Two by Ten Strategy Assignment

Date: Time: Notes from Conversation:

1 10/12 8:15 I talked to this student at 8:15 this morning
right when the class came in. I complimented
her locker because I’ve never really seen it
before, and it’s decorated with stickers,
pictures of her friends, and crafts that she’s
made. She thanked me and was so excited to
tell me all about the things in her locker. She
was especially excited about her “King Bob”
craft that she just brought to school this
morning to put in her locker. I let her tell me all
about it, and she was so excited!
2 10/13 8:15 I talked to her a few times today. Right away
9:20 this morning I complimented her vest and long
sleeve and said that we were twinning
because it was exactly what I was wearing
too, and she smiled. Later at 9:20, we talked
about her nails because she just got them
painted, so I asked her who did them and she
said her mom did because she’s a hair stylist
and does nails. I smiled and told her that she
is so lucky her mom excels in doing hair and
nails, and she nodded and smiled again.
3 10/14 1:30 After our read aloud, this student approached
me and showed me her story that she had just
created. It was about how you should be nice
to everyone, and if you have drama with a
friend, that maybe you need to take a break
from them and then talk again at a later time.
She was really proud of herself and I could tell
because of the smile beaming on her face. I
gave her a hug and told her that was a great
 message that she was writing about. She
walked away smiling at my comment, and I
could tell she was glad I enjoyed her story so
much.
4 10/17 8:15 Right when she came into school, I
complimented her hair because it was let
down rather than being up like it usually is. I
asked her if her hair is naturally like that or if
she curled it or was wavy due to braids. She
replied, “I don’t know.” I then asked her if her
hair is usually straight or curly when she gets
out of the shower and she said it was straight.
I told her the curls was probably from a braid
or her mom curling it. She shrugged and I told
her again that it looks pretty.
5 10/18 8:15 Right when Kendall came in, she was wearing
the cutest yellow blouse. My favorite color is
yellow, so I complimented it right away. She
smiled and said, “thank you!” I asked her
where she got it from, and she said that it’s
new and she got it from Target. I then asked
her if she picks out her outfits or if her mom
helps her. She said she picks out one or two
items and then her mom helps her pick out
the rest. I told her that at 22 years old, my
mom still gives me advice and helps with my
outfits sometimes so that is really cool that
she has a mom that has great fashion sense!
She also smiled at that comment.
6 10/19 12:00 I complimented her shirt and earrings during
lunch duty. She said thank you and then she
said, “Guess what!?” I said, “what!?” She then
told me she was going to the mall after school
to see Millie Bobby Brown and she was so
excited! I asked her, “Oh really? Millie Bobby
Brown is in Sioux Falls?” And she said, “Yep!”
 I said, “hmm. That seems pretty unlikely Millie
would be in Sioux Falls, don’t you think?” And
she said, “no because I’ve already seen her
here before. I’ve seen her in pictures!” And
then she started laughing. I said, “Well hey
I’ve seen her too then!” She smiled at my
comment and continued to eat.
7 10/20 2:10 Kendall approached me at 2:10 while we were
watching a movie, and she said, “Ms.
Hohwieler I remember you said your favorite
candy was Sour Patch Kids. (She held up her
pack of Sour Patch Kids) Do you want one?” It
was a very sweet and thoughtful question. I
smiled and I told her that was very sweet of
her to ask me that, but it was her snack and I
wanted her to eat it. She asked me if I was
sure and I said, “yes but thank you so much!”
8 10/21 9:30 I asked Kendall if her family ever goes to the
pumpkin patch and she said, “yes, we go like
5 times a year!” I asked her then if she paints
or carves pumpkins and she said they do
both. She was really excited to tell me about
what her family does during Fall before
Halloween, and she also told me what she
was going to be for Halloween without me
asking her. She also showed me a writing
piece that she was really proud of, and I told
her I was proud of her as well! She also
handed me a nice note that she wrote me at
the beginning of the day.
9 10/24 8:15 Kendall approached me at the beginning of
9:00 the day and showed me a writing piece she’s
been working on that isn’t for school–just for
fun. It was about how school is hard
sometimes, but you have to get through it and
persevere because school helps you learn
 things that will be useful in life. It was a great
story and I told her that I loved her message
and that she’s a great writer. She smiled and
walked away. At 9:00, she was done with her
writing prompt and I walked over to her and
asked her how her weekend was. She was so
excited to tell me that she went to the Walker
Hayes concert and she showed me her shirt
which said “Fancy Like” on it. She said it was
the greatest concert ever!
10 10/25 9:30 During writing time, Kendall was very excited
to show me the start of her new story. We
talked about her story and I asked her if she
could write a detail about the outfit she wore.
She told me she really liked yellow and would
want to include an all yellow outfit (they are
writing a narrative about themselves). I smiled
and told her yellow is my favorite color too, so
I would definitely be in favor of that. Within the
next 30 minutes of writing time, she
approached me a few times telling me to
come to her desk so I could read details that
she kept including.

Reflection of the Two By Ten Strategy: How was the strategy effective?
What changes did you see? Do you see yourself using this strategy again?
Please share any other ideas or thoughts.

This strategy was very effective. Kendall and I have had our hiccups
because of her lack of respect for me in the beginning. She seems to
always want my attention–in the beginning it was almost always in a
negative manner. The changes I saw in us talking about everyday
things–sometimes about school (positive things), but usually not, I noticed
her wanting to approach me in a positive manner. I feel like Kendall and I
got to know each other better and now we have a deeper understanding of
each other and we actually have a lot in common as well! Towards the end
of the 10 days, I noticed she started to approach me rather than me always
approaching her. She started opening up to me about the things she likes
to do and some of her dreams for when she’s older. She always makes
sure to stop and say hi to me in the mornings before we enter the
classroom, and she’s not as big of a distraction as she was in the first few
weeks of school. Our relationship has definitely improved and I realized we
probably just didn’t get off on the right foot. I will definitely use this strategy
again in the future if needed because it showed to be very effective for us.