Showing Respect Feels Good

Grade Level: 1

Character Focus: Respect, Compassion, Courtesy,
Self-discipline

Academic Content Area: English-Language Arts

Lesson Duration: 45 minutes

Materials needed: The Feel Good Book by Todd Parr, published by Little, Brown and Company, pencils, markers, crayons, paper, poster identifying character-driven statements, Perspective Taking: Role Playing Guidelines

Implementation Strategies Used:

Academic content-based discussion
Character-related written reflection
Cooperative learning
Class meeting
Class issues discussion (classroom climate)

Lesson Summary

Students will read The Feel Good Book and determine which statements regarding feeling good demonstrate good character. They will explore good character, primarily respect , through discussion and self-reflection. Students will create an “I feel good when...” poster with an illustration of their own design. The teacher will make copies of them and make up a book for everyone in the classroom to keep.

Academic-Character Objectives:

Students will listen to the story with full attention and respect their peer opinions and thoughts, as measured by teacher observation.
Students will determine which statements in the book are character-driven so they understand the elements of respect and have the opportunity to demonstrate.
Students will recognize statements relating to positive behaviors with peers. Students will realize self-satisfaction derived from showing and giving respect, as measured by interactions with each other, discussion, and reflection on their experiences.

Into ( Motivation and setting the standard)

Review the characteristics of respect : for self (being good to myself and not putting myself down; taking care of myself), respect for others (treat others the way I want to be treated. Being considerate and honoring the feelings, opinions, and property of others), compassion (being kind, caring, and forgiving, even when others might not be), self-discipline (making responsible choices in what I say and do to reach my personal goals), and courtesy (being polite, listening to others, and using positive language).
How does it feel to do good things for others? The author says that many things feel good, including doing good things for others and yourself.
Explain the meaning of respect. See Character Trait
Introduce vocabulary: respect, compassion, courtesy, brave

Through (Lesson continues)

5. Read the story. Make sure students observe illustrations.

6. Discuss respect.

Who can explain what respect means?
What does respect for yourself mean?
What does respect for others mean?
What is compassion?
What is courtesy?
How do you feel when you show respect to others?

7. Classification: Review all of the “feel good” topics in the book. Use “thumbs up” for character-based statements and
“thumbs down” if statement is not character-based.

8. Students reflect on their own experiences. Discuss how feeling good is a reward for character-based actions.

9. Students complete “I feel good when....” worksheets; they may write or draw responses.

10. Do a “quick share” of students’ completed worksheets.

Beyond (Application, Extensions, and Assessment)

Review character-driven statements in the book, using a poster to list statements.
Specifically display pictures of “showing the new kid around, visiting a sick friend, giving a great big hug, making a new friend, giving somebody something special, sharing your treats and saying I love you in sign language.”
Discuss the word “brave”…how is it sometimes difficult to do the right thing? Are you brave when you do the right thing and others disagree? How does that make you feel?

Extended Learning Activities and Assessments:

The following activities may be used as units on different days:

Make a booklet containing copies of each student’s work.
Role Play: Students act out different ways of showing respect. Use the scenarios in the book as a guide. (See Perspective Taking: Role Play Guidelines)
Bulletin Board: Students design a bulletin board for their work.

Written by Barbara Trigillo

Perspective Taking:

Role-Play Guidelines

“Perspective taking or role taking—the cognitive ability to discern another person’s point of view or emotional state—is a key ingredient of empathy, a sensitivity to the plight of others” (Beland 2003).

Because empathy sets the standard for our relationship with others it is a core skill in developing ethical values and bringing them to life. Empathy inspires one to act with care and justice. Perspective taking includes the cognitive ability to:

Recognize others’ feelings through physical, verbal, and behavioral cues

Infer how others may be feeling by imagining oneself in their shoes (Beland 2003, p 10)

Identify facial expressions and situational cues associated with different emotions

Recognize different emotions within themselves

Listen to others when they express their thoughts and feelings

Practice taking the roles of others in the same or different situations

Look for similarities between themselves and others.

The strategies to provide these opportunities are wide ranging and differ with the age and developmental stages of students. They include but are not limited to:

Using literary characters and character analysis to have students put themselves in the character’s situation

Reflecting on their own thoughts and feelings through journaling and pair share

Using visual art to interpret thoughts and feelings

Cooperative or collaborative learning activities where students practice the behaviors of respect and responsibility

Using authentic problem-solving activities where students have to look at different perspectives, interviewing others to identify similarities

Moral dilemma discussions

Class meetings

Role play (some versions of role play are called simulation).

Using brief role play in the classroom supports the development of the behaviors associated with empathy, respect, responsibility, and integrity. Role play develops perspective taking and appeals to the kinesthetic learner as well. Linked to perspective taking, role play helps students understand social behavior, their roles in social interaction, and ways to solve problems more effectively. (Joyce & Calhoun 1996).

Role play situations can be generated from content area studies such as role playing a literary character, an historical person or event, as well as authentic issues of students. While there are many variations of the components of a role play the following is a basic guide.

Elements of a Role Play

1. Set the context and the situation or scene.

Keep in mind the students needs, interests, and developmental level.

Use situations that are authentic for the students; ask students for suggestions.

It can be a problem, a conflict, or an open-ended situation.

For younger students, identify or predict any language that may be needed.

To encourage role taking, ask students to remember how they felt and what they thought in a similar situation.

Start with simple situations and then move to more complex situations.

2. Identify roles.

Consider the abilities and personalities of the students.

Roles can be developed and suggestions made or roles can be open ended and allowed to evolve.

3. Identify audience focus.

To encourage active listening among the audience, a question or prompt may be given to the observers. Students can discuss, talk about, or write responses.

Norms of behavior for the audience may be reviewed.

3. Follow up.

After the role play, ask key questions of the role players as well as the audience that tap into the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of the role play. To develop perspective taking use questions such as:

Did you feel the same as ____? Why or why not?

What questions do you have for ___ about what happened?

What would you have done or said differently?

What would you have done or said the same?

What were you thinking or feeling about when you __________?

How do you know that _____was feeling ________?

4. Debrief the students.

Review the different roles, the audience reaction, and remind children this is a role play.

Finally, the role of the teacher in role play is one of “traffic controller” helping the flow of traffic and avoiding bottlenecks, but not telling individuals which way to go (Jones 1982 cited in Thompkins, p.5).