Use these bookmarks to review the WITS acronym with your class. Distribute a bookmark to each student and have them fill in the four strategies represented by the WITS acronym.
A schoolwide WITS Poster Contest is a great way for the entire school community to get involved with the program.
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WITS PosterDisplay this print-ready poster in your classroom as a visual reminder to students to use their WITS. |
Children, like adults, have days that go wrong. This film shows how one little girl overcomes the day's frustrations by diving into an underwater fantasy where she spends time with her friend, the lady octopus. After playing many wonderful games together, the little girl re-enters the world of reality feeling fine and refreshed.
Intensities (sometimes called Overexcitabilities) provide a useful tool to analyze content because they resonate with many learners, particularly the gifted. Inviting students to recognize themselves in content deepens understanding and provides motivation for stronger analysis.
WITS Poster Contest A school-wide WITS Poster Contest is an interactive way for the entire school community to get involved with the WITS Programs. A WITS Poster Contest encourages all students to think about what the WITS Programs represent and provides a powerful visual reminder that everyone can use their WITS. Invite students to submit a poster related to WITS or WITS LEADS strategies and display their submissions throughout the school. Winners can be chosen by teachers, by a student vote or by a special committee of people involved with the WITS Programs (i.e. the principal, community leaders and parents). Below are examples of posters created for this contest.
WITS Song – Paul Hann and Colwood School
Welcome to the UCDSB-VLC, approved: WITS-Anti-bullying program guide. Here is an overview, of the Wits program. Please refer to the links to the: Official Wits program, from Victoria. British Columbia, for the full program and activities.
This online education initiative is a non-verbal dance film, so it ‘speaks’ to everyone. The film promotes positive relationships, peaceful resolution of peer conflict and the spectrum of social emotional learning skills. It is available for streaming to parents, caregivers and educators.
Sept. - Who Am I ? Reflect on:
The Day You Begin is about beginning to share our stories. In the book, we learn that personal stories help us find out how our friends share something in common with us, and how there are other things that are fabulously not like us at all. Every person is made up of stories that combine together to make us who we are.
One exhibition at the ROM called The Family Camera was all about the power of stories. It explored how personal stories help us understand a lot more – not just about where we personally come from, but also about the world around us.
For the creativity challenge this week, start to share your own stories with your new friends, like those in The Day You Begin.
Reinforce your child’s social identity. Create an “All About Me and My Family” book with your child. Involve your child in adding personal information, such as first and last name, parents’ names, child’s gender, age, address, likes and dislikes. Use this Family Tree handout to explore connections with extended family members. Read the books listed below to explore the importance of social understanding and healthy interactions. ( Wits: Parent Toolkit)
ROM Storytime: "A Promise Is a Promise" by Michael Kusugak with Robert Munsch
October to December - Build the Community: Encourage teachers to use WITS or LEADS books and lesson plans.
Designate a “book of the month” for the school and ask teachers to use it to reinforce WITS and/or LEADS strategies.
Set up a WITS information table at your next school parent meetings. Are students using WITS and LEADS?
Ask them on the playground. Involve parents with WITS. Programs materials include brochures for parents to send home with children or to be made available at, Parent-Teacher interviews.
You can also include information about the programs, like pictures from the Welcoming/Swearing-in Ceremony or information about the WITS book of the month, in your school newsletters. Provide a link to the WITS Programs website on your school website.
Building Your WITS Community - Encourage teachers to use WITS or LEADS books and lessons. Teachers should read at least one WITS or LEADS book per month in their classes. Each book has a lesson plan, containing suggested questions and activities designed to support WITS Programs messages while satisfying provincial/territorial learning objectives. Teachers can also reinforce WITS and LEADS messages in their class meetings and through teachable moments. 2. Encourage children to use their WITS and be WITS Leaders Encourage use of WITS and LEADS strategies through school announcements. Talk about successes you have seen. Play a WITS song over the PA or make up your own.
Recognize positive behaviour with WITS or LEADS recognition stickers or a STAR of the WEEK card.
January – April: Sustain the Momentum - Get creative about incorporating the WITS Programs into activities Teachers across Canada have found innovative ways to integrate the WITS Programs into every aspect of learning. Be creative with messages and materials. For example, schools have made online cartoons, written songs, and put on plays about WITS and LEADS.
May - June: Wrapping Up - Include the WITS Programs in end-of-year activities your school. Recognize children who have been outstanding WITS Special Constables or WITS Leaders at the Year-end awards ceremony. Ask Community Leaders to attend and hand out these special WITS and LEADS awards. Include photos from the Welcoming/Swearing-in Ceremony or Tug of Help in your school yearbook or year-end slideshows.
USING YOUR WITS TO STAND UP TO BULLYING
Remember that telling is not tattling. If you’re faced with bullying and you walk away to get help, you are helping to make your school and your community a safe and fun place for kids to be!
Books to Borrow: Please Read the Walrus's Gift. This is the first reading activity, during the opening assemble. The SORA, student reading app. has many of the Wits, supporting picture books. Print copies of Wits, Read A Louds, can also be found in your school's Learning Commons. Please contact your school's LCI, to check out.
by Stewart, H. E. (Helen Elizabeth), 1943-
Casey the rabbit loves to play goalie on the soccer team. But when Casey fails to block a goal, Dana the squirrel starts calling Casey hurtful names. Young readers watch Casey struggle with bullying and learn safe ways to make it stop. Sensitive illustrations of gender-neutral animal characters help all children relate to the issue of verbal bullying.
Award-winning author and professor Alexs Pate delivers a message of hope and self-discovery in a time of uncertainty in our world. BEING YOU is a beautiful picture book celebrating every readers' individuality and talents. With an authentic voice, BEING YOU's poetic message of love and optimism for the future speaks directly to today's children. BEING YOU helps us to see the wonder and light within each of us.
Bring to light the hardships of bullying. Offer a unique viewpoint on the hardships, perseverance and acceptance experienced by a young girl.
Bring to the forefront topics for discussion about treating each other in a kindly manner. Students share their impressions of people based on where they live and how they dress to get them into the right mindset prior to reading the story. Find details in the story that set a serious tone when Miss Mason reads the note from Wanda's father. Use context clues to write the meanings of the underlined vocabulary words from the book. Predict how Wanda might react to Peggy and Maddie's visit after she moved. Recreate a scene from the novel into a play, and present it to the class.
Sustain the Momentum - Get creative about incorporating the WITS Programs into activities.
Has your school created a WITS - Inspired song or play? We’d love to hear about it! Send photos, audio or video to info@witsprogram.ca.