Interventions from Marco Products
A Smile and a Tear
Supplies:
For each child:
A Smile and a Tear worksheet
Pencil
For the child volunteer:
Bell or whistle
Stopwatch or clock with a second hand
Purpose: To understand how people show their feelings without words.
Give each child the A Smile and A Tear Worksheet and a pencil. Explain that they are to work by themselves and answer each question on the worksheet with an event. (Give an example taking a math test could be an event that would make you bite your nails.)
Ask for a volunteer to be the timekeeper. Explain that the timekeeper will announce to the children when they should begin talking to their partners and when they should change partners.
Instruct the children to quickly find a partner. Tell them that when the timekeeper rings the bell they should take turns telling their partners how they answered number one on the worksheet. They will have one minute total to do this, or thirty seconds each. At the end of one minute, the timekeeper will ring the bell again. They should then quickly find a new partner and wait for the sound of the bell. When they hear it they should take turns telling how they answered number two on the worksheet. This procedure will continue until all of the questions on the worksheet have been answered.
When finished, discuss the following questions:
1. What are some of the ways people show feelings?
2. Can you share some of the things happening in your life that would cause you to show a particular feeling?
3. What are some ways you can show feelings in your classroom?
Conflict Resolution
Supplies:
Paper plate for each student
Crayons
We're Different, We're the Same, or another book dealing with similarities and differences
Purpose: To help the students understand that everyone has feelings.
Have the students sit on the floor in a circle. Say the words happy, sad, and angry. Ask the students what those words are. Have the students continue answering until the word feeling is mentioned. Explain that each of these words is a feeling word. Feeling words describe ways people feel when something happens to them. Draw a face on one of the paper plates. Write the word happy under it. Do the same for the words sad and angry. Ask the students to name some other feeling words. As each word is named, draw a face on a paper plate. Under each face, write the feeling word the face expresses. Continue until you have completed one paper plate for each student or the students are unable to name any more feeling words. Give a paper plate to each student. If there are not enough paper plates to go around, ask each student still needing a paper plate what feeling word he/she would like to have. Draw that feeling face with its appropriate word on a plate and give the plate to the student.
Tell the students that you are going to describe some situations. They are to listen carefully to each situation. If the situation makes a student feel like the word on his/ her paper plate, the student should hold the plate in the air. Some examples of situations are:
You fell and skinned your knee.
Your friend won't play with you.
Your mother gave you a big hug.
Your teacher smiled at you, etc.
As each situation is described, notice the different feelings the students are holding up. Emphasize that more than one feeling can apply to each situation and that no feeling is incorrect. Continue this exercise until at least 10 situations have been named. Conclude the session by reading We're Different, We're the Same, or another book dealing with similarities and differences.
Student Reaction Bulletin Board
Cover a centrally located bulletin board with paper so that it can be written on. Title the board: "What Do You Think?" Each week, or every other week, select a different picture, newspaper or magazine photograph, or poster. Put it in the middle of the bulletin board and write a question under it. Tie felt-tipped markers to string and attach them to the bulletin board. Encourage students to write their reactions to the questions written by the pictures.
Examples:
Picture of a mountain-What would be a good name for this mountain?
Picture of a group of children-What do you think these children are talking about?
Picture of a stage with closed curtains-What assembly program would you like to see?
Picture of a plane-Where would you like to fly to?