Told in just 7 sentences it is the quintessential story of  ”what might have been.”  It will touch your heart and inspire you to reach out to others!

Mr. Duck and Mr. Rabbit are neighbors.

Every day they pass––yet never once does either of them notice the other, let alone smile or say hello.

Day after day, season after season, good weather or bad, happy mood or sad, the two pass without so much as a word or a glance; each lost in his own thoughts.

We witness them…

rushing by,

strolling by,

biking by,

always passing––right by.

Being that this is a picture book housed on the “Easy” shelf  of the library or bookstore, you might predict that the story ends happily for Mr. Duck and Mr. Rabbit. But you’d be wrong. The  two glum looking animals never take advantage of their many opportunities to connect.

Yet, sad as the story is for the main characters, there is an uplifting alternate ending for the reader. Through a series of illustrations the author leads us to imagine a happier ending––one in which Mr. Duck and  Mr. Rabbit form a friendship.  She leaves us with the thought, “What a difference one little word [can] make.”

For older readers, the book prompts immediate self-reflection:  ”How many friendship opportunities have I lost simply because I didn’t take the initiative to strike up a conversation with someone right on my own doorstep?”  For younger children, the adult will likely have to initiate further talk to help them understand the author’s message:

• Why do you think Mr. Duck and Mr. Rabbit never talked to one another, even though they lived nearby and passed shoulders every single day?
• How could their lives have been different if they had connected?
• What do you think the author is trying to tell us with this story?
• Have you ever met a new friend simply by deciding to say hello?
• Do you see any connections between this story and our school playground?
• Why do you think the author wanted to write this book?

For students of any age, this book can lead into a fabulous DWS discussion of Level D.  One descriptor for Level D is the idea that people operating on this highest level of development take initiative in life.  They’re leaders.  They don’t wait for others to direct them––they take responsibility for directing themselves!  This book could set the scene for adding “Shows initiative” as a descriptor to the basic Hierarchy chart.   My personal experience is that when I add information to the chart––describing yet another facet of internal motivation––students become interested in trying new traits on for size!

Friendship is always a topic for conversation and lessons in an elementary school setting, especially as each new school year begins.  So Close by Natalia Colombo would certainly be a great book to include in any such discussions!

With a story line that reflects real life, Lilly, the exciting main character, has some depth to her personality.  In DWS terms, Lilly doesn’t remain on one level, as some more shallow picture book characters do.  She’s up and down and all over the place––just as many intelligent, exuberant and feisty children are.  Being young, Lily’s choices/actions/emotions swing from high to low––to high again!  This story offers the possibility of rich discussion about how our level of operation can vary from moment to moment, and how choice-response thinking fits into the picture.  After the Hierarchy has been introduced, students could assess Lilly’s various levels of operation.

The book is a natural choice for a read-aloud in connection with establishing procedures for Show and Tell.  After having firmly established your own procedures with students,  you can read the story of Lilly. Discuss Lilly’s Show and Tell challenges.  What young child can’t relate to having something really fabulous to share––and having to wait for the appropriate time to show it?

• How did ignoring Mr. Slinger’s Show and Tell expectations work out for Lilly?
• What would have been some better choices leading to happier results?

(And here’s a good lesson for us teachers too:  How could Mr. Slinger have been more effective in his teaching?  Although he held some general expectations for kids about Show and Tell, he didn’t seem to have any exact procedures for Show and Tell items.  A more experienced teacher would have had a procedure about where to place Show and Tell treasures until it was Show and Tell time!)

The appealing personality of Lilly  provides a perfect lead-in to a discussion of controlling impulses. After reading the book several times, you might use it to introduce:

1. Dr. Marshall’s suggestions for handling impulsiveness, and;
2. The poster he has created to teach students to deal with impulsive urges.

The class could brainstorm procedures that Lilly could use to curb her wilder side!  Discussing impulse procedures for someone else is non-threatening.  On subsequent days––when a child in the class proves to be impulsive––teaching important understandings about impulsiveness has already been completed, proactively.

This Kevin Henkes’ book also allows us to pleasantly discuss another important DWS concept; the rather startling idea (for young people, at least!) that students can choose the type of teacher they want.  In this case, Lilly actually chooses to have her teacher––her beloved, Level D, Mr. Slinger––become a “Level B teacher.”  She doesn’t realize that it was her choice, or even that she made a choice non-consciously through her own behavior.  She blames Mr. Slinger for her problems––but the kids in your class will be able to recognize that in fact, Lilly had all the control in this situation!

Then on a comical note, I can’t resist offering you this funny youtube clip!  Just as kids can easily relate to the character of Lilly and her plight with a special plastic purse, what primary teacher can’t relate to the following typical school day dilemma?  Enjoy!

Some related postings:

Can you give me examples of procedures for Show and Tell?

Choosing your teacher!

Choose your teacher–just for the day!

Primary/Intermediate Book- “Miss Nelson is Missing”

Using the DWS Impulse Poster

Last week I discussed what each level looks like with my class. Now this week the kids are not very well behaved in the hallway.  I’ve prompted them by saying “Check your level.”  The two kids that have the most issues can pinpoint what level they’re at––and also what level they need to be at––but it’s not really helping.  Next time I think I am going to pull them aside and talk about what their plans will be to change this behavior. Am I approaching this correctly?

RESPONSE:

In any discipline situation, Dr. Marshall’s first suggestion is to return to the DWS Teaching Model and check that all the steps have been followed, starting with Part One.  In the beginning of the year, even more urgent than teaching the Hierarchy levels or questioning children on their behavior, is the teaching of specific procedures.   Rather than focus on the plans of the students at this early point in the year, focus instead on having them learn and practice your procedures.

Effective teachers set up procedures for every regular school or classroom activity.  One such set of procedures should cover “how to walk in the halls.”  Although many students might be able to do this without explicit instruction, most will require at least some teaching to get them to Level C.  Remember, it is the teacher who determines which procedures constitute Level C in his/her classroom.  Make sure you systematically share these understandings with your students so they can be successful.  As you’ve discovered, some children don’t automatically know what Level C looks like.

Examples of procedures for walking in the hallways might be:

• We walk facing forward.
• We don’t make any noise because others are working.
• We wave to a passing friend instead of speaking.
• We keep our hands to our sides as we walk.
• We remain aware of others, leaving space between ourselves and the next person.
• The last person in the line shuts off the light as we leave the classroom.

After you have taught the procedures you expect students to follow, it  is then their responsibility to follow them.  Keep in mind that research information from Madeline Hunter suggests that it takes at least 8 times of teaching, reviewing and practicing a particular procedure before the teacher should start to view problems as having to do with discipline.  Knowing this information allows a teacher to remain positive as they are establishing routines.

The thinking goes:  ”If a child isn’t following my procedures yet, it’s important for me to keep teaching.  This child must need more practice.”

Even after 8 teaching times though, Dr. Marshall would recommend that you still focus on procedures to help any non-compliant students learn to operate at an acceptable level.  You might invite these students for a few further (pleasant, but private) practice sessions––held at recess, lunch time or before school––for as many times as might be necessary for those students to learn to comply with your hallway expectations.

At that point, if there are still students who are not complying with classroom procedures at Level C, you might implement a discussion of behavior in connection with the levels of the Hierarchy, and follow through with reflective questions and guided choices if necessary.

Related posting:

Difficulties on the first day of school

I’d like to put my student’s names on clothespegs and then move them to different levels on the Hierarchy chart if they misbehave or do something at a high level?  Does this fit with the DWS approach?

RESPONSE:

Although it might seem as if clothepegs on the Hierarchy chart create a concrete visual to help remind children that they always have choices with regard to their level of operation, putting student names on the Hierarchy would not be compatible with the DWS philosophy.

Here are some reasons why I personally wouldn’t choose to attach student names to the levels:

• It’s not possible for any person to judge the motivational level of another.  For example, if you watch kids in the classroom or on the playground, you can’t be absolutely certain if they are operating on Level C or D; typically the actions of Levels C and D look the same.   Looking at a child, you can’t know why they might be doing their tasks well, why they might be behaving cooperatively, or why they might be choosing to do something kind.  Although we can guess, we can’t always accurately judge if a child is internally or externally motivated.  For example, if you witness a child being kind to another, it could be because the child is exhibiting heartfelt kindness (Level D), or it could be because he/she was hoping to be invited to that student’s birthday party on the weekend (Level C).  If adults can’t judge motivation, then we can’t accurately put a name to a level.  Although it might seem as if the solution would be to have the children move their own markers, thus allowing for student reflection, other issues would then come in to play.  Whenever such an assessment is done publicly, there is greater chance that children’s motivation for placing their markers will be affected, as will their ability to be perfectly honest with themselves.

• One of the three principles of DWS is The Principle of Self-Reflection.  If the teacher moves a child’s marker from one level to another, then the teacher––rather than the student––is doing the thinking.  Genuine and long term changes are fostered by self-reflection.

• Surprising as it might sound, giving attention to students who operate on Level D is very likely to affect their high level of motivation.  Often a child who is praised or publicly recognized for Level D, may in the future be motivated for external reasons.  Motivation to please others or gain attention is Level C, not D.

• Moving names on the Hierarchy could easily lead to competition among students and parents alike, which to my way of thinking isn’t a positive thing in the classroom.

• Attaching a child’s name to the lower levels would likely bring forth negative feelings in the child.  It doesn’t reflect the positivity principle of this approach.

• Behavior choices are made on a moment by moment basis.  Using DWS, we want to encourage kids to understand that they are making choices every single moment of the day.  That way, if they find themselves in a poor situation, they know they can immediately turn it around by choosing to act on a higher level. This idea is called Choice-Response Thinking and is one of the understandings that make DWS so positive.  If names were to be placed on the Hierarchy chart accurately, they would almost need to be in constant motion;  an organizational nightmare to say the least!

This is my first year of teaching first grade.  I’ve brainstormed a list of classroom activities and now I want to make procedures for each one.  I’m not sure how to go about it though.  Can you give me an example?

RESPONSE:

Sure!  Let’s take the example of planning procedures for Show and Tell.

Since no two teachers will want exactly the same procedures for a particular activity, a list of questions will help you define procedures that will suit you best.

Here are the type of questions you might ask yourself in order to plan your teaching procedures for Show and Tell:

• When can students bring things?  (Every day?  Once a week?  Once a month?  On a particular day of the week or month?)

• Do the kids have free choice in what to bring?  (Sometimes? All the time? Once a month?)

• How will I communicate to parents about this?  (Weekly newsletter?  Monthly note?  Sign in the window?  One initial note to cover the entire year?)

• What happens if a child forgets to bring Show and Tell?  (Do students get a second chance on another day––or not?)

• What happens if I’ve set a theme for Show and Tell and a child brings something unrelated?  (Send it home explaining they can bring it back on a Free Choice week?  Let them show it anyway?)

• How will a substitute teacher know how it all runs? (List of names for Show and Tell Days on wall?  Create a binder for sub to read about routines?)

• When students bring Show and Tell items, where should they put them until it’s Show and Tell time?  (Keep them in backpacks?  At the carpet in a special place?  In their mailboxes?  On the back shelf?)

• When a child shows something, do other children get to respond––or not?  (With a question? With a story of their own? By raising a hand?  Only 3 responses and then we move on? )

• How do I expect them to sit at the carpet during Show and Tell time?  (In other words, proactively teach good manners––sitting, listening, looking interested etc.)

• After an item has been shown, where should it go?  (Stays with the child? Returned to the backpack?  In the student’s mailbox?)

Once you can answer questions like these (by making decisions about how you want Show and Tell to proceed in your classroom,) you will have a list of procedures you want to teach your students!  It seems like a lot of procedures for just one activity, doesn’t it?   Just keep in mind that the more procedures you take the time to organize, the more relaxed you will feel when teaching.

Some related postings:

Important information to consider when planning/teaching procedures.

I need help to establish procedures in the computer lab.

I will be teaching 1st grade in a month!   People tell me I need to plan my procedures but I don’t really know how to get started.  HELP!!!

RESPONSE:

You’re very smart to be thinking ahead to the procedures that you want to teach in the beginning of the year.  It’s a very positive and proactive thing to do.  And it’s the first step in the DWS Teaching Model.

The purpose of teaching procedures is to structure the classroom environment. With clear structures in place for how all daily activities should proceed, classroom life will run more smoothly.  Therefore:

• discipline problems will be fewer,
• the classroom atmosphere will be more pleasant for everyone,
• learning will increase because there will be more time for academic focus, and;
• as paradoxical as it might sound, you’ll be better able to do activities/project that involve the students having freedom; you will have  taught them how to handle freedom.

The goals are for all students to know:

1. What it is you want them to do during every regular activity of the day, and;
2. Exactly how you want them to do these things.

Think of teaching procedures as developing good habits in your students.  This is especially important for students who might typically be labeled as “behavior problems.”  Although on the surface it looks as if you are only training them to do chores, you are actually doing something far more important––you’re training them how to operate in your classroom at Level C. In plain English, this means that you are training them to be well-behaved.  Less proactive teachers don’t do this and suffer the consequences; they are continually reacting to misbehavior.

Of course, it’s impossible to plan ahead for every single thing that’s going to arise in the course of a day, but the beauty of this approach is that if you have established and taught procedures for most of the things that happen routinely, the kids get used to operating on Level C.  When students are used to operating on Level C, they often rise to the occasion when something out of the ordinary happens––they don’t fall apart in the same way that students do with a reactive teacher in a disorganized classroom.  In other words, the students start to become self-disciplined.

Over the course of the next month, I would suggest that you start a running list of all the activities that you and your students will be doing in the classroom during a regular day/week. Leave lots of space between items and just keep adding to the list as you think of more things.

Here are some examples:

• Coming in to the Classroom
• Being in the Coatroom
• Getting Ready for Snack
• Going to the Carpet or Calendar Area
• Calendar Activities
• Using the Washroom
• Getting Drinks
• Traveling through the Hallways
• Using the Computer Lab
• Eating Lunch/Snacks
• Going Outside for Playtime
• Using classroom supplies
• Organizing/Cleaning Desks and Personal Supplies
• Handing out Papers/Notebooks
• Getting Kleenex When Needed
• Classroom Chores (Watering plants/stacking chairs etc.)
• Listening to Directions
• Class meetings
• Fire Drills
• Earthquake Drills
• Attending School Assemblies
• Handling Spare Time (What do I do when I’m finished?)
• Wise Use of Class Time
• Big Buddy Time (if you partner up with an older grade)
• Sharpening Pencils
• Dealing with Trash/Recycling
• Use and Exchange of Books (free reading, leveled readers, library books, etc. etc.)
• Going to the Gym
• Outdoor Play Equipment (Balls, Skipping Ropes)
• Home Reading
• Painting
• Return of Permission Slips, Money etc.
• Dealing with An Unexpected Knock on the Door or a Phone Call.
• Getting Everyone’s Attention
• Asking for Help
• Speaking in a Class Discussion
• Spills (of Juice/Painting Water etc.)
• Show and Tell

Likely your list will go on and on and still you won’t be able to think of everything that will come up–especially in your first year of teaching!  But just keep in mind that the more things you have on your list, the fewer discipline problems you will have.  Silly as it might seem, it’s worth doing.

Then under each category heading, start to brainstorm procedures that you want to proactively teach your students.  Again, the more procedures you can list under each topic, the more confidently you will be able to teach.  The better you teach, the better behaved the kids will be!

Keep in mind that every teacher’s procedures will be different, so there’s no right way to do things.  Just think of how you want to do things in your class.  Ask lots of experienced teachers for their suggestions.

Another important thing to realize is that every procedure needs to be practiced at least EIGHT times for it to sink into the minds of all students. (See this link for more information.)  That’s a daunting task!  In the first days and weeks of school, in a grade one classroom, you’ll actually be doing little beyond teaching procedures.  Don’t be worried about this––just keep teaching procedures! Bit by bit you will soon start to notice the benefit of it.

Every time you move to a new activity––small and insignificant as it might seem––start by teaching little procedures.  The students will learn to behave themselves and in the long run you’ll be able to move on to more content!

Some related postings:

Can you give me examples of procedures for Show and Tell?

The most effective procedures are those that are carefully planned and explicitly taught.

I need help to establish procedures in the computer lab.

Difficulties on the first day of school.

Typically it hangs at the front of the room where it’s highly visible and also easy to grab.  From there we can carry it to other places in the room as needed.  We might take it to the carpet/calendar area or to any space where an individual child or group of children would benefit from a DWS discussion. We find that frequent references to the Hierarchy (in relation to something that is happening in the moment,) is the secret to motivating the students in our class to want to aim for those higher levels.  If the Hierarchy is always within reach, we tend to be more proactive with it as well, using it before activities as a motivational tool.

Our portable Hierarchy actually looks much like a traffic light, although the colors are reversed from a real one (with green on top, yellow in the center and red on the bottom.)  Because it looks similar to a traffic light, I actually almost hesitate to mention it.  Traffic light symbols are often used in external reward systems and I don’t like people to think that those types of discipline plans have anything to do with the DWS approach.  However, I find this small Hierarchy to be such a valuable teaching tool that I wanted to share the idea.

Here is what it looks like:

We write the names of the four levels of the Hierarchy on three circles and arrange them in a hierarchy.

At the top, in the green circle, we have written:  Democracy.

In the middle, in the yellow circle, we have written:  Cooperation/Conformity.

At the bottom, in the red circle we have written two levels:  Bullying/Bossing, and underneath that (but still within the same red circle,) Anarchy.

When arranged as above, the colors on this portable Hierarchy correspond very well to the meanings of the colors on a true traffic light.

• Green on a traffic light means “GO.”  In DWS, the highest level of the Hierarchy, Democracy, is always the goal.  Therefore, any time you are acting on this highest level, what you do is acceptable and appropriate.  When operating on D Level, it’s as if you should feel free to “GO AHEAD with this choice”.

• On a traffic light yellow is the color of “CAUTION.”  This is exactly the understanding we want children to gain about Level C.  Operation on Level C indicates that you are being motivated EXTERNALLY; making choices (about actions, decisions, behavior etc.,) based on something outside of yourself.  Whenever decisions are made based on something EXTERNAL, caution is advised.  In other words, it’s always wise to consider questions such as the following when you decide to operate on Level C: “Who am I following?”, “Where am I being led?”, “Does the person I am following have my best interests at heart?”

• On a traffic light, red has a very clear meaning––“STOP!”  This corresponds very well to the understanding we want children to have about the lowest two levels of the Hierarchy. Both Levels A and B  (Anarchy and Bossing/Bullying) are unacceptable.  If you are operating on either of those levels, then there’s no question about it––you need to STOP.

Some related postings:

What are the most important things to understand about the DWS Hierarchy?

I need concrete examples of each level.

I usually involve the students in the creation of classroom rules.  To me, we are just agreeing upon how we can make our classroom a safe and fun place to be. I don’t know if it’s really so different from a DWS approach of having procedures, but “no rules.”  Isn’t this just a matter of semantics?

RESPONSE:

My teaching partner and I used to have “classroom rules” and like you, we routinely planned a time for kids to create the rules on the first day of school. In my experience this approach produced a different type of thinking within my own mind than the mindset created when I started to experiment with “procedures” rather than rules.  For me, the semantics that you refer to did make a difference in my own mind––a big difference.

I find I’m much more positive in my own mind when I purposely view “misbehavior” as coming from “someone who didn’t learn the procedure,” as when I perceive the same “misbehavior” coming from “someone who’s not following the rules.” Having tried both ways, I find I greatly prefer teaching from the “procedures mindset.”  I find it a more relaxing and positive approach to working with people. It puts me in a “teaching frame of mind,” rather than a “find a consequence for breaking the rule frame of mind.” This may not be the same for everyone, but it’s true for me.

The procedures mindset has also greatly focused me on the need for repetition of any one procedure (which might be identical to a particular “rule” I used to have before.) This made it possible for me to feel more in control of making my classroom run smoothly.

With a “rules mindset,” I didn’t have a good understanding of this issue. Although I always taught routines, I didn’t teach them well enough or provide enough practice to make them automatic for every child. Reading the DWS information, which referred me to Harry Wong’s book on classroom management, I found the following statements attributed to research by Madeline Hunter:

• For a child to learn something new, you need to repeat it on the average 8 times.

• For a child to unlearn an old behavior and replace it with a new behavior you need to repeat the new behavior on the average 28 times.

• 20 of those times are used to eliminate the old behavior and 8 of the times are used to learn the new behavior.

For the first time I began to see how the practice of teaching procedures would allow me to reach every child.  I could help the most challenged students become more successful in my classroom. It also helped me to understand the value of thinking out my class procedures clearly––before I taught them the first time!

One more understanding I adopted from my reading of Marvin Marshall’s book, was that creating procedures and standards (what I used to think of as “rules,”) is the responsibility of the teacher, not the students. Although this was somewhat of a startling idea for me, it rang true.

Marshall’s view is that classroom management is the responsibility of the teacher––whereas discipline (in the sense of a child being in charge of their own behavior,) is the responsibility of the student. In DWS, the teacher creates the procedures, because that’s the job they’ve signed on to do––to lead, to structure the room for learning etc. He says that that is not the job of the child.  The job of the child is to make choices about their own behavior.

If I think back to the days when I did have kids help create the rules, it wasn’t that I ever really intended to give them power to help create the rules at all––because I usually had several rules in my own mind already before the first day of school. (In fact, I often had a chart all prepared that I could whip out once “we’d finished creating the rules together.”) If a child came up with a rule I didn’t like, or didn’t think was reasonable or important, I didn’t allow that rule to stand. I manipulated the conversation to come around to what I had in my own mind anyway. So, when I thought about it, I realized that since the kids didn’t really create the rules at all, what was the point in my pretending that they did? Now that I have this clear in my own mind, it has made me a more confident teacher with a greater understanding of my own role in the classroom.

So these days, I create procedures rather than rules. By teaching my procedures well, I instill my expectations (I expect that they will follow the procedures I have taught.) By teaching the procedures thoroughly (8 or maybe more times for the most challenging children,) I am actually teaching students how to be well-behaved in my classroom––because some children really don’t know how. By following the procedures I teach, a child knows exactly what it means to be well-behaved.

Now, when it comes to discipline, that’s a different issue. Kids are responsible for their own discipline. Why? Because I can’t control another person, so it makes sense that each student has to be in charge of their own behavior. That’s the goal in DWS––to teach kids about self-discipline, and the results of being self-disciplined (or not.) But that’s getting off track from our conversation here!

So, in part, it might be semantics, but in part, definitely not. That’s my personal experience anyway.

A related article by Dr. Marshall:

Rules vs. Expectations

I’ve read the DWS book and understand the point of internal being more important that external. However, I teach in a self-contained class with kids that are moderately cognitively delayed. I will have kids with autism and some with oppositional defiant disorder too. They will not have internal motivation for a while (they CAN get it, for sure, but I do worry about the meantime.) Currently I use a level system and there are privileges on each level. I’ve also been reading DWS and Love and Logic just to help me pump up the positive and put more responsiblity on the students. I already do this stuff quite a bit, and it is the way I raise my own children.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

RESPONSE:

I want to encourage you in your efforts with challenging students! I think you seem very realistic about your teaching situation and are not going into this naively. You understand that it will naturally take longer for your students to become self-disciplined; each one has special needs. Nonetheless, you see the value in going this more challenging teaching route.  Your students are bound to greatly benefit from your vision and patience! I take my hat off to you!

If you already raise your own children from the belief that it’s far more beneficial to be internally motivated in life (as opposed to thinking the world should prompt you into action or that you should receive something from  others as a result of your actions,)  you are probably able to see that “steps in the right direction” are incredibly valuable.  Best wishes!

Further related postings can be found at this link:

Sound too complicated for little kids?  Actually the concept of choice-response thinking is pretty simple:

As human beings, we always have a choice in how we respond to other people, events, situations––and even to our own impulses.

In his book, Discipline without Stress, Punishments or Rewards, Dr. Marshall explains:

Because we have the freedom to choose our responses, we are responsible for our own choices (behaviors).  By teaching young people that they choose their own behaviors, they begin to become conscious of the fact that no one else chooses their behaviors for them.  Choice-response thinking encourages self-control and responsibility.  In addition, having young people become aware of choice-response thinking can have a liberating effect, especially with those who feel they are helpless or victims.

Recently I found a wonderful picture book that could be used to introduce the concept of choice-response thinking to very young students, PreK-Grade 2.

“Pete the Cat,” is written by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean.

Pete is a happy-go-lucky cat who seems to innately understand the wisdom of choice-response thinking!  Pete really gets it!  He understands that by choosing his responses to seemingly negative situations, he can also choose to live a happy life!  You know the type––Pete’s the guy who makes lemonade when handed a bunch of lemons!

The story begins with Pete proudly walking down the street in his flashy new white shoes.  By the enthusiastic song that he sings, it’s obvious to the reader that Pete LOVES his new white shoes.  What happens next? (and again? and again? and again?)  Pete absent-mindedly and repeatedly manages to step in big MESSES!

To a less conscious cat than Pete, this might spell disaster––new white shoes unexpectedly stained red!  (then blue… then brown… you get the picture!) But Pete never skips a beat in his response to negativity!  He calmly deals with each situation as it occurs.  Every time he encounters a “problem,” he simply decides to change his perception of the situation.  After each “disaster,” we know that Pete has made a decision to remain in a happy state, because immediately he starts singing a new song. “I love my red shoes! I love my brown shoes!” belts out Pete.

By the end of the book, it’s obvious (even to very young people,) that CHOOSING a positive response to a negative situation has a great benefit;  Pete retains control over his own happiness.  A “victimhood thinker,” he is not!  What a great role-model for us all!

Watch the author, Eric Litwin, present Pete the Cat to an audience of enthusiastic youngsters.  (The publisher, Harper Collins offers a free download of the song and video soundtrack on its website.)

In addition to using this book to support the introduction of DWS, here are some other lesson possibilities for Pete the Cat:

• It’s a perfect story to introduce/reinforce the literary concept of a “circular journey.”  The book begins with Pete in white shoes––and then as you might guess––by the end of the story, Pete’s shoes are white once again!  Here is a link to a lesson plan for teaching the concept of a “circle story,” and another link to an example of a graphic organizer that could be used with students as a follow-up activity.
• Another obvious opportunity is to read this book as part of a study of colors or color words.
• Many primary teachers like to take advantage of books with repetitive story lines because they create starting points for students to make take-off pages of their own.  Scroll down on this link from the publisher’s website to a couple of blackline masters of Pete and his shoe.  Although these sheets are intended to be used as part of a game, they could easily be adapted to suit the purpose of creating a class take-off book too.

Have fun with this book!  Perhaps, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself robustly singing “I love my white shoes!” at odd moments of the day!

Click for some related postings:

I’m hoping to find a list of picture books to introduce the four DWS levels.

What is the correct way to introduce the Hierarchy?