Protocol Overview and Instructions: 
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​​Having students identify and share their personal values (what they believe in at their core) is an incredible way for them to begin to understand and empathize with others and for you to get a better handle on how to strategically group students into effective teams.
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Value Cards Protocol Instructions
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​Educator Thoughts:
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In my “This I believe” writing unit, I incorporated Values Cards as one of our brainstorming activities. This activity helped the students think through the values that drive them at this stage in their lives and helped them focus the theme of their essay around one of their values. The only challenge I encountered was that students don’t always know the meaning of these words, so we used that as an opportunity to teach some vocabulary.
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​Student Quote:

“It was hard to narrow it down to just 5 values, but it made me really think about what was important to me.”

Teacher Quote:
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“I love how this activity gets students thinking and talking about the values that drive their decisions.”
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Meet the Educator:

Katie Jarvis has been a teacher in the Hamilton Community School District for the last 22 years. The first 13 years were at Hamilton Middle School teaching 8th grade ELA. In 2014-2015, I found myself at Hamilton High School where I’ve been ever since. I currently teach English 12, AP Literature and Composition, and Writing for Publication which is our fancy title for our yearbook class.  I have a passion for teaching writing, and as a Lake Michigan Writing Consultant, I have taught summer writing camps for high school students during the last few summers.  In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors with my family kayaking, hiking, picking vegetables in my parent’s garden, or just sitting and enjoying the sunshine. Of course, as an English teacher, I also love to read.

I always get excited to see how my struggling students excel when we begin to think outside the box and work through the creative design process.