Hey! You’re Great! Lesson
Plan by Cami Carlson (the author!)
Objectives
/ Goals:
-Students
will identify and discuss the idea of peer pressure.
-Students will list
qualities about themselves that make them unique and special.
-Students will
interview their parents/guardians to discover their distinctive traits and past
experiences.
-Students will gain
a stronger sense of identity.
Attention Activity/Anticipatory Set:
Prior to teaching this lesson, pull three
students aside as discreetly as possible so the other students in the class
don’t notice you speaking with them.
Explain to these three students that you will be showing the class
various shapes. Tell them to raise their
hands when you ask for volunteers. Then, tell them each to correctly name the
first 3 shapes, and when you point to the square, the three of them will each confidently
say it is a triangle.
-Draw a circle, star, oval, and square on the board. Ask for volunteers, and call on the three
students with whom you previously met, along with two or three other students. Make sure the 3 students who are “in the
know” are the first three. One at a
time, ask the students to identify the 4 shapes. Each of the first three will confidently say
the square is a triangle. Then, have the
other students who volunteered identify the four shapes.
-This can work either way the students respond. Sometimes the other students feel pressured
to say the square is a triangle as their other classmates did, and this is a
powerful learning opportunity. Explain
to the class that you had spoken to the three students and told them to call
the square a triangle. Ask the students
who gave in to the pressure why they did.
Then ask the class why we sometimes do things we know are wrong. Ask the students ways to effectively deal
with peer pressure. Expand on the peer
pressure topic as much as you see fit.
If the students are not swayed by the erroneous
identification and call the square a square, there is still a learning
opportunity. Explain to the class that
you had spoken to the three students and told them to call the square a
triangle. Ask the students who did not
give in to the pressure why they didn’t.
Then ask the class why we sometimes do things we know are wrong and if
it is difficult to stand for what we know is right at times. Ask the students ways to effectively deal
with peer pressure. Expand on the peer
pressure topic as much as you see fit.
Direct
Instruction:
-Ask the students
why the young girl in the story felt like she needed to change.
- In what ways did
she and the other girls in the story give in to peer pressure?
-Why do you think
each of us was born with different physical traits and qualities?
-What would the
world be like if we all looked the same, acted the same, and had the same interests?
-Have you ever
given in to peer pressure?
-What are effective
ways to deal with peer pressure?
Guided
Practice:
Give each student a note card. You can have them decorate the card to
reflect something special about them, or they can just use a blank card. Then,
have the students list 3-5 things that make them unique. They can be as simple as, “I am kind to
others,” “I have a very large family,” or “I love to eat asparagus.” Go around the room, and allow the students to
share at least one of the things they listed.
Closure:
Remind the students that they are
special and unique and that they also need to appreciate what is special and
unique in others.
Independent
Practice:
Give the students a list of interview
questions to take home to interview their parents/guardians and find out what
makes them special. The students will
write down the responses and bring them back to class the next day. Consider the following list of interview
questions:
1-
What was special about my birth?
2-
How did you choose my name?
3-
Was I a happy baby, or did I cry a lot?
4-
What were my first words?
5-
How am I different from my siblings?
6-
What were my favorite toys as a toddler?
7-
Did you have a nickname for me, and why?
8-
What do you think my best qualities are?
9-
What was my favorite television show or movie?
10- Did I have a favorite song? What was it?
*Be cognizant of students who were
adopted or are in foster care. You can
add more questions to the list that are about the students’ lives right now,
and have them choose just 3 from the list instead of the entire list of
questions.
Required
Materials:
-Hey! You’re Great! by Cami Carlson, which can be purchased on any
of the following sites:
Follow-Up:
Allow the students to share what
they discovered from their parents/ guardians in their interviews. They can turn in their interview notes, share
them with the class, or both.
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