and accountable for their learning? My upper elementary friends have joined together to share more ideas on this topic! Check these out and grab the freebies along the way!
Using Quotes to Empower Students in the Classroom // Samson’s Shoppe
4 Quick Tips for Using Exit Slips in the Classroom // Think Grow Giggle
Empowering Students to Revise Essays (with Persuasive Rubrics Freebies) // Feel-Good Teaching
Teaching Responsibility with Habits of Accountable Students // Tarheelstate Teacher
How to Increase Accountability with Student Led Conferences // The Learning Effect
If you are loving quotes in your classroom, you may also be interested in the following resources that I have in my store.
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