thoughts from the 5th grade side of things
So I thought I would share a selection of sentences from my students with you. Every day I put a writing prompt on the board for them to respond to. Their answers are really interesting windows into the minds of 5th graders and how they see the world.
Prompt: The pledge talks about "justice for all." What is justice? What does it mean when it says "for all"? Can you think of any examples of justice applies to everyone?
"Justice is like freedom because if you have justice, you will also have freedom."
(It was interesting how at least half of my kids in some way equated justice with freedom or liberty.)
"I think justice means it has respect. Everyone has justice in America because they are all treated equally."
"Justice is
1. Not being mean to someone just because they're a different color, race, age, etc.
2. Not having segregation for blacks.
3. Not have blacks as slaves....
'For all' means that everyone has a say so in one thing or another."
"Justice is fairness. Some ways that everyone has justice are everyone has to obey the same laws. Also, everyone has to have a driver's license to drive. 'For all' means for everyone. It does not mean for one person."
"Justice is freedom. Everyone is free. There is no slavery in America."
(If you're wondering why the references to slavery and not to the Civil Rights Movement, that's because they haven't learned about it, yet. This will change in February. :-D Most of my students are genuinely shocked to learn about segregation, and thankfully, cannot comprehend how anyone thought it was a reasonable or good idea.)
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Prompt: The Sumerians invented the first form of writing using symbols. This allowed their scribes to write about things in everyday life. What if writing had never been invented? How would your life be different? How would history be different?
"If writing was never invented no one would be able to read. No one would have a good education. History would be different because we would not know how people in the old days lived....There would be no history."
"It definitely would be different without writing. You wouldn't be able to write your friends and family notes....History would be very different. there would be documents that hadn't been written. That could effect things even now."
"History would be different because there would be no famous writers or poets."
(There was an interesting (and slightly unsurprising) divide between students who mentioned that without writing there would be no important books or writers and students who mentioned there would be less/no school and less/no schoolwork. haha
At least 10 of my students mentioned the Declaration of Independence when mentioning the negative consequences of the Sumerians never inventing writing. It might have helped that we had recently read a story set in the colonies. :-P)
"My life would be different because I couldn't write about how I feel as the days come and go....I wouldn't be writing this assignment [clever child]."
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Prompt: What is the most important thing a person can do in life? Why is that thing important?
"The most important thing is that everyone tells the truth. If people don't tell the truth, it complicates things."
"The most important thing a person could do in their life is probably being kind."
"The most important thing a person can do with their life is they can be kind to others. They can help people. They can do things for other people."
"I think the most important thing a person can do is recycle."
"The most important thing a person can do in their life is to get a good education so they can take care of their family."
(Of course, as I teach at a Christian school, there were a number of responses that discussed salvation or trusting God or telling others about God as the most important thing. I didn't mention them because, well, that is the "expected answer." I'm sure the students are sincere, but it isn't an interesting or particularly informative answer. I found these others more intriguing. What I found interesting was that almost every response had to do with others rather than self. I can only hope to encourage that type of thinking.)
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Last one for today:
Do you think parents should have to have a license to have children? Why or why not? What kind of requirements do you think a "parent license" might have?
Requirements:
"To be safe and know what you're doing."
"They are over a certain age, ...that you will take care of the child,...you must have the money or supplies to take care of your child."
"I think you should have a parent license when you are 20. Some teenagers are having babies already. So you should get it when you are 20. If you have babies when are a teenager, you will not know what to do."
"Some requirements for a parent license might be a test to see if you can handle a child."
Two students said "to be kind and gentle" might be requirements.
(These answers were interesting as several children were unable to completely divorce the idea of "license" from driving a car, and answered the question in that light. It is also telling that every one that did felt having a car was vital to the rearing of children. That definitely speaks to ubiquity of the car-ownership paradigm here. I did have one child mention the bus and walking, but knowing her parents, that isn't surprising. I have never seen the child or her siblings with anything other than a reusable water bottle. +1 At any rate, the results were rather split, though everyone was concerned about parents having the ability and capability to properly care for children.)
And there's your day's lesson on the 5th grade mind. :-D They really are an interesting lot.