Content Area: Health and Physical Education

 

Index: 2.1F Grade 6 CPI 1

 

Standard: 2.1 - Wellness

 

Strand: F -  Social and Emotional Health 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 1 - The student will examine how personal assets, (e.g., self esteem, positive peer relationships) and protective factors (e.g., parental involvement) support healthy social and emotional development.

 

Grade: 6

 

Sample Activities:

 

·        EXAMINING THE NEWS MEDIA - Students examine news media coverage for one week focusing on issues related to interpersonal violence. Select certain incidents for discussion. Students analyze the possible events that lead to the incident and describe actions and decisions that might have prevented its occurrence.

 

·        TURNING DOWN THE ANGER - Brainstorm a definition of anger and write the students’ responses on the board. Introduce, define, and give examples of the following terms: anger triggers (thoughts or events that set off feelings of anger); anger cues (body changes); and hidden anger (suppressed negative thoughts). Using a sponge and a pitcher of water into which red food coloring has been added, explain that the sponge represents the body and the red water represents an anger trigger. Ask the students to suggest possible anger triggers. As they do, pour a little water on the sponge. Relate the change in the color of the sponge to the effect of anger triggers on the body. Explain that when people use healthful ways to relieve angry feelings, they do not harm themselves or others. Divide the class into small groups, and have each group develop a list of healthy ways to deal with anger. Share the lists and create a class list or poster. Students complete the following statements:
-        When I get angry, I will....
-        Healthful ways to deal with anger include...

 

·        ANGER INVENTORY - Students keep a 2-day log of things that make them angry and describe the ways they dealt with that anger. Students share their log with a partner and discuss healthy and appropriate ways to deal with anger.

Variation: Students use the log to answer this question: What can you say or do to calm yourself when angry?

 

      Variation: Students keep a stress log for 2 days. What things caused stressful feelings? How did you deal with them? Who helped you? Students share their logs with a partner and develop a list of people who can help when they feel angry or stressed.

 

·       WAYS TO DEAL WITH ANGER - Brainstorm appropriate ways to deal with stress, anger, and frustration. Focus on ways physical activity can help students deal with their anger and enhance their mood. Discuss ways students can express feelings through the creative arts.

Variation: Some people use physical expression to release anger or “blow off steam” (e.g., scream in a pillow, squeeze a tennis ball). Is this a healthy method to deal with these feelings? Why or why not?

Variation: Students develop a list of family members, school staff, and community organizations that assist students to deal with anger, frustration, conflict, and stress. Post the list in the classroom for easy reference.

 

·       PEER MEDIATION - Students investigate and develop a program to provide peer mediation services in the school. Working with the school counselor, students visit a school already engaged in a successful peer mediation program. Students develop the rules for the program and assist in the development of a training program for prospective peer mediators. Students collect information about the program and report to the school administration at the end of the school year.

 

·       ZERO CONFLICT - Begin this activity by explaining that conflict and anger are normal—it’s just when they are carried to an extreme that they become problems. Divide the class into small groups. Each group brainstorms situations that result in anger or conflict while in school, at play, or at home and writes each situation on an index card or small slip of paper. Examples might include someone butting in line, someone stealing lunch money, or a fight at the bus stop. Collect all the cards and place them in a large box. Each day, several students draw cards from the box and lead a discussion on how to handle the situation. Students may design a role-play to demonstrate appropriate strategies. As students address the situation on the card, post it on a bulletin board display anchored by a nonviolence theme, such as “There’s No Room for Violence in This Room” or “Zero Conflict.”