Article November 24, 2008 Issue

SHOWERS OF PRAISE

BY MIRIAM LOHMANN

FIVE BIG RED HEARTS hang on a wall of my classroom. On each I've written the name of one of my students who on that particular day gets "showered" with praise by his or her classmates and me.

Whenever I notice something in that child's behavior that's worth praising, I draw a small black heart on the big red one. And whenever the child's classmates notice something praiseworthy, they make a heart shape with their fingers and hold their hands up high over their heads. Immediately everyone stops what they're doing, and we all listen to the compliment given. And again, I draw a small black heart on the big red one for every word of praise.

"I feel like a movie star!" one child said, who'd just recently received such a shower of praise.

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