| Covey's 8 Habits of Highly Effective People |
Stephen Covey's Eight Habits of Highly Effective People
This year, in addition to the IB attitudes and learning profile, the students will be learning about Steven Covey?s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Although it seems like a lot of new information for students to process, these are simple reminders that we will use throughout the year to help the students be responsible, proactive learners.
Covey Beads
Each of the Covey goals will be designated a certain color. When I notice the students practicing certain goals, I will add that color to the group jar. When the jar is full, the students will be rewarded with an agreed-upon incentive (such as a popsicle party, pajama day, etc.)
Here is a brief overview of the seven habits, along with some examples of how these words will be used in the classroom:
Be Proactive: Students can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to how they respond to certain things. When you are reactive, you blame other people and circumstances for obstacles or problems. Being PROACTIVE means taking responsibility for every aspect of your life: friends, homework, behavior on the playground, etc. Students learn to think about their responses to situations.
Example: Billy knows that he will lose 10 points for not finishing his homework by tomorrow morning. Instead of losing the ten points, he decides to finish his homework before he goes to piano lessons in case he doesn?t have time after.
Begin with the End in Mind: This involves setting long-term goals. The students will learn a lot about this by using their data notebooks. Students can set goals for different academic areas and decide how they are going to reach these goals. Each quarter, we will reflect on how these goals were met or what we can do to meet them by the next quarter.
Example: Susie scored a 564 on this quarters SRI test. She set a goal to reach 630 by the end of next quarter. In order to achieve this goal, Susie knows she needs to read 20 minutes every night to improve her reading skills.
Put First Things First: Prioritize and do the most important things first. We will talk a lot about time management, especially when it comes to homework.
Example: Jimmy has math and spelling homework tonight, but he wants to play outside with his friends. He?ll put first things first by finishing his homework before he goes outside.
Think Win/Win: This goal will help strengthen our relationships with our peers. This goal helps to promote a win-win attitude.
Example: Both Holly and Sara need to use the computer to finish an assignment, but there is only one computer available. Holly and Sara decide that if they each use the computer for only ten minutes, both of them can get their assignment done.
Seek First to Understand, and then to be Understood: This will also help manage relationships among peers. This will help to encourage students to LISTEN to one another first, repeat what the other student said, and then give their response.
Example: Peter and Michael get into an argument on the playground. They usually play together but today Peter played with Nick instead. Michael?s feelings were hurt. Instead of yelling at one another, the boys talk about it. Peter explains that he wanted to play the game that Nick was playing instead of the game Michael played. Michael lets Peter know that he understands why he played with Nick, and then tells him that he would have liked to play too. Instead of an argument,, both boys got to explain their feelings, and decide that they will all play together tomorrow.
Synergize: This goal will encourage students to work together. In our classroom, we do a lot of group work. Students will learn that when they synergize and work together they will accomplish more than could have on their own.
Example: Melissa, Joe, and Steve have to make a poster to explain the branches of government for social studies. They decide that if they each choose a branch to research, they?ll be able to gather information faster than if they?d look each of them up together.
Sharpen the Saw: This refers to balancing work and play. Everyone needs time to relax and renew their energy. This habit reminds students to take time to play outside and engage in activities for fun! Although we?ll be doing a lot of work this year, we will also take time to sharpen the saw and reward ourselves for all of our hard work!
Example: The students earned enough beads in the Covey Habit jar to earn a popsicle party. It means that the students practiced all of these goals effectively and filled up our bead jar. They will be rewarded by taking a few minutes out of the day to enjoy a well-deserved treat!
This is the eighth habit that has been recently added to the list:
Find Your Voice: I encourage this goal often! When the students present work to the class I encourage them all to use their loud, proud, sharing voice!
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