I have a little tradition in my classroom that I've been doing for years at the end of the day. It's called "High/ Low". (In some circles, it can be called "Rose and Thorn.")
It's when we reflect on our day and decide what the best part was and what the most challenging part was.
I got the idea from an old romantic comedy starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer called The Story of Us.
It's a cute movie about a married couple with two children who are struggling with their marriage. Every evening at dinner, the family shares their highs and lows of the day. That got me thinking about ending the day in the classroom the same way. I tried it, and it worked out better than expected!
Sometimes
people ask me why I let the kids focus on their low of the day... don't
I want them to be positive? Well, yes, of course I want them to be
positive, but sometimes they have something that is bugging them, and it
makes them feel better to get it out. (Just like the rest of us!)
Besides, it helps me know what's going on in the classroom. (And even
though they don't mention names, I usually know exactly who they're
talking about, and can address it privately later!)
In the beginning, there's usually plenty of modeling on my part. My high might be about a class success that day: "I was proud when the class got a good report from the art teacher," or "Everyone caught on to adding hundreds today!" Sometimes, it's an individual success: "John turned 8 years old today," or "Mary has a brand new baby brother."
I'm particularly careful to model what a low would sound like since I don't want this to be the focus, and I want them to know I care about them. It might sound something like this: "Fred was out sick today," "Fran got hurt on the playground today," or maybe "Someone hurt George's feelings." More than anything, it's important to model positive feelings.
This is when you learn about your students and build those important relationships.
The High/ Low of the Day usually works best at the end of the day. However, it can be used in the morning for special events, such as the High/ Low of the month, the High/ Low of vacation, the High/ Low of a holiday, the High/ Low of a test, and so on!
Here's another blog post about how I do High/ Low by having the children hold a Beanie Baby when it's their turn, then tossing the Beanie to the next person: How to Have Them Happy When They Walk Out of the Classroom.
