2. HABITS OF MIND: THINKING INTERDEPENDENTLY
The following ideas were compiled by a learning circle of kindergarten and grade
one teachers:
Stories:
• Swimmy by Leo Lionni
• Just a Little Bit by Ann Tompert
• Who’s in Rabbit’s House? by Verna Aardema
• The Farmer and the Beet (big book)
Introductory Lesson:
1. Introduce topic of working as a group.
2. Read story from Skills for Growing – Turn About is Fair Play.
3. Review the other Habits of Mind and discuss how you will use them in the
drawing activity.
4. Divide children into groups and have them do the same task as the
children in the story (may want to change materials or topic of drawing).
5. Have each group reflect on how their group did or did not work together.
6. Generate a list together of what makes a group work and how you can
encourage someone without solving the problem for them. Post encouraging
vocabulary on a chart.
Snack Activity:
1. Brainstorm what snacks would be good (discuss tastes, cost, how easy they
are to make, etc.)
2. Break class into groups and assign one week in the month in which each
group will be responsible for the class snack.
3. Each group will then:
• plan their snack and record steps,
• role play the steps in preparation, and
• prepare and serve the food.
Other Activities:
• Tangle game
RESEARCH REPORT: Project Q.E. – Encouraging Habits of Mind 15
• Puzzles (discuss ways to help group members know an answer without telling
them the answer)
• Pet debate
• Telephone game
• Froggies on a Pad game
• Read Swimmy book and have kids make a larger creature out of many little
ones (e.g. bears or dinos )
• Hangman game
• Tangrams – build the shapes