Who Am I and How Can I Contribute?

Topic or Unit of Study: Social Studies        

Grade/Level: Kindergarten

STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES

Wyoming Social Studies Content and Performance Standards:

SS2.1.1 Understand that schools, communities and the United States have rules that have to be followed.

SS2.2.1 Name the ways groups(e.g., families and schools) meet human needs and concerns (e.g., belonging and personal safety) and contribute to personal identity and daily life.

Lesson Objective:

Students will learn to speak to a group and listen while others speak.

Students will learn about similarities and differences within the classroom and with our families. (Extension will be to make symbolic flag for families which leads into the US Symbols lesson).

Students will learn the meaning of strengths and struggles and begin to understand what their own strengths and struggles are.

Students will learn how they can help others in the class throughout the year, as well as others in their families.

Students will produce a class quilt of pictures of working collaborative to help each other.           

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES       

Instructional Materials:

●      Feather or something to use as a “talking piece” to get to hold while talking.

●      White board or easel paper, sticky paper.

●      Paper to draw, colored pencils, handout: Sometimes I help / Sometimes I need help

●      Trade books to read with characters who help others

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN - DAY ONE

adapted from lesson by Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility

 Student Prerequisite Skills/Connections to Previous Learning

None required. Beginning of year / first day of school lesson.

 Presentation Procedures for New Information and/or Modeling:

 Presentation Procedures for New Information:

Seat student on floor in a circle. Teacher shows how to use the feather/talking piece to hold while answering questions.

 Modeling:

What was the highlight of your summer? (Students stand to answer, then pass feather).

Tell how the daily morning meeting will work with everyone getting a chance to share if desired.

Tell students to follow instructions regarding standing or sitting to answer questions.

 Guided Practice:

Examples for teacher: “Stand up if you are…”

●  they are the oldest sibling

●  they are the youngest sibling

●  they are a middle child

●  they are a twin

●  they are an only child

●  they grew up in a city

●  they grew up in the suburbs, a small town or the country

●  they are into sports (Then if they like sports as a fan or as an athlete/participant. What sports. What are you good at?)

●  they can speak more than one language

●  do you like to read, draw, count, sing?

Ask students to raise hands if they prefer standing as a group or standing alone. Pass feather and have them answer alone same question. Group discussion: why do we prefer one over the other. What does it mean to stand up for yourself? What does it mean to stand up for others? What are some things we learned about each other?

 Independent Student Practice:

Pass out drawing paper and have students draw themselves standing up for something they believe in or standing up for themselves for something about themselves. On the other side have them draw how they could stand up for someone else. Teacher writes the words they use to describe their drawings. Hang or post drawings.

 Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event:

Students return to carpet. Remind students about respectful speaking and listening skills. Ask for group sharing about how they can stand up for themselves and for others. Talk about being unified as Team Kindergarten.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN - DAY TWO

 Student Prerequisite Skills/Connections to Previous Learning

Expectations of respectful listening and speaking.

 Presentation Procedures for New Information and/or Modeling:

Presentation Procedures for New Information:

Seat student on floor in a circle and use the talking feather.

Modeling:

What are some rules we should all follow?

(For each rule suggested by students ask: Why? and lead a discussion to help students understand the reasons behind rules. For example: Why should we be quiet while walking in line to other classrooms? Why should we keep our hands to ourselves while moving in the hallway or listening to the teacher?)

 Guided Practice:

The teacher makes a simplified list of the rules. Kids practice reciting/talking about rules for moving through the hall, rules for listening while the teacher is talking, rules for moving about during center time, etc.

 Independent Student Practice:

Pass out drawing paper and have students draw what it looks like to follow one of the rules.

 Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event:

Have students share their pictures and explain their rule. Ask each time: why is it important to follow that rule and have the student answer or get help from others to answer.

 EXTENSIONS- Class Flag / Symbol

 Students could work together to design a class flag with agreed upon symbols to represent cooperating to follow rules and respect each other’s learning.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN - DAY THREE

adapted from lesson by Teaching Tolerance

 Student Prerequisite Skills/Connections to Previous Learning:

Expectations of respectful listening and speaking.

 Presentation Procedures for New Information and/or Modeling:

 Presentation Procedures for New Information:

Seat student on floor in a circle and use the talking feather. Introduce feelings and direct teach vocab word: EMPATHY

Modeling:

Group or partner discussion: What is a time when you wish someone would have understood how you felt but he/she did not? How can we do things to better understand how someone else feels?

 Guided Practice:

Teacher describes realistic situations and after each has students work in partners to explain how they think other people would feel. Then ask: What can we do in those situations to show we understand the feelings of others?

 Independent Student Practice:

Give each student a handout ___. that has them choose the correct picture to show the correct emotion for a situation read by the teacher

 Give each student a role to act out. In small groups they ask out a realistic social situation. Then as a whole group they come to a consensus about how to resolve conflict in a way that shows empathy.

Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event:

Show a poster with pictures to symbolize feelings. Explain how students can use the poster when they feel stuck for how to describe their feelings.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN - DAY FOUR

adapted from lesson by The teaching channel

 Student Prerequisite Skills/Connections to Previous Learning:

Expectations of respectful listening and speaking.

 Presentation Procedures for New Information and/or Modeling:

 Presentation Procedures for New Information:

Explain that there will be a student of the day/week. This will be the “Star of the Week.” This student will answer questions by others to write a “bio” about this person.

Modeling:

Have the students ask the teacher questions (i.e., what is your favorite color?) and write the answers on chart paper or smartboard to create a teacher bio.

 Guided Practice:

Choose a student of the week. Put cape on the student or a crown or something to symbolize being the star. That student will call on others for the questions and the teacher will write the bio. Have students practice “reading” the bio to show what they’ve learned about the star. Have the students focus last on questions about the student’s family.

 Make a web about families. Discuss similarities and differences of all our families.

 Independent Student Practice:

Students can choose a symbol(s) and color(s) that represent their own family and draw their own family flag.

 Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event:

Students can share their family flags and explain them before taking them home.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN - DAY FIVE

adapted from lesson by Teaching Tolerance

 Student Prerequisite Skills/Connections to Previous Learning:

Expectations of respectful listening and speaking.

 Presentation Procedures for New Information and/or Modeling:

 Presentation Procedures for New Information:

Students sit in circle on carpet and use the speaking feather.

Modeling:

Teacher begins by modeling sentence to tell what I am good at and what is hard for me.

 Guided Practice:

Go around the circle and each student answers at least one thing for: What are you good at? What is hard for you to do?

Group discussion: Does everyone have to be good at everything?

 Direct Instruction:

Directly teach the vocab words: strengths and struggles.

Group discussion about how we can ask for help with our struggles and about how someone else’s strengths compliment our struggles.

Guided Practice:

Have students work in partners to discuss their own strengths and struggles and to come up with ways they could help each other. Have them practice asking for help with something with which they struggle.

 Independent Student Practice:

Give out handout to draw pictures of: When I can help / When I need help.

 Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event:

Students can share their pictures and explain them. Teachers will arrange pictures like a classroom quit to refer to throughout the year as a reminder to students that we all have strengths and we all have struggles, but we can help each other and together be stronger.

Who am I and How can I contribute Lesson by Tomi Sue Wille is licensed CC BY-NC.