Day 85 - January Social Skills Lesson - Teaching Tolerance - Memorial School Guidance Counselors

This post first appeared on the Memorial School Guidance Blog

Teaching Tolerance

It is OK to be different

We will be having discussions with each classroom about differences, diversity and what a community is. Students will learn how a diverse community makes our classroom stronger.  

Grades K-2:

We will be teaching about diversity. In each classroom, we will have a discussion about what it means to be different. We will also talk about communities and which communities we belong to. Students will learn that it is okay to be different because diversity can make our community stronger as we all come from different backgrounds. 

We will be reading the story "It's Okay to Be Different"

After the read aloud, students will participate in a movement activity called "The Warm Wind Blows". We will not only be learning about the differences that we can see with our eyes but we will also be focusing on differences we can't see. Students will learn how we can celebrate these differences in the classroom and at school. 

Some examples:

"The warm wind blows if you you have traveled to another country"

"The warm wind blows if you have a brother or a sister"

"The warm wind blows if you were born outside of Massachusetts"

Grades 3-5:

Students will learn about the terms diversity and community. We will discuss how diversity is important in a community. Students will share ways they are different from one another and how we can celebrate these differences in our school and classroom communities.  As a class, we will talk about how being a diverse community can make our classroom stronger.

Students will participate in a human scavenger hunt to learn more about their classmates and the diversity of their classroom community. The activity is called, "Find Someone Who...". Students will need to find someone in the room who applies to the question being asked. 

Some examples are:
Find someone who speaks more than one language.
Find someone who has a weekend tradition.
Find someone who has traveled to another country. 

Students will then share and discuss something they have learned about a classmate. We will end the lesson with a few final thoughts about how being different is okay and we will encourage students to celebrate the things that make them who they are! 

Day 43 - Social Skills Lesson - Spreading Kindness - Memorial School Guidance Counselors

Kindergarten:

Each kindergarten class will be reading the story "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?". They will discuss what it means to be kind and what kindness looks like. 

1st and 2nd Grade:

Each 1st and 2nd grade classroom will be reading the story "What Does it mean to be kind?"

We will be discussing what it means to be kind and what kindness looks like. Then the students will be designing a flower and writing an act of kindness on their flower. Their flowers will be added to our kindness garden. 

 

3rd, 4th and 5th Grade:

Each student in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade will be reading the story "The Invisible Boy".

After we read and discuss the story with the students, we will be talk about what it means to be kind and how important it is to treat others the way that you want to be treated. 

BEFORE YOU SPEAK

THINK AND BE SMART

IT'S HARD TO FIX

A WRINKLED HEART

The students will then do an activity where they sketch a picture of themselves inside a heart. We will discuss examples that people may say or do to hurt someone. Each time the students give an example,they will wrinkle their paper a little bit. Once their paper is all wrinkled, we will then talk about acts of kindness. For each example given, the students will try to flatten out their paper.

 

At the end of the lesson, the students will notice that no matter how many acts of kindness are done, the wrinkles remain in their heart. So it is important to think before you speak or act because you don't know what your actions or words will do to someone else. 

Day 154 - May Social Skills Lesson Teaching about Tolerance and Accepting Difference - Memorial School Guidance

This post originally appeared on the Memorial School Guidance Blog

This month we will be teaching students about tolerance and accepting differences. Students will be reading a story and watching a video clip on why it is important to be tolerant towards others. We will also be presenting problem solving strategies to use when a child is not feeling accepted.  We will be discussing how each individual is unique in their own way and when put together in their classroom community they are like a box of crayons. 

Giraffes Can't Dance 

by Giles Andreae

This story is about a giraffe being different and not being able to dance, but with a little encouragement from his jungle friends, he is able to dance to his own tune. 

Video clip about tolerance:

Activity:

Students will draw a self portrait on their crayon and have the option to share something that makes them unique.