Thursday, March 16, 2023

Friendly Conflict

As the sixth grade writers prepare to write and illustrate children's books, today we took a deep dive into conflict. In anticipation of reading The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Drew Daywalt, as a mentor text, the warm up question was What do you usually throw in Rock, Paper, Scissors?

"I can't answer that!" one student insisted. "Everyone will know my strategy!"

"Only if you answer honestly," the kid next to him pointed out. "That's a strategy!"

At the end of the day, everyone answered and rock was by far the most popular, followed by scissors, and paper. "I never throw paper!" scoffed a boy in my first period class. "It's useless!"

He went on to win the RPS tournament we had as a brain break. I watched him carefully as he made his way through the brackets to victory. "You weren't kidding," I marveled as we crowned him champion and awarded him with a Jolly Rancher. "You never put out paper once!"

"It's useless," he shrugged.

7 comments:

  1. ThelifeofamomteacherandwifeMarch 16, 2023 at 6:50 PM

    This is one of my favorite books! I love sharing it with my class and it always results in a tournament. I love your students' responses.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haha! Love this - I always get so nervous in RPS! Love that someone else uses jolly ranches, too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, noted! What happens if we all adopt that strategy?

    ReplyDelete
  4. It was so fun reading this slice! I really felt like I was there with your students.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I will remember this strategy - I'm like Nicole above, I get nervous and it trips me up every time. :) Lovely glimpse into your classroom.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I never thought about which move was the best strategy. Good to know. No paper!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your posts are delightful trips down memory lane for me. I always enjoyed being in your classes! - Enid

    ReplyDelete