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By Brad Fulton Educator of the Year, 2005 b r a d @ t t t p r e s s . c o m

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Known throughout the country for motivating and engaging teachers and students, Brad has co-authored over a dozen books that provide easy-to-teach yet mathematically rich activities for busy teachers while teaching full time for over 30 years. In addition, he has co-authored over 40 teacher training manuals full of activities and ideas that help teachers who believe mathematics must be both meaningful and powerful.

Seminar leader and trainer of mathematics teachers ♦ 2005 California League of Middle Schools Educator of the Year ♦ California Math Council and NCTM national featured presenter ♦ Lead trainer for summer teacher training institutes ♦ Trainer/consultant for district, county, regional, and national workshops

Author and co-author of mathematics curriculum ♦ Simply Great Math Activities series: six books covering all major strands ♦ Angle On Geometry Program: over 400 pages of research-‐based geometry instruction ♦ Math Discoveries series: bringing math alive for students in middle schools ♦ Teacher training seminar materials handbooks for elementary, middle, and secondary school

Available for workshops, keynote addresses, and conferences All workshops provide participants with complete, ready-‐to-‐use activities that require minimal preparation and give clear and specific directions. Participants also receive journal prompts, homework suggestions, and ideas for extensions and assessment. Brad's math activities are the best I've seen in 38 years of teaching! Wayne Dequer, 7th grade math teacher, Arcadia, CA “I can't begin to tell you how much you have inspired me!” Sue Bonesteel, Math Dept. Chair, Phoenix, AZ “Your entire audience was fully involved in math!! When they chatted, they chatted math. Real thinking!” Brenda McGaffigan, principal, Santa Ana, CA “Absolutely engaging. I can teach algebra to second graders!” Lisa Fellers, teacher

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PO Box 233, Millville, CA 96062

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M i l e s t o n e s A Character Development Lesson

Overview:

I use this activity to end my 8th grade school year, but you could actually use it at any time or grade level. It’s a great way for students to show appreciation and affirmation for one another and recognize the positive character traits of each individual. The milestones make a great keepsake, and your students will reflect on their meaning for years to come.

Lesson duration: 2-3 class periods Procedure:

1. Prior to the lesson, I went to a creek near my house and gathered some smooth flat stones. The project requires three stones per student, but I gathered many spares as stacking the stones requires some trial and error. You could find stones at a local masonry supply center for a fairly low cost, but the creek had an even cheaper price. The stones should be rinsed to clean off any dirt or dust and then allowed to dry. Sort the stones into three groups of small, medium, and larger ones. I used student volunteers for this part, and this piqued their interest in the project.

2. Give each student a complete roster of your class. Explain that you want them to reflect on the character of each of their fellow students and write one word describing a positive aspect. The description should not be about anything physical but should describe their personality. Students will need some guidance on this. Encourage them to take their time and really think about the character of the person. Many of my students used vague terms such as “awesome” or “cool” that didn’t really describe anything specific about the student’s personality. They should write that one word next to the student’s name as shown here.

3. Once you have collected them, the good part starts. I looked at all the descriptors for each student to see if I saw any themes. For example, if a lot of people saw Angie as

Required Materials: ý Smooth, somewhat flat

stones ý Adhesive capable of

bonding stone ý Permanent marker Optional Materials: o Paper towels or paper

plates to protect surfaces o Urethane spray


an honest person that was the word I chose. I also made my own descriptors of each student, and sometimes I went with that.

4. Next I solicited the help of a couple of students who have much better penmanship than I do. Using the small set of stones, they wrote the name of each student on one side with a permanent marker, and then wrote the descriptive word on the other side.

5. Once these steps were done, I gathered the students and gave them each a paper plate. If you wish, you can explain the purpose of the project to them in your own way, or use the story I have included below. This story was the genesis of this project for my students.

Here is the story that I tell my 8th grade students at the end of the year: A few years ago I went backpacking at a national park. I had an old map that showed the location of a waterfall on a creek in the backcountry, but there was no waterfall or trail shown on the current map. I decided to spend the trip seeking this lost waterfall. I knew it was located about a half a mile upstream from my basecamp in a canyon, but despite my wanderings, I never found a route to it.

As I got ready to leave, I knelt beside a small stream at the edge of a meadow to fill my water bottle. I wondered how pure the water might be and was contemplating using my purifying tablets when I noticed a small opening in the brush on the other side of the stream. It looked like a rabbit trail or maybe an abandoned human trail. Had I not knelt down, I never would have seen the opening. Best of all, the trail was aimed directly in the direction that the map said I would find the waterfall.

Pushing through the brush, I indeed saw a trail pointing in a promising direction, and this was no game trail. It was a faint and forgotten path that hadn’t been used in years. Trying to pick out the overgrown trail was difficult, but I followed it as best I could until it finally disappeared. I stood in the forest gazing ahead for any signs of the trail that could lead me toward my goal, but it had been too long since other steps had passed that way. Then, way off in the distance, I saw it: three stacked stones. Called a rock cairn, I knew that these were used long, long ago to mark pathways. These stones pointed generally in the waterfall’s supposed location, veering only slightly to the right.

I hiked up to the stones and encountered remnants of trail as I went, but as I got to the cairn, the trail disappeared again. I thought about forging ahead on my own, assured that in a few minutes I would find the waterfall myself when again, off in the distance, I saw another marker. It was somewhat to the right of where I thought it should be, but it was unmistakable. Upon reaching that stack, another cairn appeared in view. I could never see more than one marker ahead at a time, but they were always there when I needed them. However,


they seemed to be gaining elevation in the canyon instead of heading downward toward the creek. I thought perhaps the trail moved upward around some obstacle before dropping down into the canyon, so in spite of my reasoning, I followed the signs. By now I estimated that I had travelled nearly a half-mile, but the markers kept moving me higher and higher along the canyon wall. I knew if cut off from the trail, I could find my destination on my own, but maybe I had not traveled far enough after all. I continued to follow the signs. After a few more markers though, I was sure I had passed up my destination, and I seriously considered leaving the pathway to strike out on my own, but the temptation of the cairns called me. Someone had placed these markers here for a reason; they must lead somewhere, so I hiked onward. By now I was thirsty, still carrying my empty water bottle, and the temptation to hike down the steep canyon toward the creek was strong. But I kept hiking three quarters of a mile, a mile, a mile and a half. And then the forest began to clear as the markers led me toward an opening. Stepping out of the forest at the final stack of stones, I found myself at the head of the canyon, and the stream was gushing full force from a wall of rock. This trail had led me to a spring of the most refreshing water I had ever tasted in my life.

* * * * *

Hiking back I considered the lesson I was had learned. I was willing to settle for less than perfect water from a possibly tainted

stream, and found instead the perfectly refreshing water. I was willing to ignore the markers and strike out on my

own convinced that I knew best. How many times have I thought I knew where I wanted to go, had a goal of my own choosing, and perhaps

missed an even greater opportunity by ignoring the signs by not trusting the guidance of those who have gone before me? I almost missed my calling as a teacher by pursuing a different career that I would have liked but never have loved as I do teaching. As I returned on the trail immersed in these thoughts I had a different view on my life and also a

different view of the trail itself. And from this reversed view, I sighted the waterfall.

Then I tell my students this:

Many of you have been planning for this moment for many years. You think this is the end game, that all your years of work come down to this moment of graduation. You think that you have arrived at a destination. But this isn’t the end by any means; it is just a milestone on your journey. It just happened that we all met at this same milestone together. From here your pathways will diverge in countless directions. But be careful; you might go looking for a waterfall and miss something even better. I can’t tell where your pathway will take you; I can only tell you that there will be signs to watch for.


As a reminder of this day, of our time together, and of your journey ahead, I want you each to build a milestone. In your future you will face many important choices and many tough decisions. Make good choices, follow the signs of those who walked before you, look upon your milestone and remember what your fellow travelers said of you.

6. You may need tissues at this point in the lesson.

7. Each student should gather a large and a medium stone. Have the write their name on the bottom of the large stone. (This side will face downward so when the project is finished, their names are on them.)

8. Put some adhesive on the large stone and have them set their medium stone on top of it. I used Loctite Premium Construction Adhesive. It is strong, inexpensive, dries overnight, but can be difficult to clean off unwanted surfaces. That means it works.

9. Then put some adhesive on the top of the medium stone. (A parent or volunteer is helpful here.) I then selected one of the small stones, read the descriptive word on it, and announced the name of the recipient. “This stone says, ‘Honest’, and it goes to Angie.”

10. The adhesive should be allowed to dry completely before the students take them home.

11. If you wish, a coat of urethane spray (available in hardware stores) can be used to provide a shiny protective layer to the stones. They will appear to be wet if you use a glossy sheen.

12. Here is my finished class set.


If you liked this activity, you might also like some of the other character education lessons available in my TeachersPayTeachers store. Simply search for “Brad Fulton”.

You can also find many free and inexpensive resources on my personal website, www.tttpress.com. Be sure to subscribe to receive monthly newsletters, blogs, and activities. Similar activities include: • Safely Navigating Social Networks (DVD, tttpress) • The Seven Noble Tasks (Book, tttpress) • Getting to Know You (Project, TeachersPayTeachers)

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments or would like to discuss a staff development training or keynote address at your site.

Happy teaching,

Brad

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