In the month of November and December, my focus with students was mental well-being and coping strategies for stressful or overwhelming situations. Kindergartners and first graders learned how to belly breathe. We discussed using this strategy when they are experiencing a difficult emotion. We talked specifically about worry in these grades. Students learned when worry is helpful and when worry becomes excessive and can be harmful, and how to use deep breathing to calm ourselves. We used stuffed animals on our tummies as "breathing buddies" to help us focus on deep belly breathing.
Second graders learned what it means to be present and also practiced belly breathing. I have visited their classrooms a few more times with other calming strategies including a body scan, linked below, and using a color page as a way to calm down when feeling overwhelmed.
Third graders learned how yoga poses can help us as a coping strategy. We practiced various yoga poses, focusing on paying attention to our breathing and not being distracted by thoughts and emotions, but rather being in control of our bodies, feelings and thoughts. We discussed different times we could use yoga poses in our lives, and many students identified that this may help them wind down before bed.
Fourth graders learned how gratitude can be a coping skill. We learned that gratitude can change our thinking about a situation that causes us a difficult emotion. Many students identified math and siblings as "stressors" in their lives. We talked about how changing our thinking from "math is hard" or "math is stressful" to "I'm grateful to learn math and stretch my thinking" or "I'm grateful for the opportunity learn new things." Students created a gratitude box to take with them to use as a coping strategy when they are needing a bit of a mindset change.
Fifth and Sixth graders each received a lesson on Mental Health First Aid, focusing on how to identify in ourselves and those we care about if they might be struggling emotionally and need someone to talk to. Students learned the acronym ACT: Acknowledge (the change in the person that might indicate that they are struggling), Care (share your concern with them), Tell (tell a trusted adult).
This month classroom lessons were on bullying. My goal with bullying lessons is that students are able to identify what bullying is (repeated or likely to be repeated, purposeful, harmful behavior), the effects of bullying on others, and ways to stop bullying when they see it. We always focus on Habit 1: Be Proactive during these lessons: we are in charge of our own actions and we are able to ensure bullying is not happening if we 1) don't do it, and 2) stand up to others who are. I like to use a read aloud story in most grades so students can use critical thinking skills in order to achieve these three learning goals during my lesson.
Here is a great visual to help students identify what is true bullying vs. other behaviors that they don't like or might need help resolving. I am using this comparison in my lessons with all students so they can identify the difference.
Kindergartners read the story Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully. In this story students were able to see that bullying behavior is purposeful, repeated, causes students to not want to attend school and to be afraid and worried. Students also learned through the story that everyone standing together to say that bullying is not ok is a very effective way to stop bullies. Mama Raccoon tells a story about how rocks that are rough around the edges can be smoothed out to be held. I gave students rough rocks and smooths rocks to help them understand that our words and actions can be rough, painful, and hurt others, or they can be soft, smooth, and cause others to want to be around us. Students created puppets to re-enact the story for their families at home.
1st graders read the story Lucy and the Bully. After the lesson students completed a character web to compare and contract the victim (Lucy) and the bully (Tommy). Students thought about who they would like to be of these two characters. In one class, a student recognized that after Tommy was talked to by an adult and realized his behavior's harmful effects on others as well as Lucy's kind actions toward him, he was able to change. I loved this ah-ha moment! If students are engaging in bullying behaviors, they are able to change! This was a perfect take-away from the lesson, and I was impressed by the 1st grader's thinking.
In 2nd grade students read The Bully Blocker's Club. In this story the main character is excited about school until one student makes fun of her, steals her things, calls her names, makes jokes about her, and encourages others to join in. Then, the main character feels worried about going to school and doesn't doesn't want to go, and she constantly feels sick to her stomach, causing her to go to the nurse's office but not know why she's going. We were able to identify that this is bullying behavior and not just a mean moment or a conflict between friends because it is repeated behavior and it is significantly interfering with her ability to learn and the school environment. Students then learned from the story different ways to try and stop bullying, but what really works is when everyone stands up to bullying (instead of joining in or standing by and not doing anything), and reporting it to an adult. Students went home with a letter that aids parents in talking with their child about bullying behaviors and reinforces the learning targets from the lesson.
In 3rd grade, students read the book The Invisible Boy and learned about empathy. Students learned that by using empathy, putting yourself in someone else's shoes, you are able to stand up to bullying and stop it when it's happening. Using empathy allows you to view a situation from someone else's perspective and then choose how to respond. Using empathy to understand how others would feel when being bullied encourages us from engaging in bullying behavior, as well as to stand up to others who are bullying.
4th, 5th, and 6th graders received a bullying lesson from Lee's Summit Cares with Kerri Gray.
In September students are receiving lessons on how to treat one another with kindness and respect at school and building a safe and welcoming community classroom. This always starts with them! If they can choose to be kind and welcoming, their classroom and our school will be one where students can do their best learning and want to be everyday.
Kindergartners listened to the story "The Crayon Box that Talked" by Shane DeRolf. They learned that we should treat everyone with kindness and respect even when they are different from us. Being different is something to celebrate and we are able make a more colorful picture when we are different than if all the same color. Students related this story to their classroom: working together builds a strong and safe community that helps all students to feel that they belong.
2nd graders listened to the book "ONE" by Kathryn Otoshi and discussed how to stand up to bullying or unkind behavior. They each identified that it takes courage to stand up when they see others being treated unkind or being bullied. Students identified the character traits of each of the colors and the number 1 in the book. They thought about which color they would be, as well as what it takes to be "1" to stand up to unkind behavior. To hear this book by the author please see the video below.
3rd graders read the book "Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun" by Miranda Dismondy, a story about having the courage to be who you are. Students identified that the school and classroom environment has to utilize Habit 5: Seek First to Understand and then to be Understood in order to allow students to truly be who they are. In order to accept one another even when they are different, we have to be willing to understand who they are by getting to know them. We discussed how this is important for creating a classroom culture of acceptance and belonging.
4th graders read the book "A Bad Case of Stripes." In this story, the main character is easily influenced by others' opinions of her and she changes into what others say. We discuss how she needs to learn to be true to who she is. However, we identified that in the story the students in her class also need to create a classroom environment where she feels she is able to be herself and not what others think she should be. Students then learned "I statements" to help them express their feelings about how others are treating them and to help them stand up for themselves should they find they are being treated the same way as the main character in the story. See the image below for an example of an "I-statement."
5th Graders participated in a lesson to discuss stereotypes, appreciating differences, and peer pressure. We read the book "Hey Little Ant" as a way to understand the perspective of a situation from the boy's point of view vs. the ant's point of view. Students then looked at different "perspective" images to experience how one person sees a situation is different than another. Things that influence how they perceive something includes: life experiences, education, language, culture, etc.
Through this lesson students learn how to accept and respect other’s point of view. There are always two sides, and it’s our job to try and understand someone else's perspective, which truly is empathy: putting yourself in someone else's shoes.
6th graders received a lesson on their reputation. Students learned that they are very much able to shape how others view them by their words, actions, and choices. Students spent time thinking about and discussing what a reputation is and watched the video below, which illustrates how people will speak to our reputation when given a chance. Students were challenged to think about what would others say about them? They then created a reputation wordart on their Chromebooks to help them think about what values they have and what they would like others to say about them--how they are shaping their reputation.
