I have done One Little Word myself for probably 10 years now. It’s where you pick a word that is going to be your theme for the year or something you want to focus on and make a priority in your life. (I’ve used things like create, simplify, and this year’s word is deep, though I haven’t been thinking about it all that much to be honest.)
I never thought about using this concept with kids to get them to reflect on what they want for the new school year, but of course it’s a great idea.
Lodge’s Learning has a whole lesson plan around One Little Word with kids in the classroom that includes reading a book about the concept and using their template (available from Teachers Pay Teachers) to brainstorm and choose a word. There’s a writing project and a chalk art project (making a lightbulb to decorate their writing project) and an idea to add a video project if you want.
Even if you don’t do this whole project in the classroom, it’s a great idea to take some time to talk about having a word for the school year and to reflect on what students want to get out of it. You can do this with your children at home, too, whether at the beginning of the school year, the calendar year or both.
The book, One Word for Kids, tells the story of a boy whose teacher gives the class the assignment to choose a word for the year and walks through how he finds his own word, which is a great way to introduce the concept and help kids who might not know where to start finding their own words.
You can find more information about the one word project at Lodge’s Learning. They also have other extension activities you can try to reinforce thinking about their words over time.
[Photo: Lodge’s Learning]
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