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Objective: Students will demonstrate open-mindedness and think flexibly.
Estimated Duration: 20 minutes
Description: Having an open mind or thinking flexibly is an important skill students need to manage their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Being flexible allows them to adapt to new or unexcepted situations. It can also help them solve problems, have a good relationship with others, and think about things in new ways.
Another important thing that flexibility helps students with is transitions from one activity to another. It can help them deal with new or different situations and changes in routines. All this combined proves that being flexible and having an open mind plays a key role in all types of learning.
This activity will get students to start thinking about what might happen if things don’t go as planned. They are asked to write a Do and Don’t list to help plan for when change happens. They can refer to their list when unexpected things happen.
Teachable Moments: To help students have an open-mind and think flexibly:
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Objective: Students will identify solutions for problems.
Estimated Duration: 20 minutes
Description: Helping students determine the size of a problem is an important skill. It helps them identify the severity of their problem which then allows them to choose an appropriate reaction.
When students have a common language to describe their problems, they can identify solutions. Problems are not created equal. Figuring out the size of the problem is the first step in being able to match their emotional reaction accordingly.
This activity breaks problems into three sizes: small (or penny), medium (or quarter), and large (or dollar).
Small problems are defined as those that can be easily solved on your own, despite feeling a little sad or frustrated. No one is in danger or breaking any rules. Examples of small problems include needing to sharpen a broken pencil or forgetting to bring something to a friend.
Medium problems require someone's help, often an adult, to solve. They often make us feel mad, confused, frustrated, or worried. Some examples are figuring out a math problem or forgetting lunch at home.
A big problem makes us feel really scared, hurt, worried, or upset. Big problems are usually solved by an adult. Examples include being bullied, getting hurt, or dealing with unfortunate events outside of our direct control.
Students will write an example of a penny, a quarter, and a dollar problem. Then, they will explain how they would solve each problem. It might be helpful to share examples of each problem size with students before they begin.
Teachable Moments: There are many ways you can help students make good decisions:
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Objective: Students will be able to understand the importance of making good choices.
Estimated Duration: 20 minutes
Description: Learning how to be a decision-maker is a lifelong skill, so it’s important that students understand how to make good decisions at an early age. Part of that is understanding that every choice they make has consequences.
Good choices have good consequences and keep students safe, healthy, and happy. The goal of a consequence is to teach a lesson, not to punish. Punishing a student is harmful to their sense of self, emotional development, and their relationship with adults.
Consequences should therefore encourage self-examination, acceptance of responsibility, and learning from mistakes. They should help students develop a confident inner voice that will allow them to make better decisions in the future.
This activity will help students understand good choices and the consequences they have. They will write about three good choices they will make and then draw a picture of the consequences those choices will have.
Teachable Moments: To help students make good choices:
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Objective: Students will demonstrate how they can be responsible at home, at school, and in their community.
Estimated Duration: 20 minutes
Description: Being responsible means to be accountable for what you do, for your actions and behavior. It’s doing the right thing at the right time, so others can trust and depend on you.
This activity will help students think about being responsible. They will write and draw ways to show responsibility to themselves, at home, at school, and in their community.
Teachable Moments: To help students be responsible:
Estimated Duration: 25-30 minutes
Go to other SEL competencies in this book (Primary - Grades 1–2):
The teaching suggestions only work in accompaniment with the student portfolio, which has all the activity pages.
The teaching suggestions here are also available within a PDF of the entire teacher's manual.