Pay it Forward

Each year, I read the novel Rules by Cynthia Lord aloud as a mentor text for my character analysis unit.  This book is about a girl named Catherine who has a brother with autism.  It focuses on the struggles she faces because of her brother's differences.  Catherine befriends a boy in a wheelchair, whom she treats just like "any other boy".  This book allows me discuss the importance of being a good friend and the power of giving back to our community.  Each fall, I'm excited to launch the "Pay it Forward" project.

This past Friday, I introduced the project, and my students were so eager to get started!  I give the students a list of random acts of kindness that they could perform on their own, but it's always fun to do a team service project as well.  This year, since my students and I have LOVED Kid President so much, I figured we'd hop on board with his Socktober campaign.

My team's four language arts and social studies classes will be competing to see who can bring in the most socks and/or food items for the Mason Food Pantry by the end of October.   I can't wait to see what a difference my students will make in our community!