GRADE 6 TERM 4 November 22 -26

Consider each solution

Listen to each person's suggested solution.

look at whether each possible solution solves the problem.

Compare solutions.

Which solution best suits the outcome you wish to achieve.

Rule out any solutions that don't suit.

Examine the consequences of the solution.

Discuss aspects with the decision makers. Talking is the best way to make a collective decision.

In ArtSEL, we are learning to solve a problem to help us avoid fighting, becoming aggressive or not fixing the problem. It’s called the action steps. There are 5 action steps.

1. Analyse the problem.

2. Brainstorm the different problem solving options to the problem..

3. Consider each option.

4. Decide on the best option and do it.

5. Evaluate whether it works or not.

The 1^st part

Is to analyse. To analyse means thinking really carefully about the problem. It is an investigation into a problem to identify cause and effect. When we analyse a situation it’s good to understand all people’s perspective in the problem. This is important to see how everyone is looking at the situation and it helps us to understand each other.

When we look at different people’s perspectives it avoids making assumptions or misunderstanding why people did what they did.

First, we need to clearly define the problem.

2nd we need evidence that the problem is real.

3rd what impact has this problem had on different people?

4th what were the causes of the problem?

5th recommended solutions.

We need to analyse problems so we can move on with our lives and make progress.

Problems can prevent us from succeeding in life.

Problem solving skills indicates a superior level of intelligence.

GRADE 6 TERM 4 October 25 - 29 October

Success Assassin

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. We do things intentionally or subconsciously that slow rather than advance our success. The first step in eliminating these bad behaviours is acknowledging them. Here are eight of the worst offenders.

1. Confusing busy with productive

“Don't mistake activity for achievement.”—John Wooden

Let’s face it, we can find enough work activities to keep us busy day, night and weekend. The question is: Are they the right things? Are we advancing or learning or gaining something beneficial?

It’s not the hours we put in or the number of items we're working on simultaneously that make us successful. Focus on the items that have impact. Don't confuse being busy with making progress. We measure our success on the busyness scale when in fact we should be evaluating our progress on the activities that will make the biggest impact on our goals. true success is the result of focused effort in pursuit of long-term goals.

2. Seeking perfection

“If we look for perfection,we'll never be content.”—Leo Tolstoy

In the world we live in, it’s a recipe for frustration and a giant waste of time. “The closest thing to perfection is the ability to be fully present. Without any distracting thoughts measuring or grading ourselves, we’re free to really be in the moment. It’s in that moment that we’re truly alive. Seeking perfection will stop you in your tracks.

3. Avoiding risk

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”—William Faulkner

You must take calculated risks that will help you learn and grow. Without risk, you stagnate while those around you flourish and advance. Evaluate risks based on their ability to help you reach your goals, then pursue the ones that give you the best opportunity to move forward.

4. Letting fear stop progress

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”—William G.T. Shedd

Fear can stop you in your tracks. It creates paralysis. It often ferments in the imagination, where negative images can become larger than reality. If fear is impacting your progress, start with a mindset shift. let fear become the fuel that helps you take a first important step.

5. Reacting vs. planning

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”—Alan Lakein

Successful people have a plan. They set their goals. They chart a course. They measure success and reassess regularly. Know your goals. At the end of each day, ask yourself what progress you have made on your goals.

6. Fixing weaknesses

“Over the years, I've learned that a confident person doesn't concentrate or focus on their weaknesses – they maximize their strengths.”—Joyce Meyer

Maximizing strengths is the most efficient way to put yourself on the path to success.

7. Going it alone

“The power of one, if fearless but the power of many working together is better.” —Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

The most accomplished people in the world surround themselves with a tribe and foster lifelong partnerships, participating in a community filled with intelligent brains.

8. Surrounding yourself with clones

“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”—Stephen R. Covey

The comfort that comes from being around people just like you has a negative side effect. It causes a blindness that forces us to see the world through an impossibly narrow focus. The most successful leaders surround themselves with a diverse group of people who challenge their thinking and actions.

GRADE 6 TERM 4 October 18 - 22

How to Stress Yourself Out

Getting stressed is pretty easy really. Most of us can manage it all by ourselves without any outside assistance. Just in case you need help in increasing your stress levels here are a few sure-fire tactics you can use.

SLEEP LESS

Not getting enough zzzs will make you cranky and wired. You need at least eight hours of sleep to function well. At times of pressure you may even need more.Sleep resets our hormone levels and protects us against stress and depression.

DRINK ENERGY DRINKS

Just one of these drinks elevates your levels of adrenaline (a stress hormone) to five times the normal level for five hours after drinking. These drinks are often high in caffeine, aspartame and sugars all of which increase your stress levels. Add to that eating a lot of junk food that is full of carbohydrates and you’ll have a brain that is not only stressed out, it will also feel sludgy and tired.

BE INACTIVE

Sitting around doing nothing can be great but if you are already a bit stressed, it will help the worries to build and circle like vultures.

ISOLATE YOURSELF

You’re a big powerful person right? You don’t need help from anyone else. Pretend that: no one else on earth has ever felt this way and they have no useful ideas that could help you in any way; and..even if you did ask them they wouldn’t care enough about you to help.When you are really stressed you can’t think straight, so trying to sort things out alone is one of the best ways to make sure your worries continue.

THINKING ABOUT THE OUTCOME NOT THE PROCESS

Focusing and worrying about tests, upcoming performances or future social situations will not only increase your stress, it will fill you with dread as well.

WORK HARDER

The logic here is that if working harder got you into this state, it is going to take even more hard work to get you out of it. This is crazy, but you want to feel stressed, this is a good way of going about it.

ESCAPE INTO COMPUTER GAMES

Playing computer games can be a good distraction.Play them for too long, say more than two hours, and you will end up feeling wired and listless.

TALK ABOUT BEING BUSY

We can talk ourselves into being stressed. Telling everyone how busy and tired you are becomes a way of increasing your own sense of being exhausted.

Now that we have learnt what it means to stress ourselves out, watch the video to practise being mindful and calm ourselves down.

GRADE 6 TERM 4 October 11 - 15

Rex and albert response

Sometimes people do silly things to things to avoid feeling anxious. People argue, fight, escape, avoid important deadlines, put off important task or become controlling to stop feeling anxious.

Albert

To simplify things a bit you have two brains. The first is the smart and creative brain that evolved most recently in humans. Now we could call the clever, creative, brilliant, wonderful, imaginative, fantastic and genius part of your brain the prefrontal cortex but in honour of Albert Einstein let’s call it “Albert”.

Rex

The second part of your brain evolved a long, long time ago and forms the bottom part of your brain. This part of your brain keeps you alive. It keeps your heart beating while you sleep. It keeps you at the right temperature. It does a lot of really important things. Infect this lower part of your brains contains 80% of your brain cells. It knows what frightens and threatens you and it is pretty much the same brain that dinosaurs had. Once this part of your brain detects a threat it acts as if it is a life or death issue, even if it isn’t.”.

Rex is very old, can get quite grumpy and isn’t very bright. Rex doesn’t use language. Rex doesn’t use logic much so he can’t be reasoned with. Also he is incredibly easy to distract.

Now we all like to think that our inner Albert runs the show. We are all reasonable, intelligent people in control of our own destinies, right? Wrong! Rex runs the show. At times Rex will listen to Albert but only if it is something Rex wants to hear.

For example, your inner Albert might decide to start new exercise program but if your inner Rex wants to lie in bed, I’d suggest you might not decide to run a marathon. If your inner Albert says “this issue isn’t worth worrying about” but Rex detects a threat, you’re likely to be up pacing the floorboards at 4am. Rex can save your life. If something were to attack you’ he would have you running away before Albert had even thought about it. Rex thinks the most urgent thing to do is always the most important thing to do.

You can get your inner Albert to take matters into hand but only if you distract Rex with something to keep him comfortable. Food, drink, sleep, rest, distractions all help Rex to settle for a while.

The problem for many of us, is that as soon as inner

Rex is feeling warm and snuggly we think the problem is solved and don’t put our inner Albert to work in sorting out the issue. Instead we take a break. Things are fine, we think, and they are until our disgruntled Rex roars back to life. Then we start feeling anxious again.

Now have a look at this list and put an R for a Rex strategy (what people actually do to lessen anxiety) or an A for an Albert strategy (things people can do to lessen anxiety).

_Give up energy drinks _Sleep less

_Exercise (even a 10 minute walk helps)

_Argue with parents

_Eat well - reduce salt, sugar and saturated fats

_Eat junk food

_Find someone who has the same worry and consider them to be an expert

_Get more sleep

_Avoid doing things

GRADE 6 TERM 4 October 4 - 8

Transition Program: Multiple intelligences

Transition Program: Multiple Intelligences.

In ArtSEL, we are starting a new unit on My Boundaries and Expectations. This week, we are learning about our multiple intelligences. We can work towards developing a growth mindset and overcome ways that may limit or sabotage our success.

How to identify your strengths

To unlock your genius you need to work out what you are already good at. Building upon strengths goes a lot further than fixing weaknesses.

You don’t need to be good at everything

The good news about the different areas of intelligence is that you don’t need to be a genius in every area.

To develop intelligence you need to know what you are good at and amplify those strengths. Intelligence is made up of many parts and not just limited to IQ and academic smarts.

Mapping My Pizza Smarts.

We will identify our strengths in a pizza ‘smarts’ chart. The pizza is divided into eight different slices, representing eight different types of intelligence. (Just remember, unless you’re an absolute genius, you’re never going to have full sized pizza slices in every section!)

These are all the smarts: Self Smart. People Smart. Music Smart. Body Smart. Picture Smart. Logic Smart. Word Smart. Your intelligence is like a multi-flavoured pizza. Some slices are large and bursting with ingredients while other slices are small and have hardly any bits on them at all. This is true for most of us.

Most people have never mapped their strengths. By outlining the shape of your pizza smarts, you are in a more powerful position to learn your strengths and to build on them.

Whether your pizza map is true or not, it shows you how you view yourself.

Some of you may have been too modest, others perhaps too confident. Think about what pizza smarts you have.

You could make your own Multiple Intelligences pizza chart.