Dear Boys and Girls, In today´s chapter, you can see how much I am learning about myself. I was so unhappy when Miss Jessie said I was fat. It was hurtful and insulting, but something good came from it. I learned that I needed to get more exercise, and eat healthier food. See if these activities help you learn more about yourself.     Your friend,     Woodrow

1. With a partner, discuss a time when your feelings were hurt, but you recovered and learned a lot about yourself. Ask your partner to write down important words to be used in writing about yourself.

2. Switch sides, and have a partner tell you about a time he or she learned a lot from an experience that was hurtful at first. Take notes from your partner´s words. (LA. B.1.3.1.a)

3. From your partner´s story, create a list of questions to learn more about your friend´s experience.

4. Take notes again, and use these notes to write a summary of the situation from your point of view. Share with your partner, then switch sides again. (LA.B.1.3.1)

1. Use the notes you have taken from your partner to write an article about him. Use the newspaper article format 5W´s and H (who, what when, where, why and how) to guide your writing. 2. Read the article your partner writes about you. Revise it to make it as accurate as possible. Discuss which article was easiest to write, the one about your partner, or the one about yourself. (LA.B.1.2.3)

1. Find an article in the newspaper´s sports pages that shows how an athlete has learned a life-lesson.

2. Read the article together, and discuss just what the lesson was, and ask your child to discuss whether he or she agrees or disagrees with the athlete´s point of view.

3. Tell your child a hard lesson you learned, and explain why such hard lessons are the most powerful.

4. Find other human interest stories in the newspaper that show that all people have difficult lessons to learn.

National Council on Aging -- Founded in 1950, The National Council on the Aging is a national network of organizations and individuals dedicated to improving the health and independence of older persons and increasing their continuing contributions to communities, society and future generations.

Virtual tour of a State Veterans´ Nursing Home -- The tour includes ten 360 degree fully interactive pictures. No additional software is required to view these images, simply click on the desired picture below and the tour begins.

Handling Intolerance in Others -- Think back to your childhood days on the playground. You´re caught up in a game of tag. You´re IT. Children are running all around you, taunting you. "Yoouu cannn´t caaatch me! Yooouu can´t caaatch me!" And they seem to be right. You CAN´T seem to catch anyone. With each taunt your frustration increases until finally, in a desperate burst of energy and with a hair of success your fingertips brush the shoulder of a child running in front of you.

Character Building Stories -- This is simply a collection of stories that can be used to teach values to youth. All of these stories are original anecdotes or brief biographies that can be shared with children at school, in family meetings, or around the campfire.

Operation Respect: Don´t Laugh at Me -- Operation Respect is a non-profit organization working to transform schools, camps and organizations focused on children and youth, into more compassionate, safe and respectful environments.

Serial Story: WOODROW TALES -- The serial story ran in the Daytona Beach News-Journal each Monday from January through May. Text and illustrations for the serial copyright © 2003. Barbara Shapley, NIE Consultant/Writer is a career educator and education writer. The Woodrow Tales is a fictionalized account about a real basset hound, who is smart and loving.

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