Painting The
Picture
Of Acceptance

An Integrated Unit on Peer Acceptance

Wendy Ratkovec ~ Health & Physical Education ~ Spring 2002

Integrated Disciplines: Health, Math, Language Arts, Social Science, Visual Arts

Grades: 3-5

Overview:

In this unit, students will discover individual differences and similarities that tie us all together. They will discuss ways we are alike and different and how this creates conflict. Conflict resolution skills will be established as well as problem solving.

Overall Objectives of Unit study:

Students will:

ô Identify characteristics of a peaceful world (community)

ô Identify ways to establish peace

ô Identify individual differences and similarities

ô Identify their needs and feelings as well as the needs and feelings of others

ô Discuss what conflict is and where it comes from

ô React to conflict by using appropriate conflict resolution and problem solving skills

Creating a Peaceful World ~ We’re All In This Together

Brief Description
Students discuss peace and what they can do to help make a peaceful world (community).

Objectives

After reading One Day In Peace, students will identify characteristics of a peaceful world.

Keywords

Conflict resolution

Peace

Materials Needed

One Day In Peace booklet

Big picture of world (this may be displayed on a bulletin board)

Individual person outline for each child (have extras!)

Lesson Plan

· Read One Day In Peace

· Discuss the reasons the children in the book wanted to create a peaceful world. Do any students know about any wars in the world. Allow time for conversation.

· Invite students take at least one person and write on it one way he/she could help create a peaceful world (environment, classroom, community, etc…)

Assessment

Students will be evaluated based on their comments about the material discussed and participation.

Lesson Plan Source

People for Peace

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

Physical Education and Health:
NPH-H.K-4.5

Identifying Individual Differences

#1) Simon Says, "Who Are You?"

Brief Description
Students play a variation of Simon Says that highlights their similarities and differences.

Objectives

Students will identify their similarities and differences with others in the class.

Keywords

Simon Says

Tolerance

Materials Needed

None

Lesson Plan

· Explain to students that they will play a version of Simon Says in which only some students will respond to each command.

· Tell students that they must watch carefully as they play the game because at the end, each student must tell one new thing they learned about a classmate.

· Lead a game of Simon Says. Provide such directions as

· Simon says "Everyone with brown eyes, stand up."

· Simon says "Everyone who has a dog as a pet, put your right hand on your head."

· Simon says "Everyone whose favorite sport is soccer, stand on one foot."

· Simon says "Everyone who speaks more than one language, jump up and down."

and so on. Choose categories appropriate for your students.

· At the end of the game, have students sit in a circle.

Ask each student to name one way in which he or she and another student are alike.

The trait they share must be something they didn't know before playing the game.

Students might say, for example, "I didn't know that Katie spoke Spanish" or "I didn't know that Jose was left-handed."

Assessment

Students will be evaluated informally during the game on participation.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

Physical Education and Health:
NPH-H.K-4.5

#2) Understanding Needs and Feelings

Brief Description
Students learn about needs and feelings, then write an ending to a story showing how a child deals with his or her needs and feelings.

Objectives

Students will identify their own needs and feelings and the needs and feelings of others.

Keywords

Conflict resolution

Writing

Needs

Feelings

Materials Needed

Several copies of "The Shy Girl" and "The Coward"

Pencils or pens

Lesson Plan

· Discuss needs and feelings with students. Encourage them to share their own feelings in a variety of situations. You might ask, for example,

· How do you feel when you're about to get on a roller coaster?

· How do you feel just before you take a test?

· How do you feel during a bad storm?

· How do you feel when you eat ice cream?

and so on.

· Arrange students into small groups, and provide each group with a copy of either "The Shy Girl" or "The Coward."

· Have each group of students read the story together, discuss it, and complete the worksheet.

· Bring the entire class together, and ask a volunteer from each group to read his or her group's ending to the assigned story.

· Have students vote on the best ending for each story and talk about why they chose those endings.

Assessment

Students will be evaluated on correctly identifying needs and feelings, on the story endings they write, and on their ability to work together in a group.

Lesson Plan Source

Adapted from a lesson at Opening the Door to Nonviolence. The site, from the Electronic Resource Center, includes a number of lessons on cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution.

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

Physical Education and Health:
NPH-H.K-4.5

Language Arts:
NL-ENG.K-12.12

The Shy Girl

Name _____________________

Martina could hardly wait for the end of class because she hoped she would see her friend Vinko in the hallway. When Martina peeked out of the classroom, she saw Vinko with a group of boys and girls from his own class. Nevertheless, Martina bravely went into the hallway and started walking toward the group. Suddenly, everyone turned to look at her. Someone in Vinko's group said something that Martina couldn't hear, and all the kids started to giggle and point in the direction of Martina's feet. Martina turned red and looked down at her feet, but she couldn't see anything unusual.

Martina's needs:

Martina's feelings:

Write an ending for the story.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adapted from a lesson at Opening the Door to Nonviolence.

The Coward

Name _______________________

Every day, when classes were over, Mark played soccer with the boys in his class. Usually, everyone enjoyed the game very much. One day, Luke suggested something else. Knowing that his parents weren't home, he said, "Let's go to my house instead." When everybody was sitting in his bedroom, Luke said, "See that window leading onto the roof? Let's see who can climb down from the window the fastest. Whoever reaches the ground first is the winner." Some boys thought it was a great idea, but Mark didn't think so. He said very loudly, "That's a stupid idea. I'm going home.'' Luke started to laugh at him and call him a coward. Soon the other boys joined in too. Mark was scared. He knew that he climbing out on the roof was dangerous. Besides, he was afraid of heights and he didn't want to do it. He just wanted to play soccer.

Mark's needs:

Mark's feelings:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Luke's needs:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Luke's feelings:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Write an ending for the story.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adapted from a lesson at Opening the Door to Nonviolence.

We Are All Alike in Some Ways

The Average Kid

Brief Description
Students determine the traits they have in common with other students in the class and create visual profiles of the "average" boy and the "average" girl.

Objectives

Students will create and complete a questionnaire about the physical and personal characteristics of the students in their class. Students will create visual profiles of the "average" boy and the "average" girl to show similarities.

Keywords

Average

Graphs

Similarities

Differences

Tolerance

Probability

Materials Needed

2 large sheets butcher paper

Construction paper of various colors

Crayons or markers

Lesson Plan

· Explain to students that they are going to create "portraits" of two "average" students in their class. Brainstorm with students a list of characteristics they might want to include in such a portrait, such as eye color, hair color, hair style, favorite food, favorite color, favorite activity, favorite sports team, and so on. Help students create two questionnaires, one for the boys and one for the girls, about the characteristics they decide on.

· Arrange students into small groups -- one for each characteristic covered in the survey -- and have each group create a bar graph showing the prevalence of one characteristic. Display all the bar graphs in the classroom.

· Arrange students into two groups and provide each group with a large sheet of butcher paper, pencils, crayons or markers, and construction paper. Have each group use the information in the graphs, and any other information they discover as they complete the project, to create a life-size image of the average student.

· Discuss with students the similarities they discovered.

· Discuss what makes us unique ~ our differences!

Assessment

Students will be evaluated based on the graphs and on their participation in the group discussions preceding and following the creation of the portraits.

Exploring the Nature of Conflict

Objectives

· Students will construct definitions of conflict and violence

· Students will distinguish between conflict and violence.

· Students will identify what is positive about conflict

· Students will analyze a conflict they have experienced.

Materials

· Survey About Conflict and Me

· Blackboard or white board

Procedures

1. Begin with an opening activity. (see conflict resolution activities)

Webbing Conflict

2. Ask students for their associations with the word "conflict."

3. Record their ideas on the board using a web format.

4. Write the word "conflict" in the center of the board or chart paper and circle it. The words students associates with conflict are written at the end of lines radiating from the circle. Related ideas can be grouped together.

5. Discuss the web by asking:

a. What do you notice about the web?

b. Are there any generalizations we might make about our associations with the word conflict?

c. Why are most of our associations with conflict negative?

d. What are some examples of conflicts?

6. Explain that many people equate conflict with violence. (You may want to write "Conflict = Violence" on the board to make this point.)

7. Ask students: What is the difference between conflict and violence?
(When a distinction has been made, you can change the equation on the board to "Conflict does not equal Violence.")

8. Point out that violence and conflict are not the same thing because most conflicts do not lead to violence.

9. Erase the words from the board and ask students to brainstorm a list of things that are positive about conflict.

10. Some examples of positive aspects of conflict are:

a. It can be exciting.

b. It can shape our thinking so that we have new ideas.

c. Sometimes it can bring us closer to another person once we've worked it out.

11. Explain that conflict is a part of life and that we all experience conflicts at home, at work, in school, and on the street. In fact, conflict is often beneficial. Having conflicts with other people may be uncomfortable, but trying to solve them can shake up our thinking and often leads to new ways of looking at things.

Pair-Share About a Conflict You've Experienced

12. In pairs students will take turns talking and listening.

13. Give each person two or three minutes to respond to the following question: What was a recent conflict you experienced? Who was involved? What did he or she do? How did it turn out?

14. After each partner has had a chance to speak, ask: What was that like? Did your partner really listen? What made you think so? What kind of body language shows that someone is listening (eye contact, facing the speaker, leaning forward)? What were the outcomes of some of the conflicts?

Assessment

15. Give each student a copy of the Survey About Conflict and Me.

16. Have each student fill it out. Remind students to be as honest as possible.

17. Assure them that other students will not see their responses.

The survey provides you with a good database for creating role-plays and conflict scenarios to use in conjunction with other exercises.

by Carol Miller Lieber with Linda Lantieri and Tom Roderick, published by Educators for Social Responsibility.
lesson-3067.htmllesson-3067.html

http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2919.html?for_printing=1

Survey About Conflict and Me

When filling this out be as honest as possible!

1. Most people fight or argue when they:

2. Most people fight or argue over:

3. One good thing people get from arguing or fighting is:

4. One bad thing about arguing and fighting is:

5. People generally respond to conflicts by (list two):

6. I fight or argue when:

7. I get upset or angry when other students:

8. I make others angry when I:

9. When I'm talking to someone else who is really angry or upset, the most important thing to do is:

10. When I'm really angry or upset with someone, the most important thing for me to do is:

11. When I'm upset at, mad at, or bothered by another student I can (list three):

12. When I have a disagreement or conflict with someone, we can agree to:

Conflict Resolution Activities (Opening Activities)

Here is a list of five to ten minute activities that are intended to promote positive community building. In all activities, students should have the opportunity to pass if they so desire.

A. Anger Ball-Toss
Find a softball. Have the class stand in a circle. Begin by completing the sentence, "I feel angry when..." Ask for a volunteer who is willing to restate what you just said. Toss that student the ball. That student restates what you said, then completes the sentence for herself. She then tosses the ball to someone else, who repeats what she said, then completes the sentence for himself, and so on.

B. Feelings Check-ln
Pass out markers and 5x8 index cards. Ask each student to write on the card in large letters one word that describes how he or she is feeling right now. Then ask students to hold up their cards and look at the variety of responses. Point out how rare it is for different people to bring the same feelings to an experience or situation. Invite students to share why they wrote down the words that they did.

C. "I Got What I Wanted ..."
Have students complete the following sentence: "A time I got something I wanted was when ..."

D. I Represent Conflict
Place yourself in the middle of the room and say, "Imagine that I represent conflict. Think about how you usually react when you experience a conflict personally or witness a conflict happening nearby. Then place yourself, in relation to me, somewhere in the room in a way that indicates your first response to conflict or disagreement. Think about your body position, the direction that you're facing, and the distance from conflict."
Once students have found a position relative to you in the room, ask individuals to explain why they are standing where they are. You might also want to ask, "If this represents your first reaction, what might your second reaction be, after thinking about the conflict?"

E. Putting Up a Fight
Go around the group and have students answer: "What is something you have that you would put up a serious fight for--even risk your life for--if someone tried to take it away?" (This can be a material thing, like a gold chain, or something intangible, like a good reputation.) Then ask: "Why is this so important to you?"

F. Standing Up
Have students describe a time they felt they were being taken advantage of and they stood up for themselves.

G. What Color is Conflict?
Cut up a large quantity of 4x4 construction-paper squares in a wide variety of colors. Be sure to have plenty of red, black, brown, and gray. Ask each student to choose a color or group of colors that she thinks represents conflict. Either in the large group or in smaller groups of five or six, have participants share the colors they chose and why they chose them. (If you split up into smaller groups, come back together at the end and have volunteers share with the whole group which colors they chose and why.)

H. "What Would You Do...?"
Go around the group asking each student to respond to this question: "If you saw a fight starting in the street between two people you didn't know at all, what would you do?"

I. "When I'm in a Conflict..."
Go around the group, asking each student to complete the sentence, "When I get into a conflict, I usually ..."

Reacting to Conflict

Brief Description
Students learn about the different ways people respond to conflict and then explore some sample scenarios to learn about their own conflict styles.

Objectives

Students will learn different ways of responding to conflict.

Keywords

Conflict resolution

Materials Needed

Responses to Conflict Tree, printed and distributed to each student; Definitions For Educators And Students, printed and distributed to each student

Lesson Plan

This lesson, Activity 1 of Conflict Resolution Activities for Middle School/Secondary Students, is available online.

Objective: to introduce students to different ways of dealing with conflict.

Write on the blackboard or newsprint paper: AVOIDANCE, DIFFUSION, CONFRONTATION. Ask your students how they interpret these words. Then define them as shown in the Definitions section. Explain the consequences and adaptability of each approach. Clearly, a nonviolent confrontation, and some forms of avoidance and diffusion are Conscious Acts of Peace.

Distribute this "Responses to Conflict" Tree to your students.

Next, describe a conflict similar to the following:

Fran and Alice are classmates. Fran worked hard on a plaster of paris sculpture. Alice, without asking, picked it up to look at it, and it fell and smashed.

Using the words, "avoidance," "diffusion" and "confrontation," ask your students to think about their own conflict styles and how they fit into the chart. Ask them: What are some ways that Fran and Alice can avoid a conflict? What might Fran say? What might Alice say? What are some diffusion techniques? What are some violent or nonviolent confrontation techniques? Which approach would be a Conscious Act of Peace?

Finally, distribute index cards for students to write down the most significant lesson learned from this activity. Collect and redistribute the cards for a go-around of reading.

Assessment

Students will be evaluated based on their participation in the class discussions.

Lesson Plan Source

Educators for Social Responsibility

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

Physical Education and Health :
NPH-H.5-8.5

Definitions For Educators And Students

Avoidance:

Acting as though a conflict does not exist; e.g., when a friend stains a shirt you have lent her, and, rather than verbalizing your annoyance, you stay silent yet feel resentful.

Confrontation:

A direct response to conflict which can be violent or nonviolent; e.g., telling a friend you're angry because he/she lost your notebook is a nonviolent confrontation; yelling or physical fighting in response to the same situation is a violent confrontation.

Diffusion:

Delaying dealing with a conflict; e.g., being angry with someone but waiting until you cool off to express your anger.

Kids' Conscious Act of Peace:

A situation in which a youngster knowingly chooses a nonviolent response when it is difficult to do so, such as standing up for someone being teased or bullied and expressing his/her feelings or deciding to talk, even writing a response, rather than reacting with violence.

Mediation:

Like win-win negotiation, but facilitated by a neutral third party who helps those involved arrive at a solution.

Mediator:

One who helps resolve conflicts by hearing both sides and helping people reach an agreement.

Negotiation (win-win):

A dialogue between two or more people in order to arrive at an agreement that meets the needs of those involved without sacrificing anyone's priorities.

Peace-builder:

One who "does good things" on a small everyday level to make the world more peaceful; e.g., the child who returns a lost wallet to its owners or befriends a new student.

Peacekeeper:

One who protects the rights of others by peacefully enforcing the laws and rules we live by; e.g., the teacher on recess duty, the corner police officer, the umpire in a baseball game, even a comic book hero or heros. (Depending on the age and sophistication of your students, you may decide to let them develop their own definitions of Peacemakers as they participate in the classroom activities that follow).

Social Activist:

One who takes a stand against social injustice in an organized way to bring about a more just and peaceful world.

Visionary:

One who inspires others with his/her vision for a more peaceful future; e.g., certain writers, artists, musicians and religious leaders, such as Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bullying Reality Quiz

Subject:	Health
Grade:	6-8, 9-12

Brief Description
Students take a quiz about school violence and create their own quiz on bullying.

Objectives

Students learn about school violence by taking an interactive quiz. Students create their own quiz by brainstorming questions about bullying. Students research online and print resources to find the answers to the questions they brainstormed.

Keywords

school violence, bullying, conflict resolution

Materials Needed

· School Violence Reality Check Quiz or

· School Violence Reality Check Quiz Worksheet, an Education World adaptation of the quiz for teachers who can't provide Internet access for all students

· print or online resources on bullying

Lesson Plan

Invite students to take the School Violence Reality Check Quiz online, or print and distribute the School Violence Reality Check Quiz Worksheet.

(Answers to the School Violence Reality Check Quiz: 1. a, 2. c, 3. b, 4. a, 5. c.)

Provide students with the following definition of bullying: Bullying consists of ongoing threats, physical attacks, words, gestures, or social exclusion directed at a student or students by a student or group of students who are older, bigger, or more powerful.

Brainstorm with students a list of fact-based questions they have about bullying. Students might want to know, for example, the percentage of students who are bullied, the percentage of suicides that are blamed on bullying, the number of incidents of school violence that are the result of bullying, the percentage of bullies who commit violent crimes as adults, the percentage of schools that have anti-bully programs, and so on.

Select five to ten of the most important questions, arrange students in pairs or small groups, and ask each group to research print or online resources to find the answer to its assigned question.

Combine the questions into a quiz, either online or in print, and invite students to take the quiz.

Assessment

Evaluate students on the relevance of their questions and the correctness of their answers.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

Physical Education and Health:
NPH-H.5-8.5
NPH-H.9-12.5

School Violence Reality Check Worksheet

DIRECTIONS: Read the question. Circle the correct answer.

Name _________________________

1. What percentage of homicides and suicides of school-aged kids occur during school or school-related activities?
a. Less than 1 percent.
b. About 10 percent.
c. More than 20 percent.

2. In 1993, what percentage of public- and private-school students in grades 6 through 12 said they could get a handgun if they wanted one?
a. 19 percent
b. 29 percent
c. 59 percent

3. In 1991, about 12 percent of high school students said they had taken a weapon to school. How does that figure compare to 1997?
a. More students took weapons to school in 1997.
b. Fewer students took weapons to school in 1997.
c. The number of students who took weapons to school stayed about the same.

4. Which of the following groups of students are more likely to engage in violent behavior at school?
a. Freshmen
b. Sophomores
c. Juniors
d. Seniors

5. According to a 1997 study, what percentage of students missed school each month because they felt unsafe?
a. 44 percent
b. 24 percent
c. 4 percent

Adapted from the School Violence Reality Check Quiz from the Family Education Network.

Identifying Bullying

Brief Description
Students anonymously complete a survey about their experiences with bullying, evaluate the results, and discuss solutions to the problem.

Objectives

Students will share their experiences with bullying in an anonymous survey. Students will determine percentages based on the results of the survey.

Keywords

bullying, survey, percentages

Materials Needed

Bullying Survey, printed and distributed to each student, pencils or pens

Procedures

· Explain to students that you want to learn more about kids who bully other kids, and ask them to complete the survey without signing their names.

· After you have had a chance to read the surveys, invite students to guess the results.

· Read some samples from the students' responses.

· Ask a volunteer to help tally the survey results on the chalkboard; then ask students to add the responses to each question. Help students determine the fractions or percentages for each answer.

· Discuss the survey results, and brainstorm with students about what they can do to reduce bullying at school.

Assessment

Students will be evaluated based on their participation in the class discussion.

Lesson Plan Source

The National Crime Prevention Council (This activity is not available online.)

Submitted By

Linda Starr

National Standards

Physical Education and Health :
NPH-H.K-4.5

Math:
NM.K-4.13

Bullying Survey

DIRECTIONS: Please circle or underline the best answers to the following questions. You may have more than one best answer for some questions. You do not have to put your name on the paper.

Name (optional)__________________

1. Have you ever been bullied?
Yes No

· If you answered yes, how often did someone bully you?
Occasionally Often Every day

· Where did it happen?
School Park Home Neighborhood Somewhere else

· If it happened at school, where?
Hallway Classroom Playground Cafeteria Bathroom Somewhere else

2. Have you seen other students being bullied at school?
Yes No

· If you answered yes, how often did it happen?
Occasionally Often Every day

· Where have you seen other students bullied?
Hallway Classroom Playground Cafeteria Bathroom Somewhere else

3. What kinds of things have bullies done to you or to someone you know?
Called names Threatened Stole or damaged something Shoved, kicked, or hit Ignored

4. How much of a problem is bullying for you?
Very much Not much None

5. On the back of this paper, list some of the actions you think parents, teachers, and other adults could perform to stop bullying.

Adapted from a survey by The National Crime Prevention Council.