Playworks and Fair Play

A few months ago, I would have had no clue how to integrate fair play into the classroom. I understand what it is and my students understand what it is, but I was at a loss regarding how to making it meaningful. Writing is a love of mine, so being about to encourage students to write about a given topic is something I love to do. Since my 3rd grade students are still testing the writing waters, our primary focus was not on the outcome of the writing piece but the process we go through. The standards I planned to address were:

  3.W.4 - With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (salient) 3.W.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. 

Our Playworks leader has done a wonderful job teaching the students about following the rules and fair play. So in class before we even started our writing piece, we watch our mentor's video and examples and then engaged in team discussions (huddles) in order to make connections between the two. There were even connections they found in our community building prior to the implementation of a Playworks schedule at the beginning of the year. Here is what the students highlighted:

 Respect: Treating others the way you want to be treated
Integrity: What would I do if Ms. Foster was here?
Empathy: How does someone else feel?
Inclusion: Let's all play Fair play:
Follow the rules to have fun.

 Much of this was mentioned in the video as well as being taught by Coach Jen and reinforced by our awesome Junior Coaches. It made it so much easier for the students to know what to look for when they when to recess or went home for the day. 

After recess, we had 15 minutes of quiet time for students to brainstorm and discuss what was seen at recess (or in other places so long as it was recent). After a brief discussion, students recorded examples of fair play and respect in their thinking map. Once the students had solid ideas, we continued to move through the writing process right through to our rough drafts and final copies.

The best thing about this lesson was watching and listening to the students realizations that the things they learned in the classroom and during their recess/Playworks time was being practiced by an adult in the 'real world.' Many times students will go through the motions without really understanding why. I am seeing light bulbs go off in their eyes constantly! I will be revisiting fair play and respect constantly thanks to our biweekly Playworks time, however, I will definitely be checking in with random students in regards to the fun games they play at recess.

More info on PlayWorks!

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