Teacher’s Guide Grade 5 © 2016, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank The World Bank, Peru Country Office. Lima, Peru Av. Alvarez Calderon 185, San Isidro - Lima 27 - Peru Telephone: +51 1 622 2300; Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. Rights and Permissions This work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to the work is given. Translations - A Spanish version of this work is available from The World Bank. 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Production: Inés Kudó Coordination: Joan Hartley Assistance: Luciana Velarde Authors: José Fernando Mejía, Gloria Inés Rodríguez, Nancy Guerra, Andrea Bustamante, María Paula Chaparro, Melisa Castellanos. Collaborators: Marissa Trigoso, Elena Soriano, Alejandro Adler, Ana María Rosales, Ariel Williamson. Ministry of Education: César Bazán, Estefany Benavente, Deyssy Lozano, Patricia Magallanes, Lilia Calmet Illustrations: David Cárdenas, Silvia Tomasich, Ericca Alegría. Graphic Design: Evolution Design eirl., Alejandro Cubas. Storybooks and songs: Los Hermanos Paz S.A.C. Posters: Hermanos Magia S.A.C. English Translation and Editing: Melanie Gallagher, Flavia Gallagher, Cesar Bazán. Follow us on: /BancoMundialPeru @BancoMundialLAC KEY PARTNERS: Welcome Welcome Welcome! Dear teacher, Welcome to Step by Step! This is a Toolkit designed to promote social and emotional learning (SEL) in children and adolescents. As the old proverb attributed to Aristotle says: “educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”. With this in mind (and at heart), Step by Step was created to helps students better understand and manage their emotions, thoughts, impulses and behaviors, form and sustain positive relationships, and make the most out of life by making responsible decisions and pursuing meaningful goals. Ultimately, the goal is to help raise happier, kinder, healthier people. Drawing from the best international research and evidence in the fields of social and emotional education, cognitive and positive psychology, resilience, and mindfulness, Step by Step focuses on six core life skills: self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, positive communication, determination, and responsible decision-making. These skills further equip children and adolescents with the tools they need to become engaged, caring, and resourceful members of their communities (socially responsible), govern themselves while balancing their interests with those of others (autonomous), and prevail in the face of adversity (resilient). What’s in the box? Step by Step offers a series of practical lessons and support materials designed to be implemented in the classroom by the teacher. These lessons are based on a carefully chosen developmental perspective of middle childhood and adolescence, so as to fit the characteristics and needs of each age group or grade, from ages 6 through 17. The lessons are organized into three modules, six general skills and 18 specific skills, as defined in Table 1. You can also find the full definition of these skills and other relevant concepts in the attached Glossary, as well as the specific lesson objectives for each skill, sequenced across grades, in the fold- out matrix at the end of this introduction. In this Toolkit you will find: • Teacher Materials: A guide with structured lessons, a list of materials you will need to implement each lesson, key concepts, tips for teachers and parents, and answers to frequently asked questions. • Student Materials: A workbook for each student with illustrated worksheets to use as part of the lessons. • Classroom Materials: Posters that will aid in social and emotional learning, as well as children’s storybooks and a CD with songs for primary school. 1. For example work by CASEL (www.casel.org), Cohen, Diener, Duckworth, Durlack, Dweck, Furlong, Heckman, Kabat-Zinn, Seligman and others (see references at the end of this introduction). Page 5 Welcome Table 1. The Step by Step Framework in short Module General Skills Specific Skills Self-concept Self- What we think about ourselves awareness Self-efficacy Knowing, Trusting our ability to succeed in specific situations With understanding and myself trusting ourselves Emotional awareness Knowing what we are feeling and why Understanding Emotional regulation and managing Managing our emotions in harmony with our goals Self- emotions regulation Delayed gratification Governing our Postponing an immediate reward for better outcomes later impulses and emotions Frustration tolerance Facing difficulties without feeling overwhelmed by anger or disappointment Perspective taking Social Understanding a given situation from multiple points of view. awareness Empathy Understanding other Putting ourselves in another’s place, walking in another’s shoes. With people’s feelings, needs, others and concerns Prosocial behavior Voluntary actions intended to help or benefit others. Forming and Active listening sustaining positive Positive Paying undivided attention to another person with genuine interest and respect. relationships Communication Assertiveness Interacting with Advocating for ourselves with confidence, honesty and respect. kindness and respect for ourselves and others. Conflict management Dealing with conflict in a way that enhances learning and group outcomes. Achievement motivation Driving ourselves to succeed. Determination Perseverance Pursuing goals with Keeping up the effort to achieve our goals despite difficulty, delays and failure. resolve and purpose. With our Stress management challenges Taking charge so the pressures and tensions of our lives don’t break us Making the most Creative thinking Responsible Generating new ideas, solutions or courses of action in the face of challenge. out of life decision- making Critical thinking Questioning the assumptions underlying our habitual ways of thinking and acting. Making constructive and respectful choices. Responsibility Fulfilling our commitments and being accountable for our words and actions. Autonomy: Governing ourselves while balancing our interests with those of others. Social Responsibility: Working hard to make the world a better, more just place. Resilience: Prevailing in the face of adversity. Page 6 Welcome What are the pedagogical principles behind its design? Inspired by hundreds of programs worldwide that have been found successful2, this material applies the most effective practices for social and emotional education, which guide students through a well-sequenced series of engaging activities focused on the development of specific skills. This approach is known as “SAFE”:3 • Sequenced set of activities that are developmentally appropriate for the students in each grade to achieve the learning goals. • Active forms of learning that focus on experiencing and practicing the skills (e.g., dramatization, role playing, modeling, etc.). • Focused every week on developing the skills as part of school curricula and during school hours. • Explicit teaching and learning of a particular set of social and emotional skills, naming them and showing students how to put them into practice. What are the keys for implementing it successfully? The lessons have been designed to last about 45-50 minutes each. Some may think that since the lessons are fully scripted, it would be fairly easy for anyone to do it, but it takes a number of personal skills to be able to pull it off. As a principle, it takes a socially and emotionally skilled person to teach social and emotional skills, but there is more to it. A Step by Step facilitator must be able to foster a healthy, safe, and nurturing learning environment. For that to happen, the teacher must build a genuine relationship with students based on appreciation, respect, unconditional acceptance, protection, and empathy. Personally, a successful facilitator: • Is motivated and enjoys sharing this kind of activities with his students. • Listens and communicates in a respectful, empathic, assertive, and friendly way. • Recognizes and values the individual experience of each student. • Fosters communication and open dialogue to ensure a meaningful learning experience. • Works hard to avoid reproducing prejudices, stereotypes, or discriminatory attitudes, i.e., reflects and works to overcome his own limitations. 2. Durlak, J., Weissberg, R., Dymnicki, A., Taylor, R., & Schellinger, K. (2011). The Impact of Enhancing Student’s Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432 3. CASEL (2015) Page 7 Welcome Methodologically, the THREE KEYS for a successful Step by Step experience are: 1. Prioritize listening over lecturing. 2. Focus on the students’ experiences, rather than the teacher’s expertise. 3. Build relationships with the students, rather than concepts and theory. The best results are obtained when they are implemented exactly as proposed but in your own words, so you would need to familiarize yourself with the lessons beforehand. As a reference, below is a summary of do’s and don’ts based on our experience implementing this Toolkit. Before the Lesson DO DON’T Read and reread the guide in advance Incorporate additional material or to make sure you clearly understand content. the objective and how to carry out the Prepare supplementary presentations. lesson activities. Facilitate the lesson without first Organize and prepare the materials familiarizing yourself with it. needed. Be prepared to manage difficult situations according to school protocol. During the Lesson DO DON’T Make sure you have all the materials at Use punitive or violent discipline with hand. your students. Set up the physical space. Congratulate results or compare products. Use clear, simple language to communicate. Congratulate students’ participation in an unequal manner. Practice active listening: empathic, Use adjectives to describe students. respectful, and open. Minimize or ignore students’ experience Respect individual processes and or points of view. differences. Handle special cases with Ask questions or make comments that care and follow protocol. reflect value judgments or religious Congratulate students for their effort. views. Reproduce stereotypes, prejudices, or discriminatory attitudes. End the activities or lessons with a “moral.” Overload the lesson with additional activities or concepts not included in the guide. Page 8 Welcome After the Lesson DO DON’T Follow up on any situation or case that Use punitive or violent discipline with requires it. your students. Answer doubts that may have arisen Describe students using adjectives. during the lesson. Minimize or ignore students’ experience Practice active listening. or points of view. Respect individual processes and differ- Reproduce stereotypes, prejudices, or ences. discriminatory attitudes. Reinforce learning using stories, songs, or posters from the Toolkit. Perform a self-evaluation of your facili- tation, with attention to your communi- cation style and ability to relate to your students. Show respect and consideration to your students, fellow teachers and parents: teach by example. You can also use the “Instructional Strategies that Promote Social and Emotional Learning” checklist that follows this introduction as a reference. Good luck! And remember: a good teacher changes lives. Page 9 Welcome Some additional references you may want to check out • Chaux, E., Bustamante, A., Castellanos, M., Jiménez, M., Nieto, A.M., Rodríguez, G.I., Blair, R., Molano, A., Ramos, C., & Velásquez, A.M. (2008). Aulas en Paz: Estrategias pedagógicas. Revista Interamericana de Educación para la Democracia, 1, 2, 123-145 • Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (2003). How Evidence- Based SEL Programs Work to Produce Greater Student Success in School and Life. Retrieved from http://casel.org/wp-content/uploads/academicbrief.pdf • CASEL (2015). What Is Social and Emotional Learning? Retrieved from Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning: http://www.casel.org/social-and- emotional-learning • Cohen, J., & Greier, V. (2010). School climate research summary: January 2010. New York: Center for Social and Emotional Education. • Cohen, J., McCabe, L., Michelli, N., & Pickeral, T. (2009). School climate: Research, policy, practice and teacher education. Teachers College Record, 111(1), 180–213. • Cunha, F., Heckman, J. J., Lochner, L., & Masterov, D. V. 2006. Interpreting the evidence on life cycle skill formation. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 1, 697-812. • Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71- 75. • Duckworth, A., Peterson, C., Matthews, M., & Kelly, D. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087. • Durlak, J., Weissberg, R., Dymnicki, A., Taylor, R., & Schellinger, K. (2011). The Impact of Enhancing Student’s Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. • Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House. • Dweck, C. (2012). Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential. Robinson. • Furlong, M. J., Greif, J., Whipple, A., Bates, M.P., & Jimenez, T. (2005). The development of the California School Climate and Safety Survey—Short form. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 137-149. • Guerra, N., Modecki, K., & Cunningham, W. (2014). Developing social-emotional skills for the labor market: The PRACTICE model. Policy Research Working Paper. Washington, DC: World Bank. • Heckman, J., & Kautz, T. (2013). Fostering and Measuring Skills: Interventions That Improve Character and Cognition. In: Heckman, J., Humphries, J.E., & Kautz, T. (Eds.). The Myth of Achievement Tests: The GED and the Role of Character in American Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. • Jimerson, S., A. Nickerson, M. Mayer, & M. Furlong (2012). The handbook of school violence and school safety: International research and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. • Kautz, T., Heckman, J. J., Diris, R., Ter Weel, B., & Borghans, L. (2014). Fostering and measuring skills: Improving cognitive and non-cognitive skills to promote lifetime success. (No. w20749). National Bureau of Economic Research. Page 10 Welcome Instructional Strategies that Promote Social and Emotional Learning This short checklist offers effective classroom instructional strategies for teaching, modeling, and reinforcing social and emotional competencies. These strategies can help establish a relationship-centered learning environment for practicing and applying SEL throughout the school day. Setting up the classroom: Arrange seating so that students can see one another. Make sure bulletin boards and displays reflect the rich diversity of your students. Keep the room clean and well-organized, with materials prepared in advance for the day’s lesson. Creating a safe, caring, participatory, and well-managed learning environment: Greet students as they enter your classroom, creating a welcoming environment. Establish shared ground rules/agreements with your students on how to treat each other respectfully. Model SEL behaviors of respect, caring, self-control, and fair decision-making. Focus on all students’ positive qualities and acknowledge their efforts and contributions. Pay attention to student reactions, need for clarification, and need for change in activity, and address these needs immediately. Starting a lesson: Ask open-ended questions to discover what the students already know. Employ a variety of inquiry methods to draw out authentic student responses (i.e., think-pair share). Ask “What do you think?” rather than “Why?” questions to stimulate divergent thinking. Allow “wait time” of 7 - 10 seconds before calling on students to give everyone a chance to reflect. Page 11 Welcome Introducing new skills and information: Present and connect new skills and information to the students’ responses. Provide clear and concise instructions and model tasks when appropriate. Respond respectfully to a wide variety of student responses to show respect and openness to divergent thinking, e.g.; “Okay,” “All right,” “Thank you.” Offer students the right to pass to honor different learning styles. Preparing students for guided practice: Model the guided practice before asking students to practice and apply new skills and knowledge. Always play the role with negative behavior in a role-play; students always act out the appropriate behavior as skill-building practice and reinforcement. Give timely, supportive, and clear feedback immediately after guided practice. Use closure questions to help students reflect on their learning and imagine ways they will apply the new learning to their own lives. Managing discipline in a safe and respectful way: Enforce the ground rules/agreements consistently. Handle problems quickly and discreetly, treating students with respect and fairness.. Encourage students to discuss solutions rather than blame others. Share your reactions to inappropriate behaviors and explain why the behaviors are unacceptable. (*) Social & Emotional Learning, Austin Independent School District. Adapted from Tool 33, CASEL Sustainable Schoolwide SEL Implementation Guide and Toolkit. Page 12 Socioemotional Le Step b Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Mindfulness Hear mindfully See mindfully Act mindfully Listen mindfully Breath mindfully S Understand what my peers Identify what I like about Identify what I have in Identify what makes me unique Understa Self-Concept Describe how I see myself like about me and how I feel myself common with my friends and different see me about it Self-Awareness Value what I can do know Take on a difficult task as a Train my brain to become Take on challenges that will Trust my own skills even if Organ Self-Efficacy and before coulnd't good challenge smarter help me grow others don't Identify when I feel two Identify what makes me feel Notice Emotional Awareness Notice how I am feeling Notice when I feel anxious Rate my anger With Myself Module 1 emotions at the same time embarrased Breath deeply to calm Experience my emotions at Feel emotions that are good Deal with my anger in a healthy React ca Emotional Regulation Stop my scary thoughts down the right level for me way Self-Regulation Finish what I have to do Resist temptation and get a Wait for the right moment Understand how I feel when I Control the impulse to do Delayed Gratification Resi before doing what I want better reward later to do what I want can't do what I want whatever I want Find another way to get Know when I can change a Calm down when I don’t Change a frustrating Stay calm when there is nothing Face fru Frustration Tolerance what I want if my way frustrating situation and when get what I want situation if I can I can do to fix it didn't work out I can't Look from other people’s Seek more information to fully Taking See through other people's Understand what's behind Consider every point of view Perspective Taking angles to understand what understand other people's of view eyes someone's actions when making a group decision they see views affec Social Awareness Put myself in someone Understand what other Put myself in the place of Put m Observe someone else's Put myself in the place of Empathy else's place to understand people feel when bad someone being treated badly people w face to know how they feel people living with disabilities how they feel things happen to them by their classmates o Notice when someone Include someone who is on Inclu Prosocial Behavior Share what I have Comfort others Help in things I am good at With Others Module 2 needs help their own Show interest without using Listen carefully without Make others feel I'm Make sure I understand what Ask and clarify when having a Ask and Active Listening words when listening to interrupting listening and I care Positive Communication someone is trying to tell me difficult conversation others Stand up to someone Respond in a clear, firm Say no nicely and firmly Express my feelings and Stand up for myself without Defen Assertiveness who's being mean to way but without being when I don't like something opinions without hurting others hurting others someone else aggressive Find a compromise with Look for win-win solutions Regulate the temperature of a Assess the problem calmly and Find w Conflict Management my friends when we don't Think before I lash out to manage a conflict conflictive situation brainstorm solutions conflic agree on what to do Break down difficult Identify the steps I need to Self-monitor my contributions Self-mo Achievement Motivation tasks into steps that I can Enjoy the challenge Learn from my mistakes take to achieve my goal towards a group goal I' manage Determination Control my frustration when Practice over and over until Not get discouraged by Try again and try harder in the Adjust m Perseverance Keep my focus longer I fail and keep trying I get it right setbacks face of failure not gett With Our Challenges Use my imagination to Ask for help when I feel Spot my stressors and deal Replace negative thinking with Focus Stress Management Realize when I'm stressed Module 3 reduce my stress overwhelmed with them realistic assesments overco Responsible Decision-making Come up with lots of ideas Group ideas using different Generate unique ideas that Look at a problem from a whole Elabor Creative Thinking Elaborate an idea further on a single topic criteria others may not think of new perspective s Que Seek information to make Question sterotypes about Question what I read to form Question what I see in the Critical Thinking Form my own opinion mess up my mind what boys and girls like my own opinion media to form my own opinion influ "Take good care of myself Own up to my mistakes, no Take responsibility for how I Responsibility and my stuff Meet my obligations Care for a clean world Be a r excuses make other people feel " Page 14 earning Objectives by Step Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Sensing mindfully and how my loved ones Undesrtand the changes I am Describe my personality and Compare how I see myself and how Know my strengths Know who I am and who I want to be e and I how feel about it going through chose what I want to improve others see me Face academic challenges knowing that nize my time to learn Grow my intelligence through Take criticism to become better and Boost my brain through organization, Try hard to overcome failure I will become smarter by overcoming better practice stronger focus, and flexibility. them e when someone feels Recognize how I feel and how I Identify different emotions I feel Pay attention to how my mind and body Connect my emotions with their Link my emotions to what triggers them sad or angry would like to feel at the same time react to an emotion consequences Connect my hot thoughts to the calmly to other people's Talk to myself to make me Relax when I feel angry, scared Manage my emotions using my inner Cool my thoughts to manage my emotions that provoke them, to replace anger feel better or worried voice emotions them with cool thoughts Give up immediate rewards for the Put off distractions until it’s a Harness my willpower to gain control ist the urge to cheat SESSION DROPPED chance of achieving bigger goals down Wait if this leads to the best outcome good time for them over my impulses. the road Control my reactions to ustration by focusing on Replace frustrating thoughts Stop the negative emotional chain Know the difference between the things Face the obstacles that may interfere frustration so I don't hurt what I can do with positive thoughts triggered by frustration I can change and the things I can't with my goals after high school anybody Understand members from into account the point Take the perspective of people Consider the expectations, information See the different perspectives in a social social groups different Use the rights perspective when w of all parties that are from a social group different and feelings of others before judging conflict to better understand its root and than mine by taking their assessing a difficult situation cted by my decisions than mine a situation ramifications perspective myself in the place of Put myself in my parents or Put myself in my friends' place Feel what other people feel when they Use empathy to nurture my sense of Use my empathy to guide my sense of who face discrimination siblings place when something when something happens are having a hard time justice social responsibility on a daily basis happens to them to them ude those who feel Care for the environment in Take responsibility for Offer help that is genuine, humble, Use my skills to make my community a Look for ways in which I can help others excluded my daily life preserving the environment respectful of the other person better place Read non-verbal language Use non-verbal language to Debate ideas listening and d clarify during a difficult Focus my attention on what other Listen without advising, preaching, when somebody is telling me show interest in what I am understanding well the other’s conversation people want to tell me and show I care minimizing or blaming something listening arguments and point of view Tell my friends how I feel and Tell the difference between aggressive, nd my friend without Put a stop to a situation that is Refuse doing something I don't want Assert my thinking over groupthink to what I need and don't need passive and assertive responses to hurting others offensive or hurtful to me without offending or hurting others avert a faulty decision from them difficult situations Pinpoint and challenge gender win-win solutions to a Mediate between two friends Mediate between two friends Define the problem, how I feel, what I Use planned conversation to find win- stereotypes when they affect my ct with somebody else in conflict so they don't hurt each other did wrong and how to ammend it win solutions to a conflict relationships Create a plan for making my wish onitor to achieve a goal Prevent fixed mindset from Enjoy the effort it takes to take Use my growth mindset to nourish my Use my growth mindset to put together come true despite my biggest personal 've set for myself affecting my motivation on a challenge motivation my life plan obstacle my strategies when I'm Value my efforts to achieve Pursue my goals with discipline Prepare for the challenges I will face to Set my personal goals for the next five Breakdown my life plan into steps I ting the results I expect my goals and autonomy finish high school years and make a plant o achieve them can follow Identify my own biases when s on my strenghts to Manage stress using Deal with the big and small stressors Assess my level of stress and cope with assessing how stressful a Recognize how I cope with stress ome negative thinking constructive strategies in my life it effectively situation is Assess potential solutions to rate a detailed plan to Organize my ideas using mind Generate ideas that are different from Look at a problem from a different Envision all the things I could be, do, an issue using the thinking solve a problem maps each other perspective and achieve in my life. hats estion advertisement Question beliefs that may have a Sort between facts and Question excuses people use to Recognize how my own biases and sages and how they Think twice before I act negative influence on my decisions and opinions get away with harming others prejudices affect others uence my worldview my future Embrace honesty when facing Be accountable for what I say Own up to my mistakes and make up Guard for my own safety and wellbeing, Take responsibility for making the world role model for others the consequences of my and do, without excuses for them as well as others’ a better place actions Page 15 GRADE 5 Introduction to Grades 5 and 6 The Step by Step lessons for grades 5 and 6 are designed for children ages 10 and 11. At this point in their development, children are finishing their primary level education and, therefore, have gradually gone from being the youngest to being the oldest. This reflects in their development and in their search for independence and autonomy. While they still spend time with the family and value their perspectives and vision, they start to become autonomous and spend more time with their friends, establishing with them strong and complex relationships. Most likely, children have formed a group of friends and are building aspects of their identity that relate to the social group to which they belong. As for their cognitive development, they are now capable of having complex thoughts and understanding abstract concepts. They also have a more complex vision of their internal world and how they relate to others. Children at this age may recognize complex emotions and identify several of them at the same time, even if they seem to contradict each other; for instance, when they feel joy, sadness and fear at the same time. They are able to anticipate situations and foresee the consequences of their actions, which is associated with a better capacity to take decisions. At this age, the acceptance by their friends and their close group is very important. Therefore, social pressure is greater than before, which could lead children to yield and do things they don’t want for fear of rejection. However, the cognitive development they have reached enables them to be aware of this and to build mechanisms to resist pressure. Teachers may use this peer pressure to build new positive meanings for the development of their own identity and to control the group with positive behaviors and attitudes. Children ages 10 and 11 begin to develop greater autonomy and are able to recognize different points of view about one same situation, not only regarding individuals, but groups as well. This helps them to better understand norms and agreements and to recognize different points of view, regardless of the authority that adults may exercise; for example, those of their friends, their family or the school authorities. They no longer do things just “because adults tell them to”, but because they understand that these norms and agreements are given to ensure our own well-being. For example, we don’t insult others because that conduct is unacceptable. Thus, students of these ages are able to take decisions and be accountable for their consequences, foreseeing the future and planning with a medium-term vision. Page 17 GRADE 5 At this time of their lives, children have a greater sense of autonomy that drives them to pursue their own independence and freedom. They like to do things for themselves and they are also able to recognize different ways to see the world and a greater diversity in people. Nevertheless, as they are in a process of seeking their own identity, this recognition of diversity may be a source of discrimination, since children often define themselves based on what they are not or what they do not want to be. This may be re-oriented towards creating an identity based on respect and appreciation of differences, instead of negatively assessing differences. In line with the development level of this age range, Step by Step lessons for Cycle V offer a more complex context to children on the skills to be promoted, while proposing more abstract challenges to stimulate their development. This implies presenting situations that go beyond the students’ close environment, that involve multiple perspectives and that may propose a less short-term vision. In these situations, the group and friends are given more predominance as a context and source of learning. The activities proposed in these lessons aim at stimulating students’ development, not only from a cognitive standpoint, but especially from an emotional and social point of view, in such a way that emotions play a lead cross-cutting role. As such, it is better to ask questions instead of giving answers and to encourage discussion and reflection on different situations involving the children and others. Throughout these lessons, you will find questions aimed at identifying what we are feeling, what others feel, and how we relate to one another. Many of the lessons involve movement and fun activities for children, without losing sight of the pedagogical purpose. These introduce different characters that facilitate the understanding of the topics addressed and make them easier to remember, not only during the lessons, but also across school activities. Your job as a teacher consists of facilitating the lessons, as well as encouraging students to implement and regularly practice the skills we seek to develop. With this aim in mind, it is necessary to give them opportunities instead of simply lecturing them. With this in mind, rather than transferring knowledge, the teacher proposes activities, stimulates the development of children’s thoughts and emotions, and builds a safe and nurturing environment. Page 18 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness BREATHING WITH CAPTAIN MINDFUL Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Breathe mindfully. • “Captain Mindful” poster • Adhesive putty Lesson Guide 1 Intro Have you ever felt that you want to learn something but your mind is busy with something else? Do you often feel anxious or worried? Listen to your students. You may tell your students when you felt this way. If the students already know the story about Dreamy and Captain Mindful, characters shown in grade 4 lessons, ask the following questions. • Do you remember the story of Dreamy and Captain Mindful? • What do you recall? • What advice did Captain Mindful give to Dreamy? If they don’t know it, continue as shown below. Now we are all going to read another story about Dreamy and we will meet a very special friend who will teach us a trick, so that we can be more alert and feel more relaxed when we want to learn something. 2 Core Let’s walk around the school. Open your workbooks to the story “Dreamy and Captain Mindful” (see Student Material). Read the story aloud while the students follow along in their workbooks. Page 19 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness Dreamy and Captain Mindful At another school not far from here, there was a boy called Dreamy. He loved to go to school and learn many new things. His teacher, Rita, taught him to multiply and divide, and to read and write and many other fun things. What fun things do you learn at your school? Listen to your students. Dreamy arrives home every day, eager to do his homework. He opens his book and starts working: “25 divided by 5 is… Oops! I just remembered the joke about the little chicken that Diana told us today! It was so funny… But after that, Diana didn’t want to play with me… Could she be mad at me for something I did? And now that I think of the little chicken… the other day I saw one when I was walking to school… And that day my shoes were really dirty, how were my shoes today? Should I clean them? Mmm… I think I better check if my shoes are dirty. Or should I write a letter to Diana asking her if she’s mad at me? And so, Dreamy was worried because he hadn’t cleaned his shoes, because Diana was probably mad at him… Anyway, he would put aside the multiplications and divisions to do other things. When he realized it, it was already time to go to bed and he had not started his homework! How it worried Dreamy not to finish his homework! Why do you think he did not start his homework on time? Listen to your students. The same happened every day and Dreamy was often anxious and worried about things that had happened the day before or about others that he had to do for the following day. And worst of all: He couldn’t manage to concentrate and do his homework! He was even not very happy about going to school any more. Why was Dreamy worried and distressed? Listen to your students. One day, he was walking back home and a man that looked very funny greeted him: “Hello, I’m Captain Mindful and I’m here to show you a trick that will make you feel better”. Dreamy was very happy. He really needed some help! Page 20 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness Captain Mindful told him: “Something like that used to happen to me too. My mind traveled like a ship on the sea, always from one thought to another. It was then that I thought: ‘I have to breathe deeply and be alert about what I am doing right now’. When I want this to happen, I imagine I am putting an anchor to my mind to make it still and concentrate in my breathing. When I do this my mind stays still and pays attention only to the present. Now I feel much better!” • Why was Captain Mindful’s mind like a ship on the sea? • Do you know what an anchor is for? Why does Captain Mindful say that he imagines an anchor to make his mind stay still? • What is the trick that he uses to feel better? Listen to your students. Now we will put into practice Captain Mindful’s trick. We will sit down to be comfortable and close our eyes. We will breathe deeply three times…1…2…3…Now we will let our breathing flow without forcing it or trying to change it. Each of you will try to identify the place in your body where you feel your breathing more, where you feel how the air flows in and out. Wait a few seconds in silence. In your chest? In your stomach? In your nostrils? Wait a few seconds in silence. Keeping your eyes closed, when you hear the bell you will imagine that you put an anchor to your mind so that it stays still in that place of your body that you identified. Wait a few seconds in silence. Let us stay there for a few minutes, thinking only on our breathing… how it comes into our body and how it flows out of our body. Wait a few seconds in silence. Our mind will want to travel like a ship in just a moment, when we realize that our mind is thinking other things, we will imagine once again that we put an anchor to it in the place where we feel our breathing. Wait a few seconds in silence. Page 21 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness When the bell rings again, you may open your eyes. • Where did you feel your breathing more? • Did you notice any moments when your mind tried to travel again like a ship, thinking about other things? • What emotions do you feel now? • How does your body feel? Relaxed or tense? Calm or anxious? Listen to your students and validate their feelings. 3 Wrap-Up Today you did a great work practicing Captain Mindful’s trick. • Why is it useful for us to have our mind still for some moments? Suggested answer: Because we can concentrate and pay more attention to what we are doing at the moment, to feel calmer and at ease. • When else will it be useful for us to use Captain Mindful’s trick to keep our mind still, thinking of our breathing? Paying attention to what we are doing now, thinking of our breathing, without worrying about the past or the future, makes us feel at ease and calmed and helps us focus on our daily activities. Let’s place the poster of Captain Mindful (which you will find in the Tool Kit and your students will see in their workbook) somewhere in the classroom where it is visible. This poster will remind us the trick that Captain Mindful taught us today so that we may put it in practice at any time. Page 22 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness Student Material Dreamy and Captain Mindful At another school not far from here, there was a boy called Dreamy. He loved to go to school and learn many new things. His teacher, Rita, taught him to multiply and divide, and to read and write and many other fun things. Dreamy arrives home every day, eager to do his homework. He opens his book and starts working: “25 divided by 5 is… Oops! I just remembered the joke about the little chicken that Diana told us today! It was so funny… But after that, Diana didn’t want to play with me… Could she be mad at me for something I did? And now that I think of the little chicken… the other day I saw one when I was walking to school… And that day my shoes were really dirty, how were my shoes today? Should I clean them? Mmm… I think I better check if my shoes are dirty. Or should I write a letter to Diana asking her if she’s mad at me? And so, Dreamy was worried because he hadn’t cleaned his shoes, because Diana was probably mad at him… Anyway, he would put aside the multiplications and divisions to do other things. When he realized it, it was already time to go to bed and he had not started his homework! How it worried Dreamy not to finish his homework! The same happened every day and Dreamy was often anxious and worried about things that had happened the day before or about others that he had to do for the following day. And worst of all: He couldn’t manage to concentrate and do his homework! He was even not very happy about going to school any more. One day, he was walking back home and a man that looked very funny greeted him: “Hello, I’m Captain Mindful and I’m here to show you a trick that will make you feel better”. When I feel Dreamy was very happy. He really needed worried and troubled, I imagine that I have some help! an anchor so that my mind stays still and Captain Mindful told him: “Something like pays attention to my breathing. that used to happen to me too. My mind traveled like a ship on the sea, always from one thought to another. It was then that I thought: ‘I have to breathe deeply and be alert about what I am doing right now’. When I want this to happen, I imagine I am putting an anchor to my mind to make it still and concentrate in my breathing. When I do this my mind stays still and pays attention only to the present. Now I feel much better!” Page 23 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness When I feel worried and troubled, I imagine that I HAVE AN ANCHOR so that my mind stays still and pays attention to my breathing. Page 24 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness Concepts, tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Mindfulness: Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgementally (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). The concept of mindfulness originally comes from Buddhist meditation and is now widely used in the fields of psychology and medicine. Both sciences have proven the concept to be effective on improving people’s wellbeing by reducing stress, for example. Mindfulness is the opposite of: 1) being constantly worried about the past (situations that already happened) or the future (situations that may happen); 2) living on “autopilot,” without paying attention to what is happening right now around us; and 3) mentally judging everything we sense, feel, and think (for example, “That person didn’t say hi to me today. She must be mad at me”; “I feel sad. That’s the worst feeling ever, and I’m going to feel that way for a long time”). It is important that you help your students to: • Understand that practicing mindfulness helps us to remain in peace and, consequently, to better enjoy the moment. One way to help students visualize the benefits of mindfulness is to fill a clear bottle up with water and sand. When the bottle is shaken, the sand floats around and the water turns muddy (like our mind when we are wound-up, stressed, distracted, or thinking lots of things at once). But when the bottle is still, the sand floats to the bottom and the water becomes clear (like our mind when we are in peace).4 • Practice mindfulness in different situations both in and out of school. Ideally, mindfulness should be practiced on a regular basis, for example, every day before class or every day when students come in from recess. The following is a suggested list of short activities (lasting approximately 5 minutes) to help students practice mindfulness on a regular basis: - Close your eyes and stay quiet, sitting straight up but making sure you are comfortable. Focus your attention on your breathing, feeling and mentally “observing” how the air goes in and out of our bodies. - Close your eyes and stay quiet, sitting straight up but making sure you are comfortable. Focus your attention on the sounds around you, starting with those furthest away and then “zooming in” closer, until you are concentrating on the sounds of your body and your own breathing. - Designate a path, for example, from one side of the classroom to the other, for students to walk in a straight line, paying close attention to the sensations they feel as they walk: their feet on the ground, how the muscles of their bodies feel as they move, etc. This activity may also be performed with other body movements, for example, stretching their bodies with their arms straight up, then leaning down to touch the floor with their hands. 4. Idea taken from the RESPIRA Program by the Corporación Convivencia Productiva and Save the Children (www.respiraeneducacion.org). Page 25 GRADE 5 | Mindfulness 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Mindfulness strategies may be practiced formally, for example, through activities in the classroom. These strategies may also be practiced while we eat or walk or ride the metro. • One way to connect with the present is to sit in silence and close our eyes for a few minutes, concentrating only on our breathing. Both parents and teachers may practice this strategy on a regular basis with children, for example, by taking a few minutes each day before going to school or before starting class. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • How can mindfulness benefit children’s lives? Mindfulness improves our wellbeing. For example, it diminishes stress and depression, while increasing the ability to concentrate and pay attention while performing different tasks. Various studies have found that practicing mindfulness at school is tied to improvements in attention span and memory, as well as students’ interpersonal relationships. This facilitates learning and may improve children’s academic performance. Mindfulness is also linked to controlling our emotions (for example, anger). • What is the relationship between mindfulness and emotional and stress management strategies? Mindfulness is a skill that may help build a foundation for the development of many other skills. As such, it is more general than emotional or stress management skills. Yet, all of these concepts are related, since the development of mindfulness may serve as a basis for better emotional or stress management. It may also act as a foundation for many other skills, even those of an academic nature. Page 26 MODULE 1 With Myself Page 27 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Concept Lesson 1 Self-Concept | Lesson 1 Module 1 General skill Specific Skill With Myself Self-Awareness Self-Concept THE POWER OF WORDS Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Understand what my peers like about me A manila envelope or a paper bag with a and how I feel about it. face painted on the outside. Lesson Guide 1 Intro We all have characteristics that make us unique (how we see ourselves, the way we are, what we like, where we come from, etc.). For example, some persons have long hair and others have short hair, some like to watch television and others don’t like it so much, some people are good at writing and others are good at talking in public. Can you think of more examples of characteristics that make people unique and different to the rest? Today we will identify some of the characteristics that our classmates perceive in us and how the opinions of the others influence our self-esteem. 2 Core We will start with a group activity. Show your students the manila envelope or paper bag with a face painted on it. This character is called “the bag person.”5 We are all going to say some offensive things to it and when we do it, we will make a small wrinkle (without tearing it); then we pass it on to a classmate. Start this activity giving an example: Say something offensive to “the bag person” (for example, “you have horrible eyes”), wrinkle it a little and pass it on to the student next to you. It is very important that you make it clear that they must not hit or insult. Likewise, they must not compare “the bag person” with a child in the class. When all the children have had the bag, ask a couple of volunteers to try to remove the wrinkles made. Ask the following questions and listen to your students. 5. Adapted from the Aulas en Paz Program (www.aulasenpaz.org) and Peace Games (2002-2003). Page 29 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Concept Self-Concept | Lesson 1 Lesson 1 • What do you think that “the bag person” would have felt if it were a real person? Suggested answer: “The bag person” would have felt really bad if it had been able to hear what we said to it. Each wrinkle represents what it felt. • Will it be easy or hard to “remove the wrinkles” in real life? Why? Now we are going to form groups of four and we will do the opposite of what we did with “the bag person.” We will see the beautiful things we have, the things we are good at or that we do well. Pay attention to the instructions: 1. You will write your name on the center of the worksheet “What do you like about me?” in your workbook (see Student Material). 2. Then you will pass on your workbook to the person sitting on your right. This person will have 20 3. seconds to write around the name POSITIVE characteristics of the owner of the workbook. That is, something he likes and that is good. For example, that he is good at telling stories, that he likes helping his classmates, that he paints nicely, that he is good at maths, etc. 4. Then, the workbooks will rotate again and the exercise will be repeated. 5. The activity is completed when the four members of the group receive their own workbooks back with the notes of their three classmates in it. The most important rule of the game is to write only positive characteristics that may make your classmates feel good. If necessary, remind them this rule several times during the lesson. Once they are finished, the students will read in silence what their classmates wrote in their workbook and will enclose in a circle the three characteristics they like the most. Who would like to share what you liked most of the things the others wrote about you? 3 Wrap-Up Today you did a great job because you identified positive characteristics about your classmates and you told them. • How did you feel when you read the characteristics your classmates wrote about you? • Why do you think we must be careful with what we say to others? • Is what we think about ourselves always the same as what others think about us? Why? Sometimes we have positive characteristics that we do not perceive in ourselves, but others do. It is very important to recognize these characteristics that make us valuable in the group. Page 30 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Concept Lesson 1 Self-Concept | Lesson 1 Student Material What do You Like about Me? Write Your Name Here ____________________________________________________________ Page 31 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Concept Self-Concept | Lesson 1 Lesson 1 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Self-Awareness: Knowing our internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions (Goleman, 1995). In our framework, the specific skills related to self- awareness are self-concept, self-efficacy and emotional awareness. These together lead to a more positive self-esteem, but self-esteem is defined here as an attitude rather than a skill (see also the definitions of skill and self-esteem). Self-Concept: What we think about ourselves (Smith & Mackie, 2007). Self-Esteem: A generalized evaluative attitude toward ourselves that influences both moods and behavior and that exerts a powerful effect on a range of personal and social behaviors (APA, 2015). It is very important to help your students to: • Identify their own physical characteristics. • Identify other (non-physical) characteristics. • Identify the characteristics or skills they like the most, to help them feel good about themselves. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • When you talk to children about the way they are, you can help them identify specific characteristics that are easy for them to understand. For example, you can help them by asking, “What color are your eyes?” “What do you like to do the most?,” etc. • Take a great deal of care not to encourage comparisons, since this may cause students to laugh at or reject others based on their characteristics. Foster an environment of equality and respect in order to recognize our differences without judging them. • Parents can help. For example, asking their children to identify their physical characteristics in a mirror or ask them what they like to do. • Both at home and at school, try to value and emphasize the things that children do well, for example, when they engage in physical activities or make drawings. You can say, “That came out great,” “You run so fast,” etc. • Even when showing them something they can improve on, remember to always comment on something positive before talking about what they should change. For example, you can say, “You handle the ball well, but you could play better if you included your other classmates in the game.” This applies when giving students grades or feedback. They will always be more receptive to suggestions on how to improve if we first show them something they did well. This will facilitate learning. On the other hand, if we only show them things they can improve, this may cause frustration and affect their motivation. What’s more, it may have a negative effect on their self-perception. Page 32 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Concept Lesson 1 Self-Concept | Lesson 1 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to recognize the characteristics with which we identify ourselves? Because this is the basis of our self-concept (what we think about ourselves) and our self-esteem (feeling good about ourselves), which in turn affects our performance of different tasks and our wellbeing as a whole. • How can I help my child or my students to have a better self-concept? It may be that the children have positive characteristics that they don’t perceive and that they focus on very general and extreme perceptions about themselves (for example, “I’m very ugly,” “I’m a bad person” or “I’m a bad student”). Parents and teachers can help the children identify specific, visible and concrete positive characteristics, for example, “You help others with their work when they don’t understand,” “You sing lovely”, “You share your food during recess,” “You smile every morning,” or “You are very good at taking care of your pet.” • How can I build my child’s or my students’ self-esteem? It is important to always emphasize specific positive characteristics in your child or your students, even before showing them something they can improve or change. For example, “I noticed you’re very organized with your school supplies. I would like it if you leave your clothes in their place before you go to school, too.” Page 33 Page 34 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Efficacy | Lesson 2 Module 1 General skill Specific Skill With Myself Self-Awareness Self-Efficacy Self-Efficacy Lesson 2 NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Trust my own skills even if others don’t. Only ourselves. Lesson Guide 1 Intro Sometimes, we want to achieve things that can be hard and some people may tell us we’ll never succeed. Many of the world’s most successful people have had this experience, however, they never gave up. As an example, let’s think about a tongue twister. Are you familiar with tongue twisters? They’re phrases that are very hard to say. For example, one tongue twister might be: “Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.” Is anyone able to say it right? Try saying it to a classmate. • Who wants to try the tongue twister out loud? Who can say it very fast? What would happen if someone told you you’re never going to be able to say it? Listen to your students. There are times when certain things seem very hard to us, and some people may doubt that we’ll ever achieve them. But remember, everything that seems easy to us now was hard at one point. Today we’re going to talk about this, and about the things that seem easy or hard to us. 2 Core Did you know that Shakira, one of the most successful Latina singers in the world, had a bad experience in the chorus at her school? Listen to your students. Shakira has always loved to sing, ever since she was little girl. In school, she wanted to join the chorus so she could practice singing a lot and learn to sing better. But they kicked her out of the chorus and one of her teachers told her that her voice sounded like a goat’s. Shakira became very sad. Then, her father told her never to give up, and to keep working for what she wanted to achieve. Page 35 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Efficacy | Lesson 2 Ask the following questions and listen to your students. • Who did Shakira believe more, her teacher or her father? Self-Efficacy Lesson 2 Suggested answer: Her father. • Do you think Shakira believed that she didn’t sing well and that her voice was ugly? Suggested answer: She must not have believed it, because she kept working at it until she got where she is today. • What would have happened if she had believed that she didn’t have a good voice? Suggested answer: She might have gotten discouraged and she wouldn’t have worked hard to get what she wanted. • Do you think it was easy for Shakira to get where she is today and be so successful? Suggested answer: It was difficult. Her success is the result of many years of hard work. Just like what happened to Shakira, people may doubt of our ability to learn something that we want to learn. • Have you ever wanted to learn something very hard and others told you that you couldn’t do it? • What does it feel like to be in this situation? • What would happen if we paid attention to those people? • What can we do to keep trying and not pay any attention to those people? Write the students’ answers to the last question on the board. Make sure these ideas include aspects such as: Thinking about what the people who do believe in us might say to us; remembering situations in which we learned difficult things, even if they took us time; looking at how much progress we have made and how much we have achieved. Now we’re going to write a letter to ourselves when we want to learn something in the future and people doubt us and think that we’ll never succeed. Each of you is going to write your own letter to yourself. First, put your name and then something that you’ve learned, so that you can remember it and it can help you feel confident. Try to remember something you’ve achieved that took you a lot of work, something about which you feel very proud. Then, write some advice on how to keep from giving up when other people doubt your ability to learn something that you want to learn. You can use the ideas on the board to help you. Now open your workbooks to the worksheet “Letter to Myself When Someone Doubts Me” (see Student Material) and write your letter there. Page 36 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Efficacy | Lesson 2 Give them five minutes for each to write his/her letter. Then ask for volunteers to share their letter with the group. Self-Efficacy We’re going to keep this letter in a safe place and we’re going to take it out and Lesson 2 read it when we need encouragement and confidence, to remind us that we will succeed in learning even if it takes us time, especially when other people doubt us, just like what happened to Shakira. 3 Wrap-Up Sometimes, when we want to learn something difficult, there may be people who doubt us and tell us that we’ll never succeed. • Do you think the letter we wrote can help in these situations? Why? When we’re in situations like this, we can read our letter to fill us with confidence and remember that we can do it, even if it takes time. We can think about Shakira’s story, or about other people we know who ignored the persons who doubted them and achieved what they set out to do. Page 37 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Efficacy | Lesson 2 Student Material Letter to Myself When Someone Doubts Me Self-Efficacy Lesson 2 Dear (write your name here),___________________________________________ I know you want to learn something and you’ve made a lot of effort but you haven’t achieved it yet. I also know that there are people who don’t believe you can do it. That’s why I wanted to remind you that you succeeded in learning… (write something you’ve learned)______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ even though it was difficult and it took you a lot of work and time. Remember that when people doubt you, you can: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ That way, you can feel confident and succeed in learning what you want to learn, even if others doubt you. You can succeed just like Shakira and many others have done. Sincerely, ……………………………………………… (signature) Page 38 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Efficacy | Lesson 2 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Fixed mindset: Believing our basic qualities, like our intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits that cannot be changed, and thinking that talent alone creates Self-Efficacy Lesson 2 success—without effort. Believing that we are either “smart” or “dumb” and there is no way to change this (Dweck, 2006). Growth mindset: Believing that our most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work; brains and talent are just the starting point. Believing that we can learn more or become smarter if we work hard and persevere (Dweck, 2006). Self-Efficacy: Believing in our own capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments (Bandura A., 1977; 1986; 1997). In other words, trusting our ability to succeed in specific situations. Self-efficacy entails confidence in our ability to exert control over our own motivation, behavior, and social environment. This opinion determines the way in which we approach challenges and tasks. If we have high self-efficacy, we will address challenges with greater confidence because we believe we can achieve what we set ourselves to do. Self-Efficacy influences our choice of activities, the effort we put into them and our perseverance. It is important that you help children to: • Recognize that even if things are difficult and take them time to learn, they can succeed eventually. Recognize times when they succeeded in learning something new or finding an • answer, even if it was a lot of work and took them time. • Develop a growth mindset, so that they know that they can develop their intelligence and skills through practice. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • It is vital to help children reflect on the importance of effort in achieving many things, even those that seem harder. Try to use a “Not yet” attitude in those situations in which children are unable to achieve something or run into problems. Instead of saying “I can’t do it,” help them to think “I can’t do it yet.” Reassure them that, with effort, practice, time, and the right strategies, they will succeed. • Self-efficacy helps develop a perception of “being able to.” As a teacher, try to organize activities in which you know your students will succeed, but also give them the confidence to try those that will be hard to do. For this purpose, you can show them what they are capable of doing and encourage them to try their best to do things that are still hard for them. For example, you can show a student that he is able to do simple additions and tell him that this will help him to do more complicated things, even if they seem hard at first. Page 39 GRADE 5 | With Myself Self-Efficacy | Lesson 2 • Avoid praising children for their ability. This may lead them to believe that abilities are fixed. Instead, praise their effort and dedication. This will help send the message that goals are attained with hard work, and do not depend on individual characteristics that cannot be changed. This also helps turn mistakes from failures into learning opportunities on the natural path toward developing a skill or understanding something better. Self-Efficacy Lesson 2 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to recognize that intelligence grows? If children believe that intelligence is a fixed capacity, they may quickly become frustrated with adversity, judging themselves as unintelligent. This is not only false, but it may also have negative consequences for children, since they won’t work hard if they feel they aren’t capable of achieving what they want. On the other hand, if they believe that their intelligence can develop, they will view challenges and mistakes as learning opportunities and feel capable of overcoming them. What do I do when a student tells me he isn’t good at anything or that • everything seems hard to him? You can ask him questions such as, “You’re not good at this or you don’t like it?” Use specific examples from the student’s life, such as, “Remember that day when you danced at… You did a great job,” or, “I’ve seen you make pretty drawings, for example, the drawing you made of…” Help him to see that it is always possible to emphasize moments when we did something well, even if it took us some time to achieve it. You can also show him that he isn’t as good as he wants to be yet, but that he will succeed with time and effort. This will help foster a growth mindset, which will in turn promote self-efficacy. Page 40 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Awareness | Lesson 3 Module 1 General skill Specific Skill With Myself Self-Awareness Emotional Awareness THE RAGEMETER Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Rate my anger. Small, soft ball that may be thrown. Lesson Guide Emotional Awareness 1 Intro Lesson 3 Anger is a very important emotion because it shows us that there are things that we don’t like to happen, that we find unfair or that we feel that are wrong. However, when this emotion is too strong, we can do things that may worsen the situation, for example, say or do something aggressive. Stand up. In your places, you will cover your mouth and scream as loud as you can, as if you were really, really angry. Since your mouth is covered, there won’t be much noise, but each of you is going to do it as loud as you can. How do you feel? Listen to your students and validate their feelings. Today we will identify what situations make us angry and how much anger we feel. This will help us to be prepared and know when we must calm down to be at peace with ourselves and with the others. 2 Core Let’s make a circle so that we can all see each other. We will throw the ball and when you catch it, you will say what makes you feel angry. We will use very few words so that the game is fast. For example, you may say, “when someone takes my things without asking,” “when someone hits me,” “when someone doesn’t listen to me”, etc. Let’s start. I feel angry when… Say something that angers you and then throw the ball at one of the students, who will say what makes him angry and will then throw the ball at someone else, who will do the same. The game ends when all the students have spoken. Write down on the blackboard the situations the students mention or ask someone to do it. Don’t erase them. Page 41 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Awareness | Lesson 3 There are many things that make us feel anger. Do we all feel angry about the same things? The things that make me feel anger will probably don’t bother so- meone else. We will call the situations that make us feel anger “ACTIVATORS”, because it is as if they ACTIVATED our anger. Which are our activators? You will all write down your activators on the worksheet “Which are my activators?” in your workbook (see Student Material). Give them a few minutes. Once they have all finished, invite three students to share their activators. Throw the ball to three students who are raising their hand. In addition to knowing what makes us feel angry, it is also important to be aware of how much anger we feel. To do this, we will use the Ragemeter (see Student Material). This is the Ragemeter. Emotional Awareness Show them the image. Lesson 3 We use it to measure how angry some things make us feel. We will call this the anger “INTENSITY”. We will use the Ragemeter to know how much anger we feel in different situations. Of the situations written on the blackboard and which we mention most frequently, choose the one that makes you feel the least anger and write it down next to the Ragemeter, where it marks low intensity. Then, do the same with a situation that causes you moderate anger and then, with another one that makes you really angry (high). Let’s see how angry we feel before these situations. I am going to read to you some of the ones written on the blackboard. If this situation causes you very little anger, you will keep your arms down. If it causes you moderate anger, you are going to put your arms to the front and if it makes you really angry (high) raise both arms. Read several situations. Then ask the children the following questions and listen to their answers. • Why do you think it is important to know what makes us feel angry? • Why is it important to know how angry we feel? 3 Wrap-Up We don’t get angry with the same things and we don’t feel anger with the same intensity. • Why do you think it is important to know what makes us feel angry? • Why is it important to know how angry we feel? Anger is an essential emotion, but when it is not well managed, it may lead us to do things we don’t want to do; for example, to say or do things that may hurt other people. It is important to know what makes us feel angry and how much anger we feel with those things, so that we may be prepared and know when we have to calm down in order to be at ease with ourselves and with the others. Page 42 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Awareness | Lesson 3 Student Material Which are my activators? Emotional Awareness Lesson 3 1 2 3 Page 43 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Awareness | Lesson 3 Things make me angry at different levels of intensity ________________ HIGH ________________ ________________ Emotional Awareness Lesson 3 ________________ MODERATE ________________ ________________ ________________ LOW ________________ ________________ Page 44 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Awareness | Lesson 3 Concepts, tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Emotional Awareness: Recognizing our emotions, what causes them, and their effects (Goleman, 1995). The ability to identify what we are feeling, think about it, and put a name to our emotions. This is a fundamental skill for children’s social and emotional learning, since it is essential that we learn about ourselves and learn to manage our emotions, forming harmonious relationships with others. Children in third grade have the ability to identify complex emotions such as shame and pride, as well as basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and anxiety. They also have the ability to identify more than one emotion at a time. Self-Awareness: Knowing our internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions (Goleman, 1995). In our framework, the specific skills related to self- awareness are self-concept, self-efficacy and emotional awareness. These together lead to a more positive self-esteem, but self-esteem is defined here as an attitude Emotional Awareness rather than a skill (see also the definitions of skill and self-esteem). Lesson 3 To identify these emotions, it is very important that you help your students to: • Identify the bodily sensations that accompany emotions. These sensations may include temperature (feeling cold or hot), tension (tense or relaxed muscles), feeling their heartbeat or changes in their face (their eyes, mouth, etc.). • Name the emotions so that they broaden their vocabulary. 2 Tips for teachers and parents • Use everyday conversations to ask the children how they feel. In particular, help them identify the situations that make them angry. • Instead of judging them, help children understand what they feel naming the emotions and allowing them to express them, provided they are not being aggressive with themselves or with others. • Learning is tied to many emotions: the happiness of learning something new and knowing that we achieved something, but also sadness and anger over not being able to perform a task that seems very hard. You can help your students or children to recognize their emotions when they’re doing their homework or chores, or participating in an activity. Recognizing these emotions helps children to learn more and better. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to recognize our emotions? Emotions can make us do things we will regret. For example, anger can make us hurt someone. They can also prevent us from doing things we want or have to do. For example, fear can prevent us from doing something we want to do. It is vital that we be able to manage our emotions in order to act constructively, both with ourselves and others. The first step in managing them is to be able to identify what we are feeling. Page 45 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Awareness | Lesson 3 • Why is it important to think about bodily sensations? Emotions make our bodies feel very strong sensations. Thinking about these sensations allows us to quickly identify what we are feeling. It also helps us to manage our emotions, because if we know what is happening in our bodies (for example, our muscles feel tense), we can think of ways to calm down (relax our muscles). • What should I do if the children express intense emotions, such as crying or screaming? By talking about emotions, we will sometimes promote their expression, which causes us to feel things such as fear or worry. We can say things like “I can tell this makes you very sad,” “You’re very angry,” or “I understand that you’re afraid. I would be, too.” Then, you can put into practice one of the emotion Emotional Awareness management techniques that we will cover in later lessons. Lesson 3 Page 46 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Regulation | Lesson 4 Module 1 General skill Specific Skill With Myself Self-Regulation Emotional Regulation BRINGING DOWN THE ANGER Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Deal with my anger in a healthy way. Only ourselves. Lesson Guide 1 Intro Sometimes we feel emotions that are so big that they can make us do or stop doing things without really meaning to. For example, when we’re very mad, we can say things that make our friends feel bad. Or when we feel very scared, we can stop participating in games that we like a lot. Even when we’re very happy and excited, we can talk nonstop and move around a lot. 2 Core Today, we’re going to talk about how to control our emotions. Everyone stand up Emotional Regulation (in an open space, or in the classroom, previously set up for this purpose), touch the tips of your toes, and then jump in place, as high as you can. Do the same Lesson 4 thing a few more times. Now run in circles as fast as you can. Have them continue for a few minutes until they are tired. Now stop and tell me how the different parts of your bodies feel. • How does your head feel? Hot, about to explode, tingly? • How does your face feel? Tightened, tense, hot, red, cold? • How does your heart feel? Fast, hot, as if it was going to jump out of your chest? • How does your stomach feel? Like it’s in a knot, like it’s empty? • How do your arms and legs feel? Hard, tight, shaky, tingly? When we feel strong emotions, our bodies also feel lots of things like what we’re feeling right now, especially when we are mad. When we feel like this, we’re like out-of-control cars that can’t hit the brakes. What happens when a car can’t hit the brakes? Listen to your students. Page 47 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Regulation | Lesson 4 We’re going to learn how to hit the brakes when we feel mad, so we can control ourselves and act calmly. Today we’re going to meet our friend, the Stoplight. He learned that if he didn’t help cars to stop, there might be lots of accidents and people could get hurt. Look at Stoplight in your workbooks (see Student Material). What is he telling us? Listen to your students. When Stoplight sees people who are very mad, he helps them to stop, keep cool, and then continue with what they were doing. To do this, he uses his lights. What colors are a Stoplight’s lights? Listen to your students. Now we’re going to color in Stoplight’s lights. Give them a few minutes to do this. What do cars have to do when they see a red light at the stoplight? Emotional Regulation Listen to your students. Lesson 4 STOP. That’s exactly what we’re going to do when we feel mad. The red light will tell us to stop; the yellow light will tell us to wait and keep cool; and the green light means that once we have cooled down, we can continue doing things. Let’s practice. Run or jump again like out-of-control cars. Be careful not to hurt yourselves or hurt anyone else. After a few minutes, shout: 1. “RED LIGHT! Stop!” Stop what you’re doing or saying. 2. “YELLOW LIGHT! Keep cool!” Let’s all keep cool. • Take deep breaths and breathe out slowly. Do this at least three times. • Think of things that calm or distract your minds; for example, count backwards from 10 to 1. 3. “GREEN LIGHT! CONTINUE!” Now that we’ve cooled down, we can continue calmly with what we were doing before. We’re going to repeat the process. Everyone run around again. Page 48 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Regulation | Lesson 4 Repeat the process. The next time we feel mad, let’s remember our friend the Stoplight and think “Red light!” so we can stop and cool down. 3 Wrap-Up You did a great job with this activity, and you managed to control yourselves. Remember that you can use these ideas when you feel very mad. When do you think you can use them here at school? Listen to your students. For example, when they’re playing with their classmates and they run into each other by accident, when they want to say something and no one listens to them, or when someone takes away their things. The next time we feel mad, let’s remember our friend the Stoplight, so he can help us to stop and cool down. Emotional Regulation Lesson 4 Page 49 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Regulation | Lesson 4 Student Material stop! cool down Emotional Regulation Lesson 4 continue Page 50 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Regulation | Lesson 4 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Emotional Regulation: Purposefully influencing the intensity, duration and type of emotion we experience in accord with our momentary and long-term goals (Gross & Thompson, 2007). Self-Regulation: Managing our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations (CASEL, 2015). In our framework we use self-regulation mostly as emotional self-regulation (emotional management, tolerance to frustration, impulse control), while “determination” encompasses those self-regulating behaviors that relate to goal setting, motivation, perseverance and managing stress. In order to manage our emotions, we need to know how to identify them. To help children learn to manage their emotions, it is important that you: • Help the children to identify what they are feeling. • Encourage the use of concrete techniques for managing these emotions; for example, stop what you’re doing, take a slow, deep breath, and think of things that make you keep cool. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Don’t scold children when they are very agitated, since this may send the message that emotions are bad. Instead of doing this, you can help them to identify their emotions, saying things like, “You’re really excited about this,” Emotional Regulation “You’re very angry,” “You’re very happy,” or “This makes you feel scared.” Lesson 4 • Validate the child’s emotions and help him to manage them using the techniques provided in Step by Step. For example, ask him to distract himself and take several deep breaths or to think of things he likes. • Once the child has cooled down, recognize this achievement and accompany him as he decides on how to act. • Managing emotions is very important for learning. You can help students or children to recognize their emotions when they are doing their homework or participating in an activity; for example, sadness or anger at not being able to do a task that seems very hard. Recognizing emotions will help them to learn more and learn better. • The example you teach them is essential. Think about how much you control your emotions in front of the children, for example, when you have to discipline them. Page 51 GRADE 5 | With Myself Emotional Regulation | Lesson 4 3 Frequently Asked Questions • How can I help children to better manage their emotions? Use everyday situations that may cause children to feel emotions. Get to know them so you can recognize what types of situations cause certain emotions. What makes them the maddest or the most scared, etc.? Show them how to keep cool and remind them of this when they are very agitated. For example, say, “Remember how we practiced keeping cool?,” “Take three deep breaths: one, two…,” or “Count backwards from ten.” Practice these techniques yourself so you can provide a model of these behaviors for the children. • What do I do when children feel very strong emotions and they can’t keep cool? Above all, keep cool. If you react with an even stronger emotion, children will learn that this is the way to handle the situation, and instead of cooling down, they will feel even more intense emotions. You can give them a chance to express what they are feeling, and then validate their feelings by telling things like, “I know this makes you very mad. Let’s take a minute to cool down.” If you see that the children may hurt themselves or others, give them a hug and help them calm down using a gentle tone of voice. Emotional Regulation Lesson 4 Page 52 GRADE 5 | With Myself Delayed Gratification | Lesson 5 Module 1 General skill Specific Skill With Myself Self-Regulation Delayed Gratification THE GIFT Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Control the impulse to do whatever I want. One blank sheet for each student. Lesson Guide 1 Intro We often face situations where we have to control our impulses and our emotions to obtain a better result afterwards. Everybody stand up. Let’s play a game. We are going to stay very still, not moving, doing or saying anything for two minutes. I’m going to take the time. If someone moves or says something he will sit down and will not play anymore. Start taking the time. What did you feel? Was it easy or hard? Listen to your students and validate their feelings. There are moments when we need to control ourselves and wait. For example, if we have an exam and we don’t control the impulse to watch television or do other things instead of studying during the day, we may have to stay up all night studying afterwards. Can you think of other situations where we must control our Delayed Gratification impulses to achieve something better afterwards? Lesson 5 Listen to your students. Today we will learn a strategy to control those impulses. 2 Core Today we are going to give a classmate a secret message. It will have three parts. On the first one, you will invite her to do something fun, for example, to play something. Page 53 GRADE 5 | With Myself Delayed Gratification | Lesson 5 On the second part, you will congratulate her for something she did. On the third one, you will thank her for something she helped you with. Form pairs. You all have to give and receive a message and you will write your own on the worksheet “The secret message” in your workbook (see Student Material), without letting your friend see. Remember, it is secret! If you want, you may sit far from your classmate while you write it. You have 5 minutes to think your message in silence and write it down. The two conditions are: don’t write anything negative and don’t show or tell your classmate what message you are writing. Those who do not follow this rule or look at their classmate’s sheet will lose their right to receive their message. When you finish writing, fold the sheet as small as possible, so that nobody can see what you wrote. Then give the folded sheet to your classmate, don’t open it! Your challenge will be to wait 10 minutes before reading the message given to you. Let’s see if we can do it! Ask the following questions and listen to your students. • Do you wish to read your message? • Is it hard to control yourself? Just as right now you may be wishing to read your secret message or to tell your classmate the gift you wrote down, there are many situations in everyday life when we wish to do something, but we must wait. To help us wait, we are going to think up strategies to divert our attention from our wish to look at the sheet or to reveal the message to your classmate. Who has an idea? Listen to your students and write down the main ideas on the blackboard. For example, thinking about other things, talking about things that have nothing to do with the gift, changing the activity to try and forget about the gift, etc. Ask each group to choose how they want to fulfill the challenge. During these 10 minutes, the students may talk with their partners about any subject they want, as long as they don’t look at the sheet or Delayed Gratification reveal the secret message they wrote. Once the 10 minutes are over, tell them they may read the message Lesson 5 they received. Congratulations! You achieved your goal to wait before opening or disclosing the message! You can now thank your partner for the message. Ask the following questions and listen to your students. • Was it easy or hard to resist the temptation to read your secret message or to reveal what you had written? • What strategy did you choose to resist the temptation? Did it work? Page 54 GRADE 5 | With Myself Delayed Gratification | Lesson 5 3 Wrap-Up You did a great job today because you practiced a strategy to control your impulses to do something you wished (to see what message had been given to you or to tell your partner what message you had written). • Can you think of any examples where despite wanting to do something very much you have to resist the urge to do it? Possible answers: The desire to cheat in an exam, to eat many chocolates or to go back to bed in the morning when you are very sleepy. • How can the strategy that you put into practice today help you in those situations? It’s better to postpone some desires, so that we can achieve better things later (for example, if you were able to resist the urge to reveal your message, you kept your right to receive yours). Don’t forget to take your message and put it away. You can show it to your family at home. Delayed Gratification Lesson 5 Page 55 GRADE 5 | With Myself Delayed Gratification | Lesson 5 Student Material The secret message My secret message for you is that: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ I want to invite you to… ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Congratulations… ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ I thank you for... ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Delayed Gratification Lesson 5 Page 56 GRADE 5 | With Myself Delayed Gratification | Lesson 5 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Delayed Gratification: Postponing immediately available gratification in order to attain delayed but more valued outcomes (Mischel, Shoda, & Rodriguez, 1989). Self-Regulation: Managing our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations (CASEL, 2015). In our framework we use self-regulation mostly as emotional self-regulation (emotional management, tolerance to frustration, impulse control), while “determination” encompasses those self-regulating behaviors that relate to goal setting, motivation, perseverance and managing stress. In order to manage our emotions, we need to know how to identify them. It is important that you help your students to: • Identify situations in which postponing the fulfillment of desires or needs will bring positive consequences later. • Identify and practice strategies to control their impulses and postpone the fulfillment of certain desires or needs. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents In order to learn to postpone the fulfillment of certain desires or needs, it is important that children: • Understand why postponing the immediate fulfillment of their desires or needs will bring better results or positive consequences for them. Parents and teachers may ask questions and help them identify these positive consequences. For example, if the children say that they want to leave their homework for later, you can ask them to think about how they would feel if they got it done now so they could do other things. • As teachers, we can help our students develop their capacity for delayed gratification by using school rules as opportunities to learn to wait. However, this should not be a punishment or something imposed by force. Children need to calmly understand that there are things that have a time and a place. • Identify and practice strategies that they can use to control their desires or Delayed Gratification emotional impulses, such as shifting their attention from the situation or thing Lesson 5 they want to put off or avoid. You can help children find the best ways for them to shift their attention. For example, some children like to sing, while others like to participate in a physical activity, etc. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to learn to postpone the immediate fulfillment of certain desires or needs? There are situations in which postponing the immediate fulfillment of certain desires or needs will mean better results or positive consequences later. For example, the child may be tempted to sleep in instead of going to class. However, this would mean that she wouldn’t learn the same things as her classmates, Page 57 GRADE 5 | With Myself Delayed Gratification | Lesson 5 and she will have to spend more time studying at the end of the year to pass the tests. On the other hand, if the child controls her desire to sleep and goes to class, she will learn more and then she can spend more time doing other activities later. • How can I help my children or students to postpone the fulfillment of certain desires or needs? One of the strategies is to divert their attention from those desires or needs that it is better to postpone. This will help distract their mind and make self-control easier. For example, if we want to avoid eating too many chocolates because we know we will get sick, we may try to stop thinking about the chocolates and focus our attention on other things (sing a song, read a book, go out for a walk, etc.), instead of focusing our thoughts on how delicious it would be to eat more chocolates. Delayed Gratification Lesson 5 Page 58 GRADE 5 | With Myself Frustration Tolerance | Lesson 6 Module 1 General skill Specific Skill With Myself Self-Regulation Frustration Tolerance KEEP CALM AND CALL THE SUPER PALS Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Stay calm when there is nothing I can do Roles cut out from the students’ workbook. to fix it. Lesson Guide 1 Intro Sometimes although we try very hard we don’t achieve what we want. For example, when we practice a sport, we want to win but not always manage to do it. When this happens, we feel frustrated. This brings about emotions such as anger, sadness and despair and may lead us to do negative things like stop doing what we like or even act aggressively. 2 Core We’re going to play a game. Look at your classmate beside you in the eye, without blinking or laughing. Be very serious. The first one to blink or laugh loses. Let’s see how long we can go without blinking or laughing. I’ll time you. Let’s try it for 30 seconds. Now for one minute. Did you like it? Adjust the time gradually so that the activity is challenging. Then ask the questions again, listen to your students and validate their feelings. • What emotions did you feel when, although you tried hard, you were not able to achieve what you wanted? • What thoughts came to your mind? Let’s meet the Super Pals. They are Wilma Wisdom, Pat Patience and Corey Courage. They can help us when we are unable to do something that we want and we feel frustrated. Introduce each super hero writing the name on the blackboard. Frustration Tolerance Lesson 6 Page 59 GRADE 5 | With Myself Frustration Tolerance | Lesson 6 WILMA WISDOM is a superhero who helps us think clearly so that we may know what we can and cannot change in a situation. She asks things like: What do you think? What can you change in this situation? What CAN’T you change? PAT PATIENCE is a superhero who helps us to calm down, be patient, and accept situations we can’t change. She can suggest us ways to reduce anger when we are frustrated; for example, to breathe deeply and relax body and mind. COREY COURAGE is a superhero who helps us with ideas about how we can solve a situation and encourages us to take action. Now that we know them, let’s use their help. Form groups of four. In each group there will be: • Someone representing Wilma. • Someone representing Pat. • Someone representing Corey. • Someone who is in a situation in which he cannot achieve what he wants, who will be the “frustrated one.” Ask them to choose their role among these four, or assign the roles as you wish. In the case of the “frustrated one,” assign one frustrated per group so that all three cases are distributed. Now that we know our roles, let’s open our workbooks and read. Give them a couple of minutes to read their role and to ask questions. Walk around each group verifying they understand their roles and tell them to follow the instructions. Each group will represent a situation in which one of you (the frustrated one) will show a case where he was unable to achieve something for which he had made great effort. Then, the superheroes will come out and following the suggestions indicated for each role, they will help the character in question. Remember that in all cases, Wilma always comes out first, then the other two. Let’s practice for 10 minutes and then, 3 groups will act it out. Let them practice for 10 minutes. During this time, walk around the groups observing the dramatization and, if necessary, help them understand each role better. Now ask three groups to volunteer to act in front of the class (one group per case). When they finish their act, ask the class: • Do you think that the super heroes could say something else to the character? • What would happen if these super heroes don’t come to the rescue? Frustration Tolerance Lesson 6 Page 60 GRADE 5 | With Myself Frustration Tolerance | Lesson 6 Congratulate them for the performance and, when necessary, make suggestions as to how the character in the story could act. 3 Wrap-Up Do you think that the Super Pals we played today can help you in situations in which you don’t achieve something you want, despite having made great efforts? How can they help you? Frustration Tolerance Lesson 6 Page 61 GRADE 5 | With Myself Frustration Tolerance | Lesson 6 Student Material Role playing (Cut out along the dotted lines) Role 1 You represent WILMA: Role 2 Role 3 I THINK AND ANSWER THE You represent PAT: You represent COREY: QUESTION: WHAT CAN I CALM DOWN AND ACCEPT I GATHER COURAGE TO CHANGE I CHANGE AND WHAT THE THINGS THAT I SOMETHING THAT I DON’T CAN’T I CHANGE IN THIS CANNOT CHANGE LIKE SITUATION? Your partner will be in a Your partner will be in a Your partner will be in a situation situation where she was unable situation where she was unable where he was unable to achieve to achieve something she to achieve something she something he wanted, despite all wanted, despite all the efforts wanted, despite all the efforts the efforts made. Your role is to made. Your role is to help her made and where there is no help him focus on his goal and think what things she can or solution. Your role is to help her encourage him to think of ways cannot change. To do that, you calm down and accept it. To do to solve the situation and take can ask her questions such as: that, you can: action. To do that, you can: • Suggest ways to calm down. • Ask him if he has thought about achieving what he • What can you change in • Help her find ways to accept wants some other way and this situation? the situation as is and make encourage him to do it. the most of it. • What can’t you change? • Ask him about other ideas he • Focus on being patient with thinks could work to solve the things we can’t change now, situation and encourage him they may change in the to take action. future. The frustrated one The frustrated one The frustrated one Situation 1 Situation 2 Situation 3 You want to go out and play Your dream is to join the school Your neighborhood friends during recess but, first, you dance group. You practice for a invite you out, but you can’t go have to finish several math long time, but when the time because you have to help your exercises. All your friends finish comes you are not chosen. You mother with the house chores theirs and go, but you can’t feel awful and you think you and although you tried hard to because you have not finished. lost your time practicing all the finish on time, you didn’t make You feel very angry because steps because in the end, you it. you like very much going out were not chosen. There will be When acting this out, your role and playing during recess and a new selection process next is to: you think that you will not be semester. • Tell your story. able to do it again. Your role is to: • Act angry because you Your role is to: • Tell your story. couldn’t finish on time and • Tell your story. • Act sad and bored because now you can’t go out. • Act angry and desperate you were not chosen. • Say: “How embarrassing, I because you were unable to • Say: “I wanted so much to was the only one who couldn’t do what you wanted. join the dance group.” go out.” Frustration Tolerance • Say: “Now I won’t be able to ever go out again during Lesson 6 recess.” Page 62 GRADE 5 | With Myself Frustration Tolerance | Lesson 6 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Frustration: A feeling of anger or annoyance caused by being unable to do something (Merriam-Webster, 2015). A common emotional response related to anger and disappointment, that arises when we perceive opposition to the fulfillment of our will (Miller, 1941). Frustration Tolerance: Withstanding annoying, even highly annoying, circumstances without getting disturbed (Tobias, 2014). Mastering new skills, doing difficult tasks or pursuing challenging goals can be quite frustrating: being able to handle that frustration and harness –instead of avoid– it to motivate us, helps us better ourselves. It is important that you help your students to: • Handle the emotions associated with frustration in situations where despite the efforts made, they fail to achieve their goal. • Learn to accept the fact that some goals may be unreachable at the moment. • Evaluate the irrational/negative thoughts caused by frustration and change them to rational/positive thoughts. • Work on their courage to keep on trying to achieve what they can. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • When the children have a hard time achieving something they want, help them to manage their emotions associated to frustration, by working on techniques and giving them funny names. This way, it will be easier for them to remember and apply them. • You can also help them to identify their “hot” thoughts, such as “I’m not good at this,” and change them for thoughts that will help establish short-term goals to get closer to the final objective: “This time I couldn’t make it, but I can keep on practicing.” 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to evaluate the thoughts we have when we feel frustrated? Because this helps us realize that irrational/negative thoughts, such as “I can’t” or “It’s impossible,” can be changed to rational/positive ones, such as “It’s hard, but I can do it” or “Maybe I can’t do it all, but I can do it by parts.” This will help us to better manage the emotions associated with frustration, for example, anger, sadness, and desperation, and look for different ways to act that help us achieve our objectives. Frustration Tolerance Lesson 6 Page 63 GRADE 5 | With Myself Frustration Tolerance | Lesson 6 • How to motivate children again once they have made efforts but failed to achieve what they wanted? Discuss with them the importance of making an effort when one wants to achieve something. Invite them to think that if we want something that we do not achieve, we must do something else instead, like wait, listen, try a little harder, etc. Emotions and thoughts that come up with frustration may cause children to feel like giving up and not trying again to reach a goal; help them manage their emotions and evaluate their thoughts so that they don’t affect them too much. Sharing own experiences is a good idea. • How can we manage sadness when we fail to achieve something we want despite having tried hard? It is normal to feel bad in such situations. We cannot expect children not to feel sad, but we can help them by validating their feelings and giving them the chance to express them. For example, we can say: “I would also feel very sad if that had happened to me,” “I understand that you feel sad.” Then, encourage them to think what they can do to reach the goals set out. • Is it OK to keep children from feeling frustrated by completing tasks for them? Frustration is part of life. It is important to become familiar with it and learn that we can’t always get what we want right away. Avoiding frustration too often may make it difficult for children to handle future situations where it will be necessary to wait, persevere, or try again and again until getting something right. This doesn’t mean that it is healthy to create frustrating situations, only that it is important that children learn how to handle them. Frustration Tolerance Lesson 6 Page 64 MODULE 2 With Others Perspective Taking GRADE 5 | With Others Perspective Taking | Lesson 7 Lesson 7 Module 2 General skill Specific Skill With Others Social Awareness Perspective Taking LET’S BUILD A PLAYGROUND Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Consider every point of view when making A photocopy of the roles included a group decision. in the Student Material: one for each group of four students. Lesson Guide 1 Intro There are things we may decide without considering other people. For example, if you decide to buy an ice-cream, what flavor would you ask for? Listen to your students. Probably, the one you like the most. But, what will happen if several people would have to buy one ice-cream jar of the same flavor for everybody? Listen to your students. Each person will probably ask for his favorite flavor. But what would happen if several people would have to buy one single ice-cream jar of the same flavor for everybody? Sometimes, when we take decisions we also have to consider what other people would like. It is important to understand what other people think and feel when facing a situation in order to take decisions that will make us all happy. 2 Core Each one will pick a number between 1 and 4. All numbers 1 will go to this part of the classroom, numbers 2 to this one, numbers 3 to this one and numbers 4 to this one. To perform this activity, divide the classroom in four quadrants and make sure all students have numbers from 1 to 4. The groups will be as follows: Group 1 – principals, Group 2 – cleaning personnel, Group 3 – students and Group 4 – teachers. Page 67 Perspective Taking GRADE 5 | With Others Perspective Taking | Lesson 7 Lesson 7 Each one will read their role, which is included in the worksheet “Let’s build a new playground!” Remember you have a role to perform. Make sure all the students are reading the role they have to play. Let’s discuss about what each one thinks about this situation. Everybody will be able to talk and will have the right to participate by taking turns in an organized manner. Guide the debate by asking the following questions: • Question for everyone: Who agrees with the construction of the new playground? Who disagrees? • Question for the principals: Do you agree with the construction of the playground? Why? • Question for the students: Why do you want a new playground? • Question for the cleaners: Do you agree with the construction of the playground? Why? • Question for the teachers: What do the teachers think about the construction of a new playground? Now, each teacher will partner-up with a principal, and each student will partner-up with a cleaner. Working in pairs we will do the following exercise: • Each person will say in his own words, what he believes the other one thinks regarding the decision to build a new playground. For example, in a teacher- principal pair, the teacher must say what he believes the principal is thinking and the principal must say what he believes the teacher thinks. • Then, each one must state if what his partner thought is really what his character thinks and explain if necessary. Once they have all finished the exercise, use the following questions and listen to your students. • Why do the persons involved in this situation fail to reach an agreement? • When doing the exercise in pairs, did you manage to understand the other person’s opinion? Was it easy or difficult? • Once you understood what the other person was thinking, did any of you change the opinion you had at first regarding building the playground? • How could you solve this situation? We will do some brainstorming and think about the greatest number of possible solutions, without judging if they are good or bad. Page 68 Perspective Taking GRADE 5 | With Others Perspective Taking | Lesson 7 Lesson 7 Write down the ideas on the blackboard. Here are some examples: Not to build the playground, to build the playground, to place big and small children’s recess periods at different times, to organize cleaning campaigns, to divide the existing playground for children that like to run and children that do not, to make activities to raise funds for the new playground, to ask the parents, to vote to reach a decision, etc. 3 Wrap-Up Today we saw different ways to consider the same situation. • What did we learn today? • Why is it important to consider other persons’ opinions and points of view? • Do we all see things in the same way? • Why do we see things differently? Possible answers: Because each person has his own point of view, because we all have different situations, because we do not experience the same situation as other people do, because we have different interests, etc. We may all have different ideas and points of view. When making a decision, it is important to consider the point of view of all people involved in order to be able to reach an agreement more easily. Page 69 Perspective Taking GRADE 5 | With Others Perspective Taking | Lesson 7 Lesson 7 Student Material Let’s Build a New Playgrund! 1. You will be the principal. You are a school principal and your school has just received a cash donation. 5th grade children have asked you to use it to build a new playground. However, you know this could be very expensive and you think this donation should rather be spent in sporting goods for students to play with during recess. You must try to convince the others that the money available should not be used to build a new playground, but to buy other things. 2. You will be the person responsible for cleaning. The school you work for wants to build a new playground. You do not agree with this decision because you know children always leave waste and mess in the existing playground, and you and your colleagues will have twice as much work if a new playground is built. You must try to convince the others that it is not a good idea to build a new playground because you do not want to do twice the work. 3. You will be a 5th grade student. Your school has just received a cash donation and you and your classmates want to suggest building a new playground. You think that in the existing playground older students cannot run fast because there are smaller students you may crash into. You and your classmates are bored with the situation and want to suggest building a new playground in a place available next to school. It would only need a fence or wall to close the area and that’s it! You must try to convince the others that the 5th grade children need a new playground to run and play freely. 4. You will be the teacher. The school you work for has received a cash donation. The children in your class will suggest using these funds to build a new playground, as the existing one seems to be very small for big and small children. You think this is a good idea, because if they build a new playground you will not have to chase fifth graders all around, asking them to be careful with the small kids when they run. You must try to convince the others it is a good idea to build a new playground, so that you will not have to spend your break time watching that the big children don’t hurt the small ones. Page 70 Perspective Taking GRADE 5 | With Others Perspective Taking | Lesson 7 Lesson 7 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Empathy: Understanding and feeling what another person is experiencing from within the other person’s frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another’s position (Bellet & Maloney, 1991). Perspective taking: Viewing the world from something other than our habitual vantage point. It helps to understand what other people may think or feel in a given situation by attempting to see what they see. In both children and adults, perspective-taking is associated with greater empathy, prosocial behavior, and more favorable treatment of the person (or group) whose perspective is taken (Furr, 2008). Social Awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports (CASEL, 2015). In order for your students to develop this skill, it is important that you help them to: • Understand what others are thinking and feeling in a given situation, so they can consider other points of view. • Observe, ask questions, and practice active listening in order to understand what others are thinking in a given situation. • Recognize that people may have different points of view in the same situation. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • When faced with a situation in which there may be disagreements, such as in an interpersonal conflict, help children to try and understand others’ points of view and recognize that these may be different from their own. You can ask questions such as, “What do you think the other person is thinking?” or “Why do you think this person feels that way?” • When reading stories, ask children about the different characters’ points of view. For example, “What does this person think and what does that person think?” You can also ask questions to help them think about and imagine different explanations, such as, “What might have happened?” or “What really happened?” 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to practice seeing things from other peoples’ perspectives? Children who have developed the ability to see things from others’ perspective can more easily resolve their interpersonal conflicts, have a more flexible thought process (they are able to find several explanations), they more easily develop empathy, and tend to respond assertively instead of resorting to aggression. Page 71 Perspective Taking GRADE 5 | With Others Perspective Taking | Lesson 7 Lesson 7 • Are seeing things from others’ perspective and empathy the same thing? Both skills are closely related. However, seeing things from others’ perspective involves a cognitive process in which we try to understand what others are thinking or feeling in a situation, while empathy involves an emotional process in which we feel what others are feeling, or we at least experience emotions similar to theirs. Page 72 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 Module 2 General skill Specific Skill With Others Social Awareness Empathy Empathy Lesson 8 HOW DOES IT FEEL? Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Put myself in the place of people living with Blindfold or pieces of fabric to cover our disabilities. eyes. Lesson Guide 1 Intro We all have characteristics that make us belong to a group. For example, a group of students, women, indigenous people, foreigners, among many others. Sometimes, people discriminate those who belong to different groups; they treat them differently, rejecting or excluding them with no justification just because they belong to a different social group. This is called discrimination. Have you ever seen a situation like this on TV? Listen to your students. Today we will learn the story of a Peruvian boy who was a victim of discrimination. 2 Core Do you know what having a disability means? Listen to your students. To have a disability means to be long-term physically, sensorial, mentally or intellectually impaired, which makes it difficult for a person to fully live his life or interact with the rest. Being blind, lacking a body part or not being able to walk are examples of disability. Do you know anybody with a disability? How is her life? Listen to your students. Page 73 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 Today we will see more closely what people with a disability feel. Let’s close our eyes for a moment and figure out how our lives would be like if we could not see, how we would go from home to school, what it would be like to be in front of the TV without being able to see anything, just listening to what is going on, what it would be like to walk around the city or the place we live, to travel in public Empathy Lesson 8 transportation, to meet a new person, etc. Then ask your students to put on a blindfold or a piece of fabric and try to walk around the classroom or grab an object. Give them some minutes. Pose the following questions, listen to your students and validate their feelings. • How did you feel while doing the exercise? • Do you think it would be easy or difficult to live without seeing anything? • How do you think people with this disability feel? It may be difficult to live without seeing anything. However, many people manage to have a successful life even though they cannot see. We will learn about a person in this situation. Open your workbooks in the page with the title “Edwin Bejar” (see Student Material). Read the story with the students. You may ask for a volunteer to read the story. Edwin Bejar Edwin Bejar is a young Peruvian who lost his sight completely when he was 17 years old. In 2000, he received his Law degree and wanted to apply for the position of “Deputy Prosecutor” in Cuzco, but the jury denied his right to participate arguing that he was blind. Prosecutors are responsible for presenting the evidence when discussing a crime. As the exam had to be in writing, the jury decided to reject Edwin’s participation because of his disability. Pose the following questions, listen to your students and validate their feelings. • Why do you think the jury refused to let Edwin participate? • How do you think Edwin felt when the jury did not let him participate because he was blind? • How would you feel if something similar happened to a member of your family or to a friend? • How do you feel about what happened to Edwin? • What should the jury of the selection process do? Page 74 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 Edwin filed his case before the Peruvian Ombudsman Office and the Ombudsman officers helped him defend his rights. It was difficult because many persons around Edwin considered that a blind person could not exercise the position of Empathy Lesson 8 Deputy Prosecutor. However, the National Council of the Judiciary and the jury of the selection process were convinced to adapt the exam, enabling Edwin to apply as every other citizen, without being discriminated for his condition as disabled. After applying, Edwin won the process and obtained the position. Since then, he has proved to be a good professional and, furthermore, he has shown that contrary to what the jury of the selection process believed, his disability did not prevent him from being an excellent prosecutor. After finishing reading the story, ask the students to write Edwin Bejar a letter following the worksheet guide “My letter to Edwin Bejar” in the workbook (see Student Material.) They may tell him about the exercise they did in class and their emotions regarding what he must have felt when he was a victim of discrimination. Once all students have finished, let your students share their letters with the rest of the class. 3 Wrap-Up Today we learned the story of Edwin Bejar, who was discriminated for being blind and we were emotionally connected with his story. • What did we learn today about disability? • How do disabled people feel when discriminated? • In what situations would they feel bad? Possible answers: when people make fun of them, when they are badly treated, when opportunities are denied to them, etc. • What could we do to prevent others from discriminating disabled people? Possible answers: tell them about our experience, explain them how it feels to have a disability or limitation, talk to them about what we learned in class today, etc. It is important to put ourselves in the place of disabled persons. When feeling what others feel in a situation similar to the one we saw today, we are able to better understand what discriminated persons feel and we may help them feel better and avoid discriminating them ourselves. Page 75 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 Student Material Edwin Bejar Empathy Lesson 8 Edwin Bejar is a young Peruvian who lost his sight completely when he was 17 years old. In 2000, he received his Law degree and wanted to apply for the position of “Deputy Prosecutor” in Cuzco, but the jury of the selection process denied his right to participate arguing that he was blind. Prosecutors are responsible for presenting the evidence when discussing a crime. As the exam had to be in writing, the jury decided to reject Edwin’s participation because of his disability. Edwin filed his case before the Peruvian Ombudsman Office and the Ombudsman officers helped him defend his rights. It was difficult because many persons around Edwin considered that a blind person could not exercise the position of Deputy Prosecutor. However, the National Council of the Judiciary and the jury of the selection process were convinced to adapt the exam, enabling Edwin to apply as every other citizen, without being discriminated for his condition as disabled. After applying, Edwin won the process and obtained the position. Since then, he has proved to be a good professional and, furthermore, he has shown that contrary to what the jury of the selection process believed, his disability did not prevent him from being an excellent prosecutor. Page 76 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 My letter to Edwin Bejar Write a letter to Edwin Bejar following the suggested guide below: Empathy Lesson 8 Date: ________________________ Dear Edwin Bejar: Today we did an exercise in class, where I learned that being unable to see, (write down what you learned about sight from the initial exercise) __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ While I was unable to see, I felt (write down the emotions you felt while you were unable to see) __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Then we learned about your story regarding the selection process for the Prosecutor position in Cuzco and I felt (write down how you felt when you heard Edwin’s story) __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Finally, I would like to congratulate you for (write down a congratulations message for winning the selection process) ______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Yours truly, ________________________ Page 77 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Empathy: Understanding and feeling what another person is experiencing from within the other person’s frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in Empathy Lesson 8 another’s position (Bellet & Maloney, 1991). Perspective taking: Viewing the world from something other than our habitual vantage point. It helps to understand what other people may think or feel in a given situation by attempting to see what they see. In both children and adults, perspective-taking is associated with greater empathy, prosocial behavior, and more favorable treatment of the person (or group) whose perspective is taken (Furr, 2008). Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports (CASEL, 2015). To develop this skill, it is important that you help your students to: • Identify the emotions they feel when they realize what happens with others when they are unjustly discriminated, excluded, rejected or treated differently, because they have a particular characteristic. • Respect and value differences and each person as a unique and unrepeatable human being. • Ask themselves how they would feel if they were in the other person´s place. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Promote valuing differences by asking questions such as “How are we alike?” “How are we different?”, “Why is it important that we learn to recognize and to value the differences between us and others?” or “What would happen if other people would not accept you because you are different from them?” • Make the most of the moments when children are able to mentally put themsel- ves in the other person’s place to feel their emotions. For example, use ques- tions such as, “How would you feel if that happened to you?” or “How do you feel about what happened to that person?” You can help them form the habit of examining their own reactions to others’ emotions. While reading stories, ask the children about others’ emotions and ask them how that makes them feel. • When a child acts aggressively toward another, you can use this situation to de- velop empathy using questions such as, “How do you think the person you hurt feels?” or “How does that make you feel?” • Situations of exclusion may be capitalized as excellent opportunities to develop empathy. Situations like these arise at school every day when people make fun of those they consider different, leave them out of the game or the groups, at- tack them, etc. You may ask “How does that person feel when that occurs?” or “How would you feel if that happened to you?” Page 78 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 • Are seeing things from others’ perspective and empathy the same thing? Both skills are closely related. However, seeing things from others’ perspective involves a cognitive process in which we try to understand what others are thinking or feeling in a situation, while empathy involves an emotional process in which we feel what others are feeling, or we at least experience emotions Empathy Lesson 8 similar to theirs. • How can we promote respect and appreciation of the differences between persons? First, it is important that students recognize that we do not only share certain characteristics, but that there are also differences between persons. Furthermore, these differences are also enriching as they reinforce the appreciation of every human being as someone who is unique and unrepeatable. Help students to recognize these differences and understand why accepting and appreciating them positively is important for a healthy coexistence. Encourage students to interact with people who are not their relatives and to learn about their characteristics or their environment, this may help them to recognize and appreciate diversity. Page 79 GRADE 5 | With Others Empathy | Lesson 8 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to develop empathy? Empathy is an essential skill for preventing aggression and ensuring a healthy coexistence. Children with high levels of empathy are less aggressive, have Empathy Lesson 8 an easier time reaching agreements, and can more easily understand other people’s perspectives. • Are seeing things from others’ perspective and empathy the same thing? Both skills are closely related. However, seeing things from others’ perspective involves a cognitive process in which we try to understand what others are thinking or feeling in a situation, while empathy involves an emotional process in which we feel what others are feeling, or we at least experience emotions similar to theirs. • How can we promote respect and appreciation of the differences between persons? First, it is important that students recognize that we do not only share certain characteristics, but that there are also differences between persons. Furthermore, these differences are also enriching as they reinforce the appreciation of every human being as someone who is unique and unrepeatable. Help students to recognize these differences and understand why accepting and appreciating them positively is important for a healthy coexistence. Encourage students to interact with people who are not their relatives and to learn about their characteristics or their environment, this may help them to recognize and appreciate diversity. Page 80 GRADE 5 | With Others Prosocial Behavior | Lesson 9 Module 2 General skill Specific Skill With Others Social Awareness Prosocial Behavior RÉSUMÉ Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Help in things I am good at. School supplies (e.g. colored pencils, felt- tip pens, ruler, erasers, etc.). Lesson Guide Prosocial Behavior Lesson 9 1 Intro We all have the skills to help other people in different ways; there is not one single way to help. We can help in something we are good and gifted at; for example, if a student is good at painting and there is someone that needs help to finish a drawing, or if a taller student can help a friend to grab a book from a high shelf in the library. Would you give other examples of how we can help other people? Listen to your students. We can also help other people in simple things, such as holding their backpack while they tie their shoes, or showing them around if they are lost. Sharing is another very important way to help, for example, we can share our bottle of water with someone who is thirsty or let another child use our colored pencils when he needs them or does not have his own. Would you give other examples of how we can share our things? Listen to your students. We are now going to explore the helper we all have inside us. 2 Core Have you ever heard about a “Résumé?” Well, a résumé is a document where people show their skills, interests and achievements when they are looking for a job. This résumé is published, so that in case this person is needed, they may call her to offer her a job. A résumé includes those things that we think describe us better. Today, you will design your own résumé for a very important job: helping other people. Page 81 GRADE 5 | With Others Prosocial Behavior | Lesson 9 Organize groups of four students and ask them to open their workbooks in the worksheet “My résumé: My strengths and qualities to help (see Student Material). Tell them that even though each one will have to complete and creatively design their own résumé, they may seek help by asking their partners for their opinion or ideas on what they know about each other. It is also required that each member of the group brings school supplies to share (for example, colored pencils, ruler, eraser, etc.) and say to the rest of the group: “I have brought ____________; you can use them if you need them.” Before starting, go over the topics that have to be completed in the résumé; provide and ask for examples to make sure that the instructions are clear. As students complete their résumé, walk around answering any questions that may arise and encourage them to share their ideas on helping options. Make sure they answer all the questions before they decorate their sheet. Give them 10 minutes to finish their Prosocial Behavior work. Lesson 9 If there is enough space available in the classroom, ask them to cut out their résumés and organize an exhibition, as in a gallery, so that all the students may know what help they can get from their classmates. Pose the following questions, listen to your students and validate their feelings. • How did you feel when completing your résumé? • What did you find easy or difficult in this activity? • Does anybody want to share how the group members helped him to complete his résumé? 3 Wrap-Up Making a résumé like the one we made today reminds us that we all have different ways to help others, but most importantly, that we can all help. Helping is not necessarily a difficult thing to do nor does it entail great efforts; we may also help people around us in very simple and small things of everyday life. • What did you like the most in this exercise? What do you think it was useful for? • What new things did you learn from your classmates that may be useful for you in the future? • Why do you think people should help each other? • Besides material things, what other things can we share? Helping each other is one of the most beautiful and important behaviors in human beings and it is what helps us build not only better relationships, but also better friendships, families and communities. Many of the things we achieve would not be possible without other people’s help. Page 82 GRADE 5 | With Others Prosocial Behavior | Lesson 9 Student Material My Résumé: My Strengths and Qualities to Help Other People _____________________________ (My photo) Prosocial Behavior (My name) Lesson 9 1. I am good at _______________________ and I can help you if you need it. 2. I like to share this: _______________________ and when I do it I feel ____________________. 3. I remember a situation when I helped or shared _____________________ 4. Sometimes I need help, particularly to _____________________________ _____________________________________________________ Please do not hesitate to call me if you are interested in my résumé. ________________________ (My Signature) Page 83 GRADE 5 | With Others Prosocial Behavior | Lesson 9 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Prosocial behavior: Voluntary actions intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals (Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989). Social Awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports (CASEL, 2015). 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Although children may have different levels of motivation when it comes to involving themselves in prosocial behaviors, it is important that we as adults try Prosocial Behavior to give them opportunities and encourage them to practice such behaviors. The more chances they have to see the positive social consequences in others and Lesson 9 themselves when engaging in prosocial acts, the more motivated they will feel to increase the frequency of these behaviors. • As adults, we always must set an example to be followed by children, since direct observation is a very powerful form of learning. Therefore, it is important that you frequently practice prosocial behavior with others in front of the children. When you help others, you are acting as a model for your children or students. • Empathy is a skill that is closely related to prosocial behavior. For that reason, helping children to develop empathy is an effective way of promoting their prosocial behavior. Ask them how people feel in situations where they may need help, and what could be done to support them. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to promote prosocial behavior? Adults are generally more preoccupied with keeping children from behaving badly or hurting others, and we end up spending a great deal of time educating them on unacceptable behaviors. While this is important, promoting positive behaviors and encouraging them to help others is a powerful strategy for showing them the benefits of getting involved in prosocial behaviors. It may also significantly improve the environment of the classroom and the home. • What is the best way to give feedback on prosocial behaviors in children? Unlike other qualities, when you want to give positive feedback on prosocial behavior, you can emphasize the children’s specific quality instead of just offering feedback on their behavior. For example, if a child helps another with his task, you can say to her, “I can tell you really like to help out,” or, “I can see you like to make other people feel better,” rather than just, “Good job helping Juan,” or giving her a piece of candy as a reward for helping. Research has shown that providing feedback on prosocial qualities as part of the children’s character increases the frequency with which they exhibit these behaviors. Page 84 GRADE 5 | With Others Active Listening | Lesson 10 Module 2 General skill Specific Skill With Others Positive Communication Active Listening THE MISTERY Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Ask and clarify when having a difficult Blank paper sheets. conversation. Lesson Guide 1 Intro What does a private detective do? His mission is to solve mysteries, and in order to do it he has to gather some clues. A detective uses different strategies in his investigation. What do you think those strategies are? One of his most important strategies is to ask questions. Why? Listen to your students. When we listen to others, we are being detectives. But sometimes, in order to Active Listening Lesson 10 understand the mystery, listening without asking questions is not enough. Questions may not only help us to better understand and clarify a certain situation, but they also show our interviewees that their story is of great value for us. Today we will be detectives. Hoy vamos a ser detectives. 2 Core We will practice being detectives by playing a game called “The Mysterious Animal.” Let’s work in pairs. The objective is to guess what mysterious animal chose our partner. Everyone must think about an animal and, taking turns, your partner will guess what animal it is, asking questions about its characteristics, for example, “Does it live in the sea or on land?” or “Does it have wings?”, instead of asking “Is it a cat?” or “Is it a dog?” Work out an example in front of all the students, so that they understand how to play the game. Once they have guessed the animal, they must change turns. Once they finish the game, pose the following questions and listen to your students. • How easy or difficult was to guess your partner’s mysterious animal? • Give examples of the questions that helped you solve the mystery. Page 85 GRADE 5 | With Others Active Listening | Lesson 10 You may write them down on the blackboard. • What would have happened if you were able to make only one question? Would you have been able to solve the mystery? Now, let’s practice being detectives, but in a more challenging situation, more like a real life mystery. We will all solve this mystery together. Invite a volunteer to come to the front with her workbook opened in the worksheet “The Mystery” (see the Student Material.) Ask her to read it in silence, to herself, and pretend she is the character. Ask the rest of the class to pretend the student is their friend, that she’s usually happy and in good mood, but that she looks sad today. While the volunteer prepares her role, ask the rest of the group to write down some questions in their notebooks. Then ask the volunteer to read aloud just the underlined text. The Mystery6 Last night, when your mom got home, she called all the family members to tell them that her salary payment was being delayed and, therefore, the family would have to save money until the check arrives. Your dad was very upset because they were considering using both salaries to pay some urgent pending household accounts. Your mom and dad had an argument and that worried you very much. Also, you are very sad because your mom had promised to take you Active Listening Lesson 10 to the amusement park, but now it would not be possible. As your parents were arguing, you decided not to say anything; however, you were still feeling bad. The next day, you tell your friends as soon as you get to school. Yesterday I had a problem at home and I feel sad and worried. NOTE: When they ask questions, you will have to answer with the information given in the above paragraph. Just give the information you are asked for and try not to give much detail, unless they ask you specific questions. Remember, your classmates must have a hard time discovering the mystery! Now you can ask questions in an orderly manner. Only the person I point out may ask a question, and I will only point out those who raise their hand. What questions can we ask to solve the mystery? If someone asks a question without having been authorized, ask the volunteer not to answer that question and move on to a question posed by someone who did raise her hand. Guide the students so that questions are only asked to get information and avoid, for example, asking something that implies giving advice, such as “Why don’t you tell your parents?” End the exercise when you see that the volunteer has given all the information possible based on the text. 6. Case and activity adapted from Aulas en Paz (www.aulasepaz.org). Page 86 GRADE 5 | With Others Active Listening | Lesson 10 • Was it useful to make questions to our classmate? • Why would we need to clarify the information that someone in a conflict gives us? Listen to your students. 3 Wrap-Up We did a good detective job solving the mystery by asking questions. • What are the advantages of being detectives in the relations with our classmates? Possible answers: we may understand them better, avoid misunderstandings, help them better when they feel sad, make them feel they are being listened to, and make them feel they can share their feelings with us. • What may happen when we don’t ask enough questions to clarify a situation? Possible answers: we receive incomplete information, we miss details that may be very important or interesting and conflicts may generate. Active Listening Lesson 10 Page 87 GRADE 5 | With Others Active Listening | Lesson 10 Student Material The Mystery7 Read the following paragraph in silence. This is what happened: Last night, when your mom got home, she called all the family members to tell them that her salary payment was being delayed and, therefore, the family would have to save money until the next payment was available. Your dad was very upset because they were considering using both salaries to pay some urgent pending household accounts. Your mom and dad had an argument and that worried you very much. Also, you are very sad because your mom had promised to take you to the amusement park, but now it would not be possible. As your parents were arguing, you decided not to say anything; however, you were still feeling bad. The next day, you tell your friends as soon as you get to school. Then, read aloud to the whole class the underlined text and try to look sad: Yesterday I had a problem at home and I feel sad and worried. NOTE: When they ask questions, you will have to answer with the information given in the above paragraph. Just give the information you are asked for and try not to give much detail, unless they ask you specific questions. Remember, your classmates must have a hard time discovering the mystery! Active Listening Lesson 10 7. Case and activity adapted from Aulas en Paz (www.aulasepaz.org) Page 88 GRADE 5 | With Others Active Listening | Lesson 10 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Active Listening: Placing all of our attention and awareness at the disposal of another person, listening with interest and appreciating without interrupting (Knights, 1985). It is a specific communication technique that requires paying close attention to the other person’s words and body language, repeating back key ideas and phrases from time to time to confirm our understanding of what the person has said, and asking non-judgmental clarification questions to better understand the other person’s perspective. Demonstrates respect for, but not necessarily agreement with, the other person’s feelings and views. Body Language: Gestures, movements or positions of the body that express a person’s thoughts or feelings (Merriam-Webster, 2015). Sometimes body language reveals something quite different from what someone is saying verbally. Effective Communication: Expressing ourselves, both verbally and nonverbally, in ways that are appropriate to our cultures and situations. This means being able to express opinions and desires, but also needs and fears. And it may mean being able to ask for advice and help in a time of need (WHO, 1994). Positive communication: Interacting with kindness and respect for ourselves and others, so as to enhance mutual wellbeing, growth and understanding. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • One of the most important ways to help children understand the importance of active listening is to know how to listen to them. Provide a model of active Active Listening listening by approaching the child, asking what’s going on, looking her in the Lesson 10 eyes, and paraphrasing what she says (repeating her own words). Validate her emotions (showing her that you understand why she feels like she does). But above all, listen with genuine interest to what the child is communicating. • In class or at home, you can use an object that symbolizes the “use of the floor,” so that only the person with that object in his hands can speak. This will ensure that nobody interrupts. For example, you can use this technique when you want to hear the group’s opinion. The object can be passed from one child to the next, and the person who has it can decide whether to speak or hand it to the next classmate. You can even do this with a rubber ball that can be tossed from one child to another. • Some children are so excited or impatient to tell you something that they may do so at inappropriate times. You can nicely say to them, “I understand that you want to tell me something, but right now I’m busy/doing __________. But I’d love to talk (offer a specific time).” It is important that you remember when you’ve offered to listen and follow up as needed. This consistency will tell the child that you are interested in what he has to say, and will teach him to do the same with others. Also try to be consistent in following the order of the turns when dealing with larger groups of children. • Offer positive reinforcement for specific active listening behaviors that the children exhibit with others or with you. For example, “It’s great that you’re listening. I can tell you were really paying attention to me!” This will tell them that their efforts to listen to others are valued. Page 89 GRADE 5 | With Others Active Listening | Lesson 10 3 Frequently Asked Questions • How do I get the children to listen to me attentively? Some children are more easily distracted than others and have a hard time paying attention for prolonged period of time. This does not mean that they are not interested in what you are trying to say. It is important that you provide a model and repeatedly practice active listening strategies with them in order to facilitate the learning process. You can help the children who tend to be easily distracted by talking to them at eye level, using simple and familiar language, and asking questions that actively involve them in the message you are trying to get across. For such children, repetition is important. You can even make sure they have understood the information by asking them to explain it back to you in their own words (for example, “Tell me in your own words the instructions I just gave you on how to finish this task.”). • What is the best way to teach children to listen closely? Role-playing games or scripted dialogues can be fun ways to practice active listening techniques. At home or in the classroom, you can use hypothetical or real situations in which the children practice different active listening techniques. Use fun examples that stress the importance of listening to others (for example, by telling stories about people who recognize the advantages of listening to others). You may achieve this by creating spaces for conversation in which you show interest in different areas of the children’s life, and share similar experiences with them. Active Listening • Why is it important that children feel listened to? Lesson 10 Choosing to pay attention to a child requires a complete willingness to listen actively to him. When a child feels listened to, he feels that his ideas, emotions, and thoughts are valuable to other people and worth sharing, which reinforces the child’s self-esteem. Likewise, actively listening is a way of expressing our respect for him. Page 90 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 Module 2 General skill Specific Skill With Others Positive Communication Assertiveness THE BEST DEFENSE Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Stand up for myself without hurting others. Only ourselves. Lesson Guide 1 Intro There are situations in which other people say or do things to us that we don’t like or that make us feel upset or mad. For example, we may feel upset or mad when someone hits us, puts us nicknames, mocks us or says offensive words to us. You can share a situation in which someone has said offensive words or has made fun of you. Without naming any of our classmates, would anyone like to tell us about a situation where you felt really annoyed at school for something someone else did or said to you? Listen to your students and validate their feelings. Sometimes, it may be difficult to know how to react in these situations, since each answer may lead you to different results; that is what we will learn today. Assertiveness Lesson 11 2 Core In some schools, there are persons who frequently bother other people. For example, they hit, put nicknames or make fun of others every day. Today we will learn how to face these situations in case we, or someone we know, experience them. Generally, when these situations occur, we may respond in three different ways: 1. Passively: We do not express what we feel or think, and do not defend our rights. That means we don’t do anything or just keep silent. Page 91 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 2. Aggressively: We do express what we feel or think and defend our rights, but hurting others. 3. Assertively: We express what we feel or think, and defend our rights without hurting other people. Write down these three concepts on the blackboard using the following headings: passive answers, aggressive answers and assertive answers. Now, let’s read the story of and Tiger that you will find in your workbook (see the Student Material). Oswald and Tiger Tiger is the biggest and strongest student in the fifth grade. He has many friends and his classmates do whatever he says. For example, the other day Tiger was hungry and forced Oswald to buy him food at the school store. Oswald didn’t have much money, but he couldn’t say no and did what Tiger ordered. Oswald, on the other hand, is a small, shy and quiet student. He doesn’t have many friends, and some people say he is weird because he is always by himself during recess. Tiger thinks Oswald looks funny and he makes fun of him all the time, saying, “Oswald is a dweeb!” He feels very frustrated. Going to school has become a nightmare, as he knows Tiger will make his school-day unbearable from beginning to end. • What will happen if Oswald responds passively, if he doesn’t do anything to defend himself? For example, Tiger will continue bothering him and the situation will continue as it is. • What will happen if Oswald responds aggressively, that is, if he tries to insult or hit Tiger to defend himself? Assertiveness Lesson 11 For example, Tiger will become angry and he will probably attack Oswald physically; the situation will get worse. • What other non-aggressive ways to defend himself would Oswald have in this case? Write on the blackboard all the non-aggressive options the students suggest. For example, Oswald can ask a friend to go with him to tell Tiger to stop bothering. Page 92 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 • What non-aggressive ways could we have to defend Oswald? For example, ask Tiger to stop bothering him, not to laugh when he mocks Oswald, tell him he is not being funny. • What are the pros of responding assertively (that is, neither aggressive nor passively)? What are the cons of responding passively or aggressively when facing a situation like that of Oswald? Listen to your students and write down the main ideas on the blackboard. For example, by not doing anything, the situation will continue and Tiger will keep on bothering Oswald; by answering aggressively, Tiger will respond with much more aggression and the situation will get worse. Now we will make groups of three. We will read together the story of Pipe and Rosina, which you will find in your workbooks (see the Student’s Material). Pipe and Rosina Rosina is the most popular girl in the fifth grade. She has many friends and all her classmates want to be with her during recess. However, she is not always kind to other people. She finds it particularly amusing to bother Pipe, a silent and lonesome student that always seats in the back row in the classroom. Rosina knows he is very intelligent and every week threatens him with something to make him do her homework. She tells him: “Be careful, Pipe. You know that if you don’t bring my math homework tomorrow, I will tell everybody you want to be Lorena’s boyfriend.” He is embarrassed and cannot defend himself as he knows Rosina is very popular and all her classmates will do whatever she says. He feels frustrated and angry, and doesn’t know what to do to make her stop threatening him. Assertiveness Lesson 11 Each group will make two lists in their workbooks. In the first list you will write down assertive (non-aggressive) actions Pipe may use to defend himself in this case. In the second one you will write down assertive actions you could use to defend him if he were your classmate. Once all groups have completed the exercise, invite two or three students to act out some of the options in front of the class. Pose the following questions after each performance, and listen to your students. Page 93 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 • Is this option assertive (does not seek to hurt the other person)? • Do you think this option may work so that Rosina stops threatening Pipe? Why? 3 Wrap-Up Today, you have all done a great job practicing assertive answers when facing aggressive situations. Why do you think assertive answers may be better than aggressive answers or than not doing anything? By answering in a clear, calm and firm, yet not aggressive manner to other people’s aggressions we defend ourselves properly. If we don’t do anything or if we answer aggressively, the situation will most likely continue or get even worse (for example, the other person may keep on attacking us, even more intensely). Assertiveness Lesson 11 Page 94 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 Student Material Oswald and Tiger8 Tiger is the biggest and strongest student in the fifth grade. He has many friends and his classmates do whatever he says. For example, the other day Tiger was hungry and forced Oswald to buy him food at the school store. Oswald didn’t have much money, but he couldn’t say no and did what Tiger ordered. Oswald, on the other hand, is a small, shy and quiet student. He doesn’t have many friends, and some people say he is weird because he is always by himself during recess. Tiger thinks Oswald looks funny and he makes fun of him all the time, saying, “Oswald is a dweeb!” He feels very frustrated. Going to school has become a nightmare, as he knows Tiger will make his school-day unbearable from beginning to end. Assertiveness Lesson 11 8. Story adapted from the Aulas en Paz Program (www.aulasenpaz.org). Page 95 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 Pipe and Rosina Rosina is the most popular girl in the fifth grade. She has many friends and all her classmates want to be with her during recess. However, she is not always kind to other people. She finds it particularly amusing to bother Pipe, a silent and lonesome student that always seats in the back row in the classroom. Rosina knows he is very intelligent and every week threatens him with something to make him do her homework. She tells him: “Be careful, Pipe. You know that if you don’t bring my math homework tomorrow, I will tell everybody you want to be Lorena’s boyfriend.” He is embarrassed and cannot defend himself as he knows Rosina is very popular and all her classmates will do whatever she says. He feels frustrated and angry, and doesn’t know what to do to make her stop threatening him. Each group will make two lists in their workbooks. In the first list you will write down assertive (non-aggressive) actions Pipe may use to defend himself in this case. In the second one you will write down assertive actions you could use to defend him if he were your classmate. 1. __________________________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________________________ 3. __________________________________________________________________ 4. __________________________________________________________________ 5. __________________________________________________________________ What could we do to defend Pipe so that Rosina stops threatening him? Come up with as many assertive, that is, NON-aggressive, answers as possible. Assertiveness 1. __________________________________________________________________ Lesson 11 2. __________________________________________________________________ 3. __________________________________________________________________ 4. __________________________________________________________________ 5.___________________________________________________________________ Page 96 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Assertiveness: Being able to advocate for ourselves or our own positions without resorting to aggression or harming the rights of others (Peneva & Mavrodieva, 2013). Bullying: (harassment, intimidation, pestering): Aggressive behavior that is intended to cause distress or harm, involves an imbalance of power or strength between the aggressor and the victim, and occurs repeatedly over time (APA, 2004). Bullying may take many forms, including physical bullying; teasing or namecalling; social exclusion; peer sexual harassment; bullying about race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and cyberbullying (APA, 2004; Limber, 2002; Olweus, 1993; Nansel, et al., 2001). Positive communication: Interacting with kindness and respect for ourselves and others, so as to enhance mutual wellbeing, growth and understanding. It is important that you help your students to: • Identify the difference between being assertive, being aggressive, and not doing anything in response to a situation that affects us. • Identify the advantages of being assertive. • Identify the negative consequences of being aggressive or not doing anything in response to a situation that affects us. • Practice ways to be assertive in different situations inside and outside of school. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Assertiveness is a skill that requires a great deal of practice. It is important that your students reflect on how they can be assertive in situations that make them uncomfortable or mad. We as adults can help them by asking questions such as, “Instead of hitting him, what could you have said to your friend so he would stop bothering you?” or “How can you nicely tell your classmate to stop being mean to others?” Conflicts, fights, and everyday aggression inside and outside school may be opportunities for encouraging this type of reflection. • Parents can also help practice assertive communication at home. For example, you can encourage your children to frequently practice clear, calm and firm, non-aggressive ways of talking about what they feel, think, and want, using Assertiveness questions such as, “Without yelling, how can you tell your brother that you don’t Lesson 11 like it when he takes your notebooks?” • It is very important to set an example in our interactions with children by being assertive in situations that make us mad. For example, you can react assertively when you correct children after they do something that bothers you, rather than responding impulsively (hurting them or punishing them excessively to make them feel bad). • Another way to encourage assertiveness in children is by asking them to give us feedback on how we communicate. For example, when we feel mad about a situation and we say so to another person, we can ask our children, “How did I do? Do you think I responded clearly and firmly, but not aggressively?” Page 97 GRADE 5 | With Others Assertiveness | Lesson 11 • Although the objective of this lesson is for children to learn how to deal with different situations on their own and respond assertively, it is necessary for the teacher or adult to intervene immediately in case of bullying, talking to all parties involved and putting a stop to this behavior. Don’t forget that bullying (harassment, intimidation, pestering) refers to those situations in which there is repeated (many times) and systematic (the same people) aggression between students, and in which there is also an imbalance of power that makes the victim unable to defend himself. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to learn to be assertive? In general, we can respond in three different ways to situations that make us mad or bother us: passively (for example, not saying anything or avoiding the other person); aggressively (for example, insulting or hitting the other person); or assertively. Responding passively or aggressively will probably make the situation worse. For example, if we don’t do anything in response to an insult or if we respond aggressively, the other person will probably continue to hurt us even more frequently or with more intensity. Likewise, if we have a conflict with a friend and we don’t do anything and bottle up our feelings, we may start to feel bad and discontent. On the other hand, assertive responses are an adequate way of enforcing our rights and respecting the rights of others, as well as expressing what we feel and think, while taking care of ourselves and our relationships with others. Assertiveness Lesson 11 Page 98 GRADE 5 | With Others Conflict Management | Lesson 12 Module 2 General skill Specific Skill With Others Positive Communication Conflict Management CERA Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Assess the problem calmly and brainstorm Only ourselves. solutions. Lesson Guide 1 Intro We all have had problems with some friends or classmates at one point of our life. It is normal that sometimes we don’t agree on certain things or have different points of view. Has that occurred to you? Listen to your students. Even though these situations are normal, sometimes they cause us problems and lead to consequences we do not like. For example, we may quarrel and stop being friends, or hurt other people or ourselves. However, we can learn to seek solutions that are good for everybody, capitalizing these situations, thus turning the problems into opportunities. Today we will learn a strategy to manage these situations. 2 Core Many times we act impulsively when facing conflicts and do things that are not good for us and that may worsen the situation instead of improving it. We will learn some very simple steps that can help us improve these situations. This strategy is called “CERA” and the steps are: 1. Calm down. Calm down, especially if you feel angry. Find the way to calm down in order to solve the situation. 2. Evaluate. Evaluate the situation. What is the problem? What do you want to achieve? 3. Resolve. Do some brainstorming with all that comes to your mind to solve the situation. 4. Act. Choose the best option for everybody and act without being aggressive. Conflict Management Lesson 12 Page 99 GRADE 5 | With Others Conflict Management | Lesson 12 • What are the main steps? Answer: Calm down, evaluate, resolve and act. Make sure your students understand each step. Now, let’s act! Who wants to volunteer to act in front of the group? Choose two volunteers. If there aren’t any, choose two students you consider can do it right. This is the situation: One of them borrowed a notebook from the other, but did not give it back. The one who lent it needs it urgently because she has to do a very important homework. She has already asked his classmate for it several times, but he hasn’t returned it. You will represent this situation and then we will all think together how we can use the CERA strategy to face something like this. After the performance, explain the use of the CERA strategy as follows. Listen to your students after each question. First step: CALM down. How could you calm down? Second step: EVALUATE. Analyze the problem. What is the problem here? What does each of them want? Third step: RESOLVE. Think many options to solve the problem. Let’s do some brainstorming and write down on the board all our ideas. Fourth step: ACT. Which of the options is best for both? Why being aggressive does not seem to be the best option? Let’s act again! Do the acting once again, but this time we will put in practice one of the options suggested. Invite the student representing the child who lent the notebook to choose one of the solutions suggested to him. Once they finish, pose the following questions and listen to your students: What changed? Why? Now, let’s practice together! Form pairs, think of another conflicting situation and do a sketch showing what you would do to solve it using the CERA technique. Conflict Management Lesson 12 Page 100 GRADE 5 | With Others Conflict Management | Lesson 12 When the sketches are finished, pose the following questions, listen to your students and validate their feelings. • How did it go? • Was it easy or difficult? • How can we do it better? Let’s go over a couple of sketches. Who wants to show us how you managed to settle the conflict? 3 Wrap-Up • What did we learn today? • What are the steps of the CERA strategy? • In what situations can we use it? We all have conflicts with others. It depends on us to manage these situations aggressively or to seek solutions that may be useful to everybody. The steps of the CERA strategy may be useful for this. The next time we have a conflict with a classmate, let’s use what we learned today to find better alternatives. Conflict Management Lesson 12 Page 101 GRADE 5 | With Others Conflict Management | Lesson 12 Student Material Facing a Conflict… 1. Calm down. Calm down, especially if you are angry. Find the way to calm down in order to solve the situation. 2. Evaluate. Analyze the situation: what is the problem? What do you want to achieve? 3. Resolve. Do some brainstorming with all that comes to your mind to solve the situation. 4. Act. Choose the best option for everyone and act without being aggressive. Conflict Management Lesson 12 Page 102 GRADE 5 | With Others Conflict Management | Lesson 12 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Conflict escalation: The process by which conflict moves, step to step, from less intense and less complex to more intense and increasingly complex, and sometimes more violent (Glasl, 1982). Conflict management: Limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict so as to enhance learning and group outcomes (Rahim, 2002). According to Rahim (2011), to achieve this we need to have concern for ourselves and for the others involved, and collaborate to reach a mutual and acceptable solutions through openness, exchange of information, and examination and exploration of differences. Other less healthy ways to manage conflict are avoiding the issue, imposing our views or methods on others, or neglecting personal concerns to satisfy the other parties. Interpersonal conflict: An expressed struggle between two or more people, as a result of incompatibility, disagreement or differences between them (Rahim, 2011). Conflict is part of life in society and reflects the diversity of human beings. In these situations feelings and emotions play an important role, and the relationship between the parties can be strengthened or weakened based on how conflict is managed (Torrego, 2003) 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Firmly put a stop to any aggressive situation that may occur, for example, shouting, insults, hitting, taunts, etc. • Do not act aggressively under any circumstance. Always act calmly. Make sure not to shout, use physical violence, or say hurtful things. • Use conflicts as learning opportunities. Do not try to place the blame on someone by asking things like “Who started it?” Instead, ask “What happened?” • Help children to calm down and understand the other person’s point of view. • Help children offering them a conflict management strategy, like CERA: Calm down, Evaluate, Resolve and Act. • Show them how aggressive actions may worsen the situation. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Are conflicts bad? No. Conflicts are a normal part of human interactions. They are not good or bad in and of themselves. When properly handled, they are opportunities to strengthen our relationships, learn about ourselves, and tackle tough situations in a way that is constructive for everybody. • Are conflicts and fights the same thing? No. When we have a conflict, we don’t necessarily end up fighting. Fights usually occur when a conflict has been handled poorly. Situations involving aggression and Conflict Management violence are often the result of mishandled conflicts. However, many conflicts can Lesson 12 be handled with mutually beneficial strategies that do not involve aggression. Page 103 GRADE 5 | With Others Conflict Management | Lesson 12 • How can I help children to better handle their conflicts? First of all, review how you handle your own conflicts with others. This is a powerful model that your children or students will undoubtedly follow. Take conflicts as learning opportunities and suggest to the children that they take turns, share, or choose something that they all like or, even, to put in practice conflict management strategies such as CERA. Conflict Management Lesson 12 Page 104 MODULE 3 With Our Challenges Page 105 Page 106 Achievement Motivation GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Lesson 13 Achievement Motivation | Lesson 13 Module 3 General skill Specific Skill With Our Challenges Determination Achievement Motivation ONE FOR ALL, GROUP GOAL Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Self-monitor my contributions towards a Only ourselves. group goal. Lesson Guide 1 Intro All of us have dreams and goals we want to achieve, and we share some of these goals with other people. For example, what do you think a soccer team’s goal might be? What happens if someone on the team doesn’t do his part? Listen to your students. Just like a soccer team needs everyone to be committed, the goals we set with our family, our friends, and our group require all of us to be committed. • How do you know if a soccer team is making progress toward achieving its goals? • How do we know how well a soccer team is doing? Are there standings? • Do people check on how the teams are doing? Listen to your students. Today we’re going to learn how to evaluate how we’re progressing toward achieving our goals, so we can make sure we’re on the right path. 2 Core There are things we can do as a group, in which each one of us has to make a commitment, like the players on a soccer team or in other team sports. What’s your favorite team sport? How many players are there on each team? What would happen if they had one less player? Are there any players who don’t do anything? Page 107 Achievement Motivation GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Lesson 13 Achievement Motivation | Lesson 13 Listen to your students and write their ideas on the board. • What do players do to get better? • How do they know they’re doing things better? Today we’re going to learn about a tool that will help us determine whether we are making progress toward our goals. First, let’s think about what our goals are. What do you think our goals are as a group? For example: to do well on a test, to have a nicer classroom, to treat each other better, to never make fun of anyone, to help those who need it, to pay more attention in class, etc. Listen to your students and write their ideas on the board. We came up with lots of possible goals. Now let’s decide which one we’re going to choose. Each one of you is going to choose the goal you prefer the most, and I’m going to put a mark beside each goal chosen, to see which one gets the most votes. Write the goal with the most votes somewhere where the whole class can see it easily. Does everyone agree with this as our group goal? How do you think we can achieve this goal? What do we need? What does each of us have to do? Write the ideas on the board. To achieve our group goal, each one of us has to do his or her part, as part of a team. We’re going to see whether we achieve this goal this week. Each of you is going to identify what you have to do in order for all of us to achieve our goal, and we’re going to monitor our progress each day. To do this, we’re going to fill out the monitoring chart in your workbooks. This chart will help us monitor our progress toward achieving our goal each day. The first thing we’re going to write down is our group goal, to remind us of what we’ve set out to do. Then we’re going to write what we each have to do to contribute to the group goal. I want each of you to write down a personal goal that will help achieve the group goal. If your goal is to have a cleaner classroom, what could your contribution be? For example, not throwing paper on the ground, picking paper up from the floor if I see any, not getting my desk dirty, etc. Each of you is going to pick a personal goal (just one) and write it in the chart. Give them time to do this. Page 108 Achievement Motivation GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Lesson 13 Achievement Motivation | Lesson 13 The idea is to use this chart to see whether we’re making progress toward our goal. We’re going to update the chart each day. For example: • If I wrote down that I wasn’t going to throw paper on the ground and the first day I threw lots of pieces of paper on the ground, what should I mark on the chart? • If on the second day, I only threw one piece of paper on the ground, what should I mark? • If on the third day, I didn’t throw any pieces of paper on the ground, what should I mark? Write the options on the board and mark them based on the example. Share your individual goal with a classmate. Are they different? Are they the same? Does anyone want to share his or her goal with the whole class? Starting today (or tomorrow), we’re going to make sure to fill out our monitoring chart to see whether or not we’re making progress toward the goal. How do you think it will help us to fill out this chart? What happens if we forget to fill it out one day? 3 Wrap-Up Today we learned about a strategy for monitoring our group goals, and each one of us is responsible for monitoring his or her contribution to this group goal each day. • Do you think you’ll achieve the goal you set as a group? • How does the monitoring chart help us? • Can you think of other things for which you could use this chart? Next week, we’ll talk about how we did with the chart and our goal. Good luck! Page 109 Achievement Motivation GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Lesson 13 Achievement Motivation | Lesson 13 Student Material Progress Chart 1. Write down your group’s goal. 2. Write down your own goal (just one). This is what you can do to help your group achieve your goal. 3. Every day, mark the chart with an (X) to indicate whether you worked toward the goal, didn’t work toward the goal, or only worked toward the goal a little. If you want, you can write ideas about how to improve and do better the next day. My group’s goal is: To achieve it, I have to: I didn’t I did it I did it! How can I improve? do it a little Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 You can repeat the process another week if you haven’t achieve your goal yet. Page 110 Achievement Motivation GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Lesson 13 Achievement Motivation | Lesson 13 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Achievement Motivation: Being driven to succeed and to attain excellence through personal efforts (McClelland, 1953). People with high achievement motivation set realistic but challenging goals for themselves, take responsibility for goal accomplishment, persevere in the pursuit of these goals, and take calculated risks to achieve the goals. Self-Monitoring: Capacity to keep track of our progress toward our goals and determine whether we are taking the steps we identified to attain them. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • It is important to remember that motivation is something that is inside each child, allowing her to perform tasks with gusto or the desire to be better, and not to please others or avoid being scolded. As adults, we can help children to focus on their goals, based on what they want to achieve and not just what we would like them to achieve. • Help children to choose and set their own goals, but try to make sure these goals are viable. For example, “I’m going to practice my multiplication tables for half an hour,” and not “I want to learn all my tables right now.” You can help them by asking questions such as “What do you want to practice today?” or “Which of these things do you want to start learning?” • Once children have established goals, you can help them monitor their progress to keep them focused on the achievement they have chosen. To do this, you can use self-monitoring tools like the ones provided in this lesson. • Do not compare their performance with other children’s or their siblings’ performance. • Try to give feedback on his effort with phrases such as, “I like watching you practice.” When giving feedback on the results, do not focus on the child’s general positive qualities, but rather, the characteristics of the achievement. For example, tell him, “You made a really pretty picture,” instead of, “You’re a great kid!” When you want to give feedback on something the child can improve at, try to suggest alternative strategies, such as, “You could try to put more colors in this part of the picture,” instead of general negative aspects, such as, “Your picture didn’t turn out very well.” 3 Frequently Asked Questions • How can I promote achievement motivation in children? One way to do this is to show enthusiasm for your children’s interests and pastimes, and encourage them to investigate subjects that they like. Another way is to lead by example, i.e., express enthusiasm for things you have learned and share information with them on your own interests and goals on which you are focused. You can also help them to identify the steps they have to take in order to achieve their goals and show them how to monitor each one of these steps. Page 111 Achievement Motivation GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Lesson 13 Achievement Motivation | Lesson 13 • What can I do to make sure children achieve the goals they set for themselves? Help them establish realistic goals. This way, children can more easily monitor their progress toward these goals using specific indicators. For example, if a child wants to finish reading a short book by the end of the week, you can ask her to write down the number of pages she has read each day. She can even set a daily goal to achieve. At mid-week, you can ask her to tell you about some of the interesting things she has read in the book up to that point, the progress she has made, and how far she has to go. Page 112 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Perseverance | Lesson 14 Module 3 General skill Specific Skill With Our Challenges Determination Perseverance Perseverance Lesson 14 MISTAKES DIARY Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Try again and try harder in the face of failure. 4 or 5 books (of any kind) for each group of students. Lesson Guide 1 Intro Have you ever seen a baby learning to walk? What is it like? Does he start walking confidently from one minute to the next? Everyone stand up. We’re all going to walk around like babies just learning to walk. Without good balance, we might fall down. We look funny. When a baby falls, this helps him learn to walk better, to have more balance. Do you remember when you learned to ride a bike? All of us fell when we were first learning. Why do you think everyone falls when they’re learning to ride a bike? Do we learn something when we fall? What did we have to do in order to learn to ride a bike better? 2 Core We’re always learning new things, just like when we learned to walk, ride a bike, or talk. At first, it was hard and we made lots of mistakes that helped us learn. These mistakes showed us how to improve, and with hard work and effort, we managed to get better and better. In fact, we got so much better that we’ve forgotten that these things used to be hard for us. Now let’s practice. We’re going to try to achieve a goal: walking fifteen steps while balancing books on our head (four books if they are medium-sized, or five if they’re small). For this activity, I want you to form groups of four and move the desks and chairs so that you have room to walk (alternatively, you can take the group to an open space, if one is available at your school). Give each group four or five books, depending on the size. In their groups, students should decide on the order so that they each have a chance to try walking fifteen steps with the books on their heads, without using their hands. After all the students in each group have tried once, bring the whole class together again, pose the following questions and listen to your students. Page 113 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Perseverance | Lesson 14 • How did you do? • Did you achieve the goal on your first try? • What did you learn from each attempt? • What would you need to do to achieve the goal? Just like in this game, in life, there are situations in which we don’t achieve what Perseverance we want on the first try. In that case, we have to keep trying over and over, looking Lesson 14 for different strategies to use when we try again. • Do you think mistakes help us in some way? • Would we learn anything if we never made mistakes? Sometimes we forget that mistakes help us learn. No one gets everything right on the first try. We always make mistakes when we’re learning, and it is these mistakes that show us how to do things better, so that we can achieve what we want with hard work and effort. • What would happen if we didn’t make an effort? Today we’re going to learn how to use our mistakes to help us learn and make more and more effort. Each of you is going to write a Mistakes Diary over the course of this next week. To do this, each day you’re going to write something that you’ve learned, a mistake that helped you learn, and some ideas on how you could make more effort. For example: What did I learn What mistake helped me How can I make more effort? today? learn this? How? I let myself get carried away I have to remain alert when I Today I learned to by my anger and I treated my get angry so I don’t do things treat my friends best friend badly. I felt bad and that make me or my friends feel better. I apologized to her. bad. I tried over and over and I Today I learned to couldn’t do it, until the teacher I have to practice doing more solve a difficult math helped me and I realized my problems so I can get better problem. mistake. That way, I learned to and better at it. solve the problem. You can write in your diary about things that happen at school, or things that happen at home or with your friends. 3 Wrap-Up Today we talked about how our mistakes help us learn, and we’ve made a Mistakes Diary to write in every day. • Do you think it will be easy or hard to keep our diary? • How do you think this diary will help us? • Do you think you can learn things without making any effort? Even though we often don’t like to make mistakes, they are actually great learning opportunities. Our diary can help us take advantage of them so we can learn more and more. Page 114 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Perseverance | Lesson 14 Student Material My Mistakes Diary I’ll use this diary every day to write down a mistake that helped me learn and make Perseverance Lesson 14 an effort to be a better person. DAY 1 What mistake helped me How can I make more What did I learn today? learn this? effort? DAY 2 What mistake helped me How can I make more What did I learn today? learn this? effort? DAY 3 What mistake helped me How can I make more What did I learn today? learn this? effort? Page 115 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Perseverance | Lesson 14 DAY 4 What mistake helped me How can I make more What did I learn today? learn this? effort? Perseverance Lesson 14 DAY 5 What mistake helped me How can I make more What did I learn today? learn this? effort? DAY 6 What mistake helped me How can I make more What did I learn today? learn this? effort? DAY 7 What mistake helped me How can I make more What did I learn today? learn this? effort? Page 116 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Perseverance | Lesson 14 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. It entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, Perseverance adversity, and plateaus in progress (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, Lesson 14 2007). Perseverance: Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition (Merriam-Webster, 2015). Resilience: Adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors. It means “bouncing back” from difficult experiences (APA, 2015). It is important to help children to: • Realize that even when things are hard and take a lot of work, they can achieve them if they make an effort and persevere. • Learn from their mistakes and use them as a learning opportunity. • Reflect on the emotions and thoughts that occur when faced with failure in order to define strategies that allow them to persevere, and thus, achieve their objectives. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents As adults, we can help children to persevere so they can achieve the objectives they set for themselves. It is important, in case of possible failures, to: • Validate their feelings of frustration, anger or sadness. For example, you can tell them, “I understand that you’re sad because you didn’t do well on the test, even though you studied a lot,” or “I get mad, too, when things don’t come out how I wanted.” • Help them regulate their emotions, looking for different strategies to overcome those failures and continue trying to reach the objective they have set. Some strategies you can suggest to children include: - Use mistakes as learning opportunities; for example, by asking them what they can learn from their mistakes. - Avoid making the same mistakes and change the way they approach the problem or perform the task. For example, if we know that studying in silence and trying to memorize information doesn’t work to help us pass our tests, we can try other ways of studying, such as using drawings, creating summaries, or studying in a group. - Set small goals that are achievable and help work towards the final objective. For example, if we want to be really good guitarists, we can start by playing easier songs very well, and then, little by little, we can learn other, harder songs. Page 117 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Perseverance | Lesson 14 - Stop for a moment and then come back to the task later. There are situations in which stopping for a moment and trying again later can help calm us down and clear our minds a little. For example, if we aren’t able to do a math problem, it may help to rest for a bit and try the problem again in a few Perseverance Lesson 14 minutes. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to persevere? Persevering in spite of failures or obstacles enables us to achieve goals that, at first glance, may seem impossible. Success is commonly associated with perseverance. • How can mistakes be used as learning opportunities? Do not scold or criticize children for the mistakes they make. On the contrary, help them to recognize what they can learn from their mistakes. For example, if they don’t do a good job reading or they have trouble with a math problem or a physical activity, instead of telling them they did it wrong and they have to improve, you can ask them what they can learn from each mistake or failure. This way, children can recognize that every mistake we make can help bring us closer to our goal. • How can we persevere if things don’t come out how we want, even though we try hard? It is important to receive support from others. Being able to trust others and talk with them about our emotions and thoughts when we are facing adversity relieve the tension caused by stressful events. We can help children to view difficult situations in life as something that will pass, and to visualize a positive future in spite of them. To do this, we can use children’s previous experiences, tell them about our own experiences, or think of stories involving famous people whom the children admire. Finally, we can cultivate hope and optimism in children. • How can I develop optimism and hope in children? Help the children to see the positive side of things. For example, you can ask them to take one minute and tell you all the good things they can think of about a situation. Give them hope and help them visualize their actions beyond the present, projecting them into the future. For example, you can tell them, “You didn’t do it this time, but if you keep trying, you’re going to succeed and that will make you feel happy.” Page 118 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Stress Management | Lesson 15 Module 3 General skill Specific Skill With Our Challenges Determination Stress Management THINK POSITIVE Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Replace negative thinking with realistic Only ourselves. assesments. Lesson Guide Stress Management Lesson 15 1 Intro Let’s close our eyes and imagine that the phone is ringing. We pick it up and the person calling asks us to memorize an important message. While we try to listen and pay attention, someone puts music so loud that we can hardly hear and someone else asks us to do them a favor and hold a bag while she goes to the bathroom. At the same time, our foot sole starts to itch badly, but since we are holding the phone with one hand and the bag with the other and our head is trying to understand the message in the middle of the music, we are unable to scratch our foot. What did you feel? Listen to your students and validate their feelings. Now stand up and let’s walk around the classroom as if we were stressed (nervous, worried and restless). Put up a stressed face. Move your arms with stress. Make stress sounds. Take your hands to your head as if you were feeling stressed. Go back to your seats. This is an image to understand what stress is. Stress is the re- sult of what our surroundings (family, classmates and school) demand of us and of our capacity to respond to such demands. Stress may come from inside ourselves and from the demands we put on ourselves. Today we will focus on the stress that may stem from the relationships with our classmates. 2 Core Draw on the blackboard the diagram of the stress model shown below: Something Negative happened: Thoughts and Stress One Situation Beliefs Page 119 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Stress Management | Lesson 15 Sometimes we have negative thoughts as a reaction to certain situations and this makes us feel stress. For example, I promised a friend that I would help him with his homework, but I have no time. Negative thoughts: he will never talk to me again; I am a bad friend. You may give another example if you prefer. Then ask your students to provide positive alternatives to that thought. Look in your workbooks for the worksheet “From negative charge to positive charge” (see Student Material). Let’s fill it out, but first, let’s define what negative and positive thoughts are. Stress Management • Negative: A negative thought cannot be proven as true and, when repeating Lesson 15 it aloud, it makes us feel restless and nervous. For example, “I am never going to have friends again.” Sometimes, these thoughts are expressed as rushed conclusions. • Positive: A positive thought is realistic (neither pessimistic nor optimistic) and, when repeating it out loud, it makes us feel hopeful because we are reaching wiser and more balanced conclusions. For example, “I have had good friends before, soon I will meet more.” Let’s see the guide. What is the first situation? Which are the negative thoughts? Which are the positive ones? Listen to your students. Let’s work out the next situation together. Which are the negative thoughts? Which are the positive ones? Listen to your students. Then let them fill out the guide on their own. Walk around the classroom solving any doubts your students may have. Now, work in pairs and share the situation you wrote down and what you did to go from negative to positive charge. Page 120 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Stress Management | Lesson 15 3 Wrap-Up Congratulations! You were able to pass from negative to positive charge, a very helpful skill to manage stressful situations. • When was it hardest to find a positive thought and why? • Why is it important to identify the thoughts that cause us stress? • What other strategies may be helpful when we feel stressed? Help your students recognize how much our thoughts influence our emotions and how useful it may be to change them to control emotions such as fear, nerves, restlessness, worry and anger. Talk about altrenative strategies for managing our stress, like breathing Stress Management techniques, having fun activities or seeking support or comfort with friends and family. Lesson 15 Page 121 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Stress Management | Lesson 15 Student Material From Negative to Positive Negative to Positive Charge Situation Negative Thought Positive Thought • Maybe I deserve it • He may have a bad day • It must be that people don’t want to talk to me • I’ll give him time and Stress Management A friend did not want to tomorrow I’ll ask him speak to me today Lesson 15 • He’ll never talk to me what’s wrong again • ___________________ • ____________________ All my friends passed the exam except I A student from another grade called me silly My own example: ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ Page 122 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Stress Management | Lesson 15 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Social support: Resources, including material aid, socioemotional support, and informational aid, provided by others to help a person cope with stress (APA, 2015). Stress: A negative psychological response when the demands of a situation tax or exceed a person’s resources and some type of harm or loss is anticipated. It is indicated by the presence of negative psychological states such as negative affect, anger, withdrawal and frustration (Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). In Selye’s words (1974): “Stress is not what happens to you, but how you react to it”. Stress Management: Taking charge of our lifestyle, thoughts, emotions, and the way we deal with problems to cope with stress, reduce its harmful effects, and prevent it from spiraling out of control. Stress Management It is important that you help your students to: Lesson 15 • Recognize the link between interpretations/beliefs/thoughts, regarding different situations and different levels of stress (and the emotions that go with them). • Practice the ability to transform negative thoughts that sometimes emerge automatically, into positive, reasonable and beneficial thoughts. It is important that you distinguish between reasonable thoughts and those that are not quite realistic or very optimistic. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Identifying positive thoughts is a skill that takes time to build. Explain the children that it is not always easy to find a helpful thought for all circumstances. You can help them with some questions: - What would you say to your best friend or close relative if he should have that same negative thought? - Is it possible that your negative thoughts make you jump to conclusions without having any evidence? - If someone very important for you gives you an advice, what do you think she would say? • It is important that we, as adults, make sure they know that we are there for them and that they can come to us when they need to. We also need to positively reinforce those times when they do ask for help. For example, you can tell them, “That’s a good question. I’m glad you came to ask me,” or, “I’m happy I can help you. Remember that I’m here if you need me.” • If children come to you to talk about their concerns, listen to them attentively and validate their feelings, helping them to identify them (for instance, “I see that this situation makes you nervous”). When they have finished, you can change the subject to something more relaxing. Page 123 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Stress Management | Lesson 15 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important for children to identify the different factors in their surroundings that may generate them stress? Because stress accumulates and, sometimes, subtle things in different environments may represent a great burden for children, even if they are unaware of this. If they are able to identify their different stress sources, it is more likely that they will decide to seek specific strategies to take action. • Why is it important that children learn to manage their own stress strategies? At this age, children reinforce their autonomy and sense of controlling the world. If they feel that the strategies or ideas only come from outside sources, it is more likely that they will not practice them or that they won’t fit their specific needs. Stress Management It is very important that they feel they are able to solve their own problems. Lesson 15 • How do I know if a child is stressed? The manifestation of stress is different in each child. Some begin to criticize themselves more frequently for their performance or appearance, they become more irritable or anxious than normal, and others begin to avoid situations that they previously confronted without problem. Some children complain of muscle pain, tension in their necks, or stomach ache. It is important to learn to identify the most common stress factors for each child, and pay attention to changes in behavior when these factors are more present. • What causes stress in children of this age? Although each child is different and stress factors for one child may not affect another, family problems, economic hardship in the family, and violence and insecurity in the neighborhood often cause stress in children of this age. If they also have frequent academic difficulties with a class, this is likely to increase their stress levels. • What do I do if the children are feeling very strong emotions and are unable to calm down? Stress may be related to very intense emotions. If the children express these types of emotions, we may find them very difficult to handle. Above all, stay calm. Give the child the chance to express what he is feeling, and then place value on his emotions, saying things such as, “I can see this makes you very mad”; “It’s a tough situation”; or, “It’s very scary.” After the child has expressed the emotion, you can help him to calm down. You can say something like, “Let’s take a moment to calm ourselves down.” Remember that you can use the emotion management tools proposed in this Program. When the child has calmed down, help him think of ways to handle the situation and evaluate whether he needs additional support, from other people inside or outside school. Page 124 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 Module 3 General Skill Specific Skill With Our Challenges Responsible Decision-making Creative Thinking OTHER VIEWS Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Look at a problem from a whole new Only ourselves. perspective. Lesson Guide 1 Intro Things can be seen from different points of view. Depending on how we look at them, we may or may not see certain things. For example, look at the image in the worksheet “What Do You See?” in your workbooks (see Student Material). What do you see? Show them where to look and listen to your students. • Who sees a duck? Creative Thinking • Who sees a rabbit? Lesson 16 • Who is able to see both of these animals? Look closely. If you can’t see one of the animals, ask a classmate who can see them and have him explain it to you. Give them a few minutes to do this. OK, everyone back to your places. Today we’re going to talk about how we can see things from different perspectives, to help us be more creative. 2 Core Now we’re going to look at another image. Open your workbooks to the worksheet “What Do You See Here?” (see Student Material). This time, there are not just two shapes, there are even more. Without talking to each other, I want each of you to look closely at the image and think about what you see there. Write down all of the things you see in your workbook. Don’t share your answers with your friends yet. Try to write down as many things as you can. Let’s see how many things each of you can see. Give them a few minutes to write their answers in their workbooks. Page 125 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 What did you see? As you tell me what you saw, I’m going to write your ideas down on the blackboard. What else did you see? Did anyone see something else? Listen to your students and write their ideas down on the board. Some options may include: a face; two people seen from above, standing beside a table; a button; a screw seen from above; a round blackboard eraser; etc. We came up with lots of ideas. The same image can be seen in many different ways. How does it help us to look at things from different perspectives? Listen to your students. Now we’re going to solve a problem. Open your workbooks to the worksheet “Nine Dots” (see Student Material). You have to connect the nine dots there by drawing only four straight lines, without lifting the point of your pencil off the paper. If any of you know the answer, please don’t tell your classmates until I say so. Draw the dots on the board and invite your students to try to solve the problem in their workbooks. Allow them several attempts. Did anyone do it? Whoever thinks they know the answer can come up to the blackboard and show us how to do it. Creative Thinking Lesson 16 Make sure that volunteers ask for a turn and come up to the board in an orderly fashion. Allow the students to try and show their answer, pointing out mistakes, such as if they use too many lines, if they don’t connect one of the dots, or if they lift the pencil off the paper. Some mistaken solutions include: If no one solves the problem after several tries, ask the whole class if anyone knows the answer. If no one knows, show them the answer, drawing it on the board. Allow them to copy it down in their workbooks to make sure they understand. The correct solution is as follows: Page 126 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 • What do you think of the solution? • What did we have to do to come up with this solution? • How was this similar to the previous activities? Listen to your students. If we hadn’t looked at the problem from a different perspective, we wouldn’t have been able to solve it. Realizing that there can be many ways of looking at the same situation can help us solve the problems that we face. Now we’re going to see if we can use this strategy in problems we face in real life. I want you to form groups of three people each and get ready to play act! The situation is the following: Imagine that Teresa is walking along, and, when she walks by two other girls (Andrea and Melisa), they start to laugh. Teresa feels bad and gets angry because she thinks they’re making fun of her. Then she remembers that there are different ways of looking at things, and she tries to think of other ways of viewing the situation. Now, Teresa feels calmer. In a minute, each group is going to represent the same situation, but each group has to do it in a different way. To do this, you’re going to think of different ways in which Teresa could look at this situation and different things she could do. You’ll have five minutes to prepare, thinking up lots of different alternatives, so that if one group acts out the situation in one of the ways you thought of, you can quickly choose a new way. You can write your ideas down in the worksheet “Teresa’s Creative Thinking Different Perspectives” in your workbooks (see Student Material). Lesson 16 Keep track of the time. Now, we’re going to draw numbers to decide the order in which the groups are going to represent the situation. Each group will have a number. The number I choose is the group that is going to represent the situation. A total of five groups will have a chance to do it and we’re going to start with group number… Keep track of the time and draw numbers to decide which group is going to represent the situation. If they need, give them ideas of possible ways of looking at the situation. For example, thinking that the girls are making fun of her and asking them calmly; thinking that they’re making fun of her and complaining; thinking that they told a good joke and asking them to tell her; ignoring them and continuing to walk on; thinking that they’re laughing at something else and not doing anything, etc. You all did a great job acting out the situation. Is there only one way of looking at this situation? Can you think of any others? Page 127 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 3 Wrap-Up Today we looked at things from different perspectives and we realized that there are really many ways of seeing the same thing or situation. • How can it help us to see things in different ways? • When you have a problem, can it help you to look at it in different ways? Seeing things in a different way can help us find creative solutions to different problems and situations. The next time we’re in a difficult situation, let’s remember that we can find a better way of resolving it. Creative Thinking Lesson 16 Page 128 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 Student Material What Do You See?9 Creative Thinking Lesson 16 9. Eddy, S. (2007) Patonejo [illustration]. Retrieved in November 2015 from http://blog-sheila.blogspot.com. co/2007/07/imgenes-ambiguas.html Page 129 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 What Do You See Here? Creative Thinking Lesson 16 _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Page 130 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 Nine Dots Connect these nine dots using four straight lines. You can’t lift the tip of your pencil from the paper, and you can’t cross over a line that you’ve already drawn. Creative Thinking Lesson 16 Page 131 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 Teresa’s Different Perspectives In what other ways could Teresa look at this situation? How could she respond? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Creative Thinking Lesson 16 _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Page 132 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Creative Thinking | Lesson 16 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Creative Thinking (creativity): A process and willingness to look at things in a different way and produce work that is both novel (i.e., original, unexpected) and appropriate (i.e., useful, adaptive concerning task constraints) (Sternberg & Lubart, 1999; De Bono, 2015). In order for children to develop their creative thinking, it is important that you help them to: • Recognize multiple ways of looking at things. • Think of novel ways to approach problems by adopting creative points of view. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Invent games to help children recognize multiple ways of seeing the same situa- tion. You can use images, like the ones in this lesson, in which there are several interpretations depending on the perspective we use to look at them. You can also use an object and try and identify how we could look at it differently. For example, what can we use a pencil for? To write, to make holes, to draw, to make noise, to burn it, play with a dog and have it retrieve the pencil, using it to keep long hair in a bun, etc. • To encourage creativity, do not judge or evaluate the children’s ideas based on whether or not they are viable or realistic. On the contrary, encourage them to think of things that seem absurd, fanciful, or unreal. This will help them come Creative Thinking up with creative ideas that they may not have thought of otherwise, as well as Lesson 16 being lots of fun. • Use stories or television programs as an opportunity for children to think of diffe- rent ways to look at a situation. For example, if they’re reading a book, you can ask your children or students to think of multiple ways of looking at a situation or problem that a character is facing. You can think of that character’s interpre- tation or view of the situation. You can ask them, “Are there other ways to look at this situation? What are they?” 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to look at problems from different perspectives? The great geniuses of humankind have always been capable of looking at things from new perspectives. This has helped them solve some of the great problems of history or to create wonderful things. If we succeed in developing our ability to see problems from different perspectives, we are more likely to find creative ways of solving them that are more beneficial to us and others. • How is creativity developed by recognizing multiple perspectives? Recognizing that there are other ways of looking at things can be a wonderful opportunity to broaden our vision and solve a problem. Page 133 Page 134 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Critical Thinking | Lesson 17 Module 3 General Skill Specific Skill With Our Challenges Responsible Decision-making Critical Thinking MY FAVORITE CHARACTER Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Question what I see in the media to form my • Adhesive putty own opinion. • Yellow cardboard paper (1/8) and blue cardboard paper (1/8) for each pair of students • Markers Lesson Guide 1 Intro We are constantly surrounded by information transmitted via technology and the media. Who likes watching television or going to the movies? Who likes browsing online for information? Who likes to play video games? Listen to your students. Today we will discuss what lies behind the information that comes to us via the media and technology. 2 Core10 Open your workbook and let’s observe, together, the cartoon in there (see Student Material). Critical Thinking Now, read aloud the dialogues of each vignette, pausing to ask students Lesson 17 what they see in the corresponding illustrations. • What is happening in this cartoon? • Who are the characters? • What are the characters like? (physical characteristics, what they do, how they behave, etc.). Listen to your students. Activity adapted from Flashpoint (Office of Massachusetts Eastern District). 10. Page 135 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Critical Thinking | Lesson 17 • How do they communicate? How do they talk to each other? Possible answers: emphatically, affectionately, aggressively, etc. • Now pay attention to the way the cartoon is illustrated. What are the pictures like? Possible answers: big, small, real, childish, bright, dark, etc. • What emotions are aroused by this cartoon? Possible answers: anger, pride, happiness, sadness, etc. • How do you think the manner in which the characters and illustrations are presented affect our emotions? For example, dark colors may make us feel emotions like sadness or fear, while bright and vivid colors may make us feel joy and admiration. • How much of what happens in this story looks like real life? That is, to what extent people around us look or act like these characters? The media often send messages, for example, suggesting that what a character does is right or that we must feel certain emotions regarding some characters; they use different images, colors, words, etc. to achieve this. However, these images, colors or words are not always the most appropriate or not necessarily reflect real life. Now let’s think a little more about this using our favorite characters as reference. Form up in pairs and think about a character—in a TV series or a film—that you enjoy or admire. Try to remember how that character is and how it behaves compared to others in the series or movie. On the yellow cardboard paper write down a positive feature of that character and an example of when it was treated well or made others feel good. On the blue cardboard paper write down a negative feature of that character or something that could be improved, and an example of when it hurt others or could have treated them better. When everyone has finished the activity, continue. We are going to stick all the yellow cardboard papers on the left side of the Critical Thinking blackboard and all the blue ones on the right side. First, I will read all the positive Lesson 17 characteristics and behaviors you chose. Then I will read all the negative behaviors, characteristics and things that the characters you chose could improve. Once you have finished reading all the features, ask the following questions and listen to your students: • Have you ever thought of the “blue side” of those characters that you admire on TV or movies? Or you only thought of the “yellow side”? • Why is it that we tend to see mainly the “yellow side” of the characters that the media show us? Page 136 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Critical Thinking | Lesson 17 • What do these characters look like? If they are attractive or not, how they dress, etc. Do you think their appearances influence us so that we see the “yellow side” more than the “blue side”? How? • How do these characters communicate? Possible answers: raising their voice, shouting aggressively, affectionately, etc. • Do you think the way they communicate influences us so that we see the “yellow side” more than the “blue side”? How? • Do you remember how is the music in these TV shows or movies you chose? Possible answers: loud, soft, cheerful, etc. • Do you think this music influences us so that we see the “yellow side” more than the “blue side”? How? • Can you think of any other things of the image, sounds, story content, etc., that may influence us so that we see the “yellow side” more than the “blue side” of the characters? 3 Wrap-Up Today you all did a great job identifying your opinions about what the media shows us. • What happens if we only see the “yellow side” of everything the media shows us and we are not aware of the “blue side”? • How will it help us to realize how the images, sounds, colors, words, etc. the media shows us are influencing our opinions and thoughts? It is important to pay attention to the way the media present us the information (for example, the characters in the TV series or movies) in order to make decisions based on what we really think or want. We often follow the examples of the characters we see without thinking if we really agree with everything they do. Critical Thinking Lesson 17 Page 137 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Critical Thinking | Lesson 17 Student Material11 Critical Thinking Lesson 17 Image taken from https://plus.google.com/photos/+GuilleSGOTTLOSEN/albums/5762293820782841553 11. Page 138 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Critical Thinking | Lesson 17 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Critical Thinking: Calling into question the assumptions underlying our customary, habitual ways of thinking and acting, and then being ready to think and act differently on the basis of this critical questioning (Brookfield, 1987). Responsible Decision-making: Making constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others (CASEL, 2015). It is important that you help your students to: • Identify and express their own opinions and viewpoints. • Accept that their opinions and viewpoints may be different from those of other people. • Accept that their opinions and viewpoints may be different from those presented in the media. • Evaluate information critically, analyzing its validity and relevance. • Make informed decisions and offer informed arguments. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Critical thinking may be promoted at different times in everyday life, both at school and at home. We as adults may encourage students to identify their own points of view and opinions on certain topics or situations by asking questions such as “What do you think about this?” or “I think this way. Do you agree with me, or do you have a different idea or opinion?” • Adults can also encourage children to have critical attitude toward information coming from our surroundings. For example, the things that other people say or what the media shows us. Ask the children questions such as “Do you think what they’re showing us in this TV program actually happens in real life?” or “What do you think about what the man in the movie did?” This will help them get used to evaluating the validity and relevance of the information they receive. • It is also important to encourage open communication, both at home and at Critical Thinking school, where students may feel free to enter into a dialogue about their own Lesson 17 opinions and thoughts, even if adults do not always agree with them. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is it important to encourage critical thinking? Critical thinking is a key skill for making informed decisions based on judgment and reflection rather than peer pressure. This allows children to make autonomous decisions, even if they go against what others do or think, or against what the media shows us. Page 139 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Critical Thinking | Lesson 17 • What is the relation between critical thinking and our relationships with others? Critical thinking allows us to understand that we don’t always have to agree with the people around us. Thinking critically is essential in order to resist peer pressure when others promote attitudes that are harmful to the rest of us (for example, when others are calling for a fight or making fun of someone) and to put a halt to that situation (for example, by intervening or reporting the situation). Lastly, it is very important that students not only understand that they have the ability to think differently from those around them, but also that they learn to express their own opinions assertively and carefully to others. Critical Thinking Lesson 17 Page 140 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Responsibility | Lesson 18 Module 3 General Skill Specific Skill With Our Challenges Responsible Decision-making Responsibility DIDN’T MEAN IT Today I will learn to... What we’ll need is... Take responsibility for how I make other Only ourselves. people feel. Lesson Guide 1 Intro Sometimes we do things that make others feel really good. What kinds of things can we do to make others feel good? Listen to your students. On the other hand, we can also make them feel bad. What kinds of things can we do to make people feel bad? Listen to your students. Today we’re going to look at what to do so we don’t make people feel bad, and to help us make them feel better, instead. 2 Core Sometimes, we do things that can make others feel bad, but we don’t realize it. Something like that has happened to Gonzalo. Gonzalo likes to make jokes and everyone thinks he’s very funny. He has lots of friends and he likes to make them laugh. Sometimes, though, Gonzalo’s jokes can make people feel bad. That’s what happened to Jorge. Gonzalo started to call him “fatty” and told him he looked like a meatball with feet. Some people laughed, but not Jorge. Just the opposite: he seemed sad. Juana, one of Jorge’s friends, told Gonzalo, “Stop making fun of him. You’re making him feel bad.” But Gonzalo replied to her, “I’m not making fun of him, it was just a joke. The problem is he can’t even take a joke.” What do you think about this situation? Who are the characters? Responsibility Lesson 18 Page 141 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Responsibility | Lesson 18 Listen to your students. Now we’re all going to work together to think about what each of the characters thinks. What does Gonzalo think? What does Jorge think? What does Juana think? Listen to your students. Divide the board into three columns and write the name of each one of the figures at the top of one column, using the columns to note down the main ideas about what each of the characters thinks. Now let’s think about how they feel. How does Gonzalo feel? How does Jorge feel? How does Juana feel? Listen to your students, and write the main ideas down on the board in the corresponding column. Now we’re going to represent the scene. Who wants to come up to the front of the class and help act it out? I need three people to play Gonzalo, Juana, and Jorge. I’m going to read you the situation again to help refresh your memories: Gonzalo likes to make jokes and everyone thinks he’s very funny. He has lots of friends and he likes to make them laugh. Sometimes, though, Gonzalo’s jokes can make people feel bad. That’s what happened to Jorge. Gonzalo started to call him “fatty” and told him he looked like a meatball with feet. Some people laughed, but not Jorge. Just the opposite: he seemed sad. Juana, one of Jorge’s friends, told Gonzalo, “Stop making fun of him. You’re making him feel bad.” But Gonzalo replied to her, “I’m not making fun of him, it was just a joke. The problem is he can’t even take a joke.” When the actors volunteer, assign them their character and ask them if they have any questions. Then allow them to act out the scene in front of the group. Make sure they follow the story. Then ask the following questions and listen to your students. • What did you think? • Who is responsible for making Jorge feel bad? • Is he assuming his responsibility, recognizing it, and trying to make Jorge feel better? Let’s take a closer look at some of the things that are happening in this situation. First, let’s think about what Gonzalo says: “I’m not making fun of him, it was just a joke. The problem is he can’t even take a joke.” Do you think this is true? Do you think it might be an excuse? Why? How do you know that it’s an excuse? Responsibility Lesson 18 Page 142 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Responsibility | Lesson 18 Listen to your students. Gonzalo is making an excuse for not assuming his responsibility for making fun of Jorge. How does Jorge feel? Does the excuse help Gonzalo make Jorge feel better? Listen to your students. Jorge feels bad and Gonzalo hasn’t done anything to fix it. On the contrary, he’s using his excuse to avoid taking responsibility. Now let’s think about Juana. • Why does Juana get involved? • Wouldn’t it have been better if she kept quiet and didn’t do anything? • Is Juana trying to defend Jorge? • Who would you rather be? Gonzalo, Jorge, or Juana? • How do you think Gonzalo could make Jorge feel better? Listen to your students and write down their answers. Now we’re going to represent the situation again, but this time, instead of making an excuse, Gonzalo is going to do the things written on the board. Let’s start. Invite your students to act out the situation in front of the whole class. They may be different students from those who acted out the situation the first time. Then, ask the following questions and listen to your students. • What did you think of it this time? • Does Jorge feel better? Why? 3 Wrap-Up Today we saw how we can make people feel bad and make excuses to avoid assuming our responsibility. • How do people feel when others insult them, hit them, or make fun of them? • Whose responsibility is it? The person who does the hitting or the person who is hit? • How can we assume our responsibility and fix the harm done? We can pay close attention to those times when we make someone else feel bad so we can avoid giving excuses, and instead do something to make that person feel Responsibility better and assume our responsibility. Lesson 18 Page 143 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Responsibility | Lesson 18 Concepts, Tips and FAQs 1 Key Concepts Responsibility: Being accountable for one’s own actions and inactions and the consequences of those actions and inactions (APA, 2015). Responsible Decision-making: Making constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others (CASEL, 2015). In order for children to develop their sense of responsibility, it is important that you help them to: • Recognize the excuses we make when we make others feel bad, to avoid assuming our responsibility. • Recognize that people feel bad when others make fun of them, insult them, or hit them. 2 Tips for Teachers and Parents • Clearly show children the emotional impact suffered by people who are mistreated. You can also ask them, “How does X feel when they say Y to him?” or “How does X feel in this situation?” • Think with them about the things we may do that make others feel bad and the excuses we might make in order to avoid assuming our responsibility. • Also help them think about how we can assume our responsibility in such cases, through actions aimed at helping those we have mistreated to feel better. • Show them that they can always defend those who are being harmed, whether through jokes, insults, blows, or being excluded. Stress to them that this defense must be free of aggression, and help them practice doing so. 3 Frequently Asked Questions • Why is responsibility important? Developing a sense of responsibility will help children adapt better to the demands of their surroundings, build better relationships with adults, and develop abilities that will enable them to achieve their goals in the future, in addition to being citizens who recognize their role in their own wellbeing and that of others. • Why is it important to think about the excuses we make when we mistreat people? All of us can do or say things that may make others feel bad. When we make excuses, we lose the chance to fix what we did. On the contrary, the excuse drives us further away from assuming our responsibility. When we recognize that we are making excuses, we are able to realize the impact of our actions and do something Responsibility Lesson 18 to remedy them. Page 144 GRADE 5 | With Our Challenges Responsibility | Lesson 18 • What do I do if children do not defend others because they are afraid of being hurt themselves? First of all, validate these emotions and show them that they make sense, but that this, too, can be an excuse for not assuming their responsibility. Help them think of actions that minimize the risk of becoming victims themselves; for example, group action or looking for help instead of directly getting involved when the risk is very high. Responsibility Lesson 18 Page 145