Lesson Plan

Thinking, Feeling, and Daydreaming

  • Students will identify specific thoughts and feelings that arise throughout the school day.
  • Students will form inferences about their needs as a learner based on thoughts and feelings that arise throughout the school day.

Much of Decision Education relies on students’ ability to think metacognitively – to notice and reflect on their thinking process. This lesson introduces young children to the concept of metacognition, and how it can support their learning and growth as students. This lesson would be particularly helpful at the beginning of the school year, as you’re establishing classroom routines, building independence, and potentially introducing flexibility in the learning environment.

VAR.5 – Practice and demonstrate self-awareness of thought processes and behavior.

What to look and listen for:

  • Are students expressing awareness of individual thoughts and/or thought patterns?
  • Are students demonstrating awareness of when, where, and/or how they do their best learning?
  • Can students make connections between their thoughts, feelings, and learning?

Lesson:

Engage (15-20 minutes):

During morning meeting, read “That Was Some Daydream” from Nobody is Perfick by Bernard Waber and lead a brief discussion on how the character in the story demonstrates awareness of her thought patterns and feelings.

Suggested Prompts & Questions:

  • Pre-Reading: Let’s read a short story about a girl who daydreams. What is daydreaming? Do you daydream? When? Where? Noticing and reflecting on the thoughts happening in your own brain in called metacognition. While I’m reading, listen to how the character notices the thoughts happening in her own brain. It’s a funny, silly story, but it also can help us as learners.
  • Post-Reading: Oh no! What happened? What did she notice about her thoughts? What did she do to try to control her thoughts? What do you do if you start daydreaming or get distracted?

Ask your students to notice their own thoughts and feelings that arise throughout the day, and how paying attention to those thoughts and feelings can help us understand ourselves as learners.

 

Apply (10-15 minutes):

Throughout the day, engage briefly with your students as they work, as they move around the classroom, and maybe get distracted. Use the prompts to guide brief reflections and build consciousness of their thoughts and feelings.

Suggested Prompts & Questions:

  • Have you noticed any thoughts or feelings passing through your mind?
  • What might have caused that thought/feeling? What might that tell you?

 

Reflect (10-15 minutes):

Before lunch and again at the end of the day, ask your students to share what they’ve noticed about their thoughts and feelings throughout the day, and what that might tell them about how they learn best at school.

Suggested Questions:

  • What thoughts and feelings did you notice today?
  • What might have caused them?
  • Did you find yourself daydreaming at all?
  • How can noticing our thoughts and feelings help us throughout the day?

Differentiation:

Show pictures and/or video clips, in addition to the story, to build an understanding of metacognition.

Partner students with strong academic skills with students who have strong social skills, as they might be able to support each other in building self-awareness.

Optional extensions:

Repeat this lesson over the course of a few days to allow students to build awareness of thought, and notice how thoughts change in different contexts.

Build in opportunities for students to draw or write about thoughts they noticed throughout the day. This can be fun, and give insight into their likes and dislikes, learning styles, and potential distractions.

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