Primary/Intermediate Book- “Miss Nelson is Missing”
This is a great book! I like to use it several months after I’ve taught all four levels of the DWS Hierarchy.
This story is especially valuable for discussing a concept from the DWS approach, that of “choosing your teacher.” In other words, when a student acts on a high level, the teacher is encouraged to respond in kind. When a student acts on a low level, again the teacher will be encouraged to respond in accordance with that choice. Levels A and B encourage a controlling response from a teacher. What great information to share with young kids who are just beginning their educational journey!
After I’ve read the story once and we’ve all enjoyed the laughs, I go back through the book again. We discuss that while the student characters in the book seem to be having a whale of a time operating at Level A, (throwing spitballs, being rude, refusing to do their school work etc.) they end up with results they don’t like. I focus my discussion on the fact that although these results are unexpected by the students in Miss Nelson’s class, they are actually quite predictable in terms of the DWS Hierarchy.
When people act on Level A, a bully often takes over––in this case, Miss Viola Swamp–– the mysterious teacher who arrives to replace sweet Miss Nelson. Later on in the story, as the students raise the level of their own behavior, the behavior of their teacher also rises. By the end of the story, the students are acting on an acceptable (eventually, even very high level,) which allows their teacher to do the same. The beloved Miss Nelson is able to return to the classroom. Naturally, everyone is happier!
This book allows me to introduce (at a primary level, using primary words) how we often act non-consciously. When we act without being aware of our intentions (that is, without being clear about what we really want,) we often end up with results that make us unhappy. In this story of Miss Nelson, the students never do connect their own behavior to that of their teacher––that’s what provides the humor in the story––but in real life it’s very valuable for us to become more conscious about our own choices so that we can end up with life results that please us.
That’s what DWS is all about––using the Hierarchy to assess our own choices so that we can choose with awareness (and therefore, most wisely) in our own lives. Assessing the choices of book characters allows students to practice this skill and at the same time get more deeply involved in books they read.
Additional posts on the same topic:
Choose Your Teacher – Just For the Day!
How Do Students Benefit from Operating on Levels C and D?
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Posted In: Connections to Literature
posted On: July 14, 2009: 10:09 am: By Kerry Weisner
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