Author: Aghunney

What is “The Daily Rap?”

The Daily Rap is a tool which focuses on building relationships and a sense of community. A major function of the Daily Rap is to create a positive school climate in which students feel connected.
The Daily Rap is based on the principle of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and helps develop social and emotional competencies including:
Recognizing and managing emotions
Developing care and concern for others
Establishing positive relationships
Making responsible decisions
Handling challenging situations constructively
Why the Daily Rap?
Students have a chance to:
Voice their concerns
Resolve their own conflicts themselves
Support each other
Become more connected to each other and their teachers
The Daily Rap also helps prevent minor conflicts from escalating into a serious incident or violence
What Does It Involve?
As a neutral, non-directive and nonjudgmental
facilitator, a teacher convenes a regularly scheduled circle discussion among students of a topic, concern, or conflict. The topic can be chosen in whatever way the group agrees.
The Results Are In…
Teachers that use the Daily Rap report:
Fewer classroom arguments
New student to student friendships
Better relationships between teacher and students
Commonly disruptive students begin to respond to
minimal direction
Who Can Facilitate?
Anyone trained in the Daily Rap can facilitate sessions. Several Calverton staff members and members of the University of Maryland team have received this training. The Community Conferencing Center offers free training to organizations. If you are interested in participating in a Daily Rap training session, please contact Jen Willis or one of our Maryland Mental Health Initiative Staff.
*This article was adapted from the Daily Rap Training
Manual, created by the Community Conferencing Center and http://www.communityconferencing.org/doc/DailyRap.doc

In This Issue:
The Daily Rap
Team Building in the Classroom
Quote of the Month

Need More Information?
The Community Conferencing Center offers Daily Rap training. It is comprised of one initial 2-3 hour training, with opportunities for consultation and skill-building sessions.
Find out more about services offered by the Community Conferencing Center by visiting their website, http://communityconferencing.org/index.asp.

Team Building in the Classroom

In addition to the Daily Rap, school staff can facilitate building a positive classroom environment by having students participate in other team building activities. These activities are not only fun, but allow students to interact and cooperate with one another. After completing an activity, be sure to process with students and ask questions such as:
What did you learn from this activity?
How did it feel working with the team?
What could the team have done to make working together easier?
Can any of the skills you used during the activity be used outside of the activity?
Below are some quick and easy team building activities you can do in class:
Knots of People
Divide the group into teams of 8 to 12 members. Have each person join right hands with another person in the group, but it has to be someone who is NOT standing immediately to the left or right. Then have each person join left hands with another person in the group, but it has to be someone who is NOT standing immediately to the left or right and someone other than before.
Now the groups have to untangle themselves without letting go of hands. They may have to loosen their grips a little to allow for twisting and turning. They may have to step over or under other people. The first group to untangle their knot is the winner.
SPECIAL NOTE: There are four possible solutions to the knot.
One large circle with people facing either direction.
Two interlocking circles.
A figure eight.
A circle within a circle.
Human Bingo
Make a 5 x 5 grid, like a bingo grid. Write "FREE" in the center space. In all the other spaces, write things such as "Born in another state" or "Is the youngest child in family" Fill in all the grids with items of interest to the students. Run a copy for each person.
The students are to get the signature of a person who meets the criteria for each section. You might want to implement a rule that a person can only sign another person's paper in two spots. The first person with a completed card wins. Don't forget to include the teacher. Put in something to which only YOU can answer yes. Be sure to have students share what they learned about one another.

Quote of the Month
When dealing with people, remember you are not
dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of
emotion.
Dale Carnegie

This story can fit 150-200 words.
One benefit of using your newsletter as a promotional tool is that you can reuse content from other marketing materials, such as press releases, market studies, and reports.
While your main goal of distributing a newsletter might be to sell your product or service, the key to a successful newsletter is making it useful to your readers.
A great way to add useful content to your newsletter is to develop and write your own articles, or include a calendar of upcoming events or a special offer that promotes a new product.
You can also research articles or find “filler” articles by accessing the World Wide Web. You can write about a variety of topics but try to keep your articles short.
Much of the content you put in your newsletter can also be used for your Web site. Microsoft Publisher offers a simple way to convert your newsletter to a Web publication. So, when you’re finished writing your newsletter, convert it to a Web site and post it.

This story can fit 75-125 words.
Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter.
Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.
Microsoft Publisher includes thousands of clip art images from which you can choose and import into your newsletter. There are also several tools you can use to draw shapes and symbols.
Once you have chosen an image, place it close to the article. Be sure to place the caption of the image near the image.

This story can fit 100-150 words.
The subject matter that appears in newsletters is virtually endless. You can include stories that focus on current technologies or innovations in your field.
You may also want to note business or economic trends, or make predictions for your customers or clients.
If the newsletter is distributed internally, you might comment upon new procedures or improvements to the business. Sales figures or earnings will show how your business is growing.
Some newsletters include a column that is updated every issue, for instance, an advice column, a book review, a letter from the president, or an editorial. You can also profile new employees or top customers or vendors.

This story can fit 150-200 words.
One benefit of using your newsletter as a promotional tool is that you can reuse content from other marketing materials, such as press releases, market studies, and reports.
While your main goal of distributing a newsletter might be to sell your product or service, the key to a successful newsletter is making it useful to your readers.
A great way to add useful content to your newsletter is to develop and write your own articles, or include a calendar of upcoming events or a special offer that promotes a new product.
You can also research articles or find “filler” articles by accessing the World Wide Web. You can write about a variety of topics but try to keep your articles short.
Much of the content you put in your newsletter can also be used for your Web site. Microsoft Publisher offers a simple way to convert your newsletter to a Web publication. So, when you’re finished writing your newsletter, convert it to a Web site and post it.

This story can fit 100-150 words.
The subject matter that appears in newsletters is virtually endless. You can include stories that focus on current technologies or innovations in your field.
You may also want to note business or economic trends, or make predictions for your customers or clients.
If the newsletter is distributed internally, you might comment upon new procedures or improvements to the business. Sales figures or earnings will show how your business is growing.
Some newsletters include a column that is updated every issue, for instance, an advice column, a book review, a letter from the president, or an editorial. You can also profile new employees or top customers or vendors.

This story can fit 75-125 words.
Selecting pictures or graphics is an important part of adding content to your newsletter.
Think about your article and ask yourself if the picture supports or enhances the message you’re trying to convey. Avoid selecting images that appear to be out of context.
Microsoft Publisher includes thousands of clip art images from which you can choose and import into your newsletter. There are also several tools you can use to draw shapes and symbols.
Once you have chosen an image, place it close to the article. Be sure to place the caption of the image near the image.

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Volume 2, Issue 1