Content Area: Health and Physical Education

 

Index: 2.1F Grade 6 CPI 5

 

Standard: 2.1 - Wellness

 

Strand: F -  Social and Emotional Health 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 5 - The student will compare and contrast ways that individuals, families, and communities cope with change, crisis, rejection, loss, and separation.

 

Grade: 6

 

Sample Activities:

 

·        LIVING WITH LOSS - Explain that change, loss, and death are all natural and inevitable parts of the life cycle. Define loss in very general terms, and then qualify it with the term grievous loss. Explain that grievous losses make us feel hurt, angry, or sad. Divide the class into small groups to brainstorm as many losses as possible and record on chart paper. Each group’s recorder selects three losses from his/her group’s list and writes them on the board. Add to the list any other losses not supplied from the student lists. Discuss the following questions:
-        What losses listed do you think would be the hardest to cope with?
-        What losses might have a positive side to them?
-       What losses would be hard to talk about in public?

Variation: Students find a newspaper or magazine article that describes a loss. Students answer the following questions, in writing, about their article:
-        What loss(es) are represented in the article?
-        Who or what will be affected by the loss?
-        Would others easily recognize the loss?
-       Would the loss be difficult or easy to bear?
-        What possible growth or positive action could come from the loss? Could there be any gains now or in the future as a result of this incident?

 

·        LOSS IN LITERATURE - Use classic children’s literature to examine and discuss issues surrounding loss, death, grief, and coping. Suggested books include:
-        Bridge to Terabitha by Katherine Paterson
-        Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
-        The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
-        Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by E. Coerr
-       The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

 

·        THE GRIEVING PROCESS - Invite a speaker from a local hospice or counseling agency to speak to the class about the grieving process. Be sure the speaker addresses various kinds of loss (not just death) and focuses on the physical, behavioral, and emotional aspects of the grieving process.