On my drive into work this morning, I heard a great story on NPR about feeling grateful. This story was about research done by Doctor Paul Mills, a professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. Mills found that practicing gratitude can actually decrease feelings of depression, anxiety and stress, and lower your risk of heart disease. Just taking the time each day to think about, say or write the things you are thankful for can actually help you to live healthier. It makes sense that this time of year, with Thanksgiving coming on Thursday that we are thinking about gratitude and what we are thankful for, but I think we should make it a bigger part of every day, and not just for a longer life.
The other day I taught a lesson to a fourth grade class on citation. The kids have been doing a lot of research this quarter, and we wanted to make sure they were writing in their own words, citing where they found it, and not just copying. Every time we talked to the students about why we paraphrase, they always came back to things like, "it's stealing," "you could get in trouble," or "you are taking what is not yours." My cooperating librarian was hearing the same thing, and she pointed out that rather than making this about plagiarism and stealing, we needed to turn this lesson on it's head. So we did. We made it about gratitude.
The other day I taught a lesson to a fourth grade class on citation. The kids have been doing a lot of research this quarter, and we wanted to make sure they were writing in their own words, citing where they found it, and not just copying. Every time we talked to the students about why we paraphrase, they always came back to things like, "it's stealing," "you could get in trouble," or "you are taking what is not yours." My cooperating librarian was hearing the same thing, and she pointed out that rather than making this about plagiarism and stealing, we needed to turn this lesson on it's head. So we did. We made it about gratitude.
When you turn citation around so that it is about giving credit, saying thank you, and building on the knowledge of others, you are giving permission for kids to keep using the resources available to them. The last thing we want to happen is for students to avoid using resources in their research in order to avoid risking plagiarism. It is important for students to recognize that citation is as easy as pointing out who we are building our work off of. There are three messages we need to be reinforcing about the reasons for citing our sources:
1. We might want to find the resource again, so we need to write down all of the information that allows us to find it again.
2. We need to say thanks to the person who wrote the resource. It is just kind to say thanks to people who help us, and writers definitely help us by teaching us new things.
3. Just like we want our name put with the things we create, so do the authors of the resources we use. Everyone wants credit for their work.
1. We might want to find the resource again, so we need to write down all of the information that allows us to find it again.
2. We need to say thanks to the person who wrote the resource. It is just kind to say thanks to people who help us, and writers definitely help us by teaching us new things.
3. Just like we want our name put with the things we create, so do the authors of the resources we use. Everyone wants credit for their work.
In the vein of thinking about gratitude, I also spent some time today thinking about how we teach about Thanksgiving without relying on stereotypes of native people. The best way to show gratitude is with authentic portrayals of people the way they wish to be portrayed. The National Museum of the American Indian has created some lesson plans that could work to tell the story of how native people give thanks and what Thanksgiving truly is. American Indians in Children's Literature is also a great resource for making sure that in giving thanks and teaching about Native Americans, we are using the best sources and books.
I know that this Thanksgiving I am thankful that I have the opportunity to work with such amazing teachers and librarians, who show me every day exactly the kind of teacher librarian I want to be. I am thankful for the students in my school who remind me every day why I am working so hard to learn everything I can about being a librarian. Happy Thanksgiving!
I know that this Thanksgiving I am thankful that I have the opportunity to work with such amazing teachers and librarians, who show me every day exactly the kind of teacher librarian I want to be. I am thankful for the students in my school who remind me every day why I am working so hard to learn everything I can about being a librarian. Happy Thanksgiving!