Anti-Bullying Week 2013

Transcription

1 Anti-Bullying Week 2013 Restorative Thinking Lesson Plan Bullying: A Restorative Approach This lesson plan is aimed at Years 2-3. It can be adapted for other year groups by selecting a different case study (other than Rules of the Game ) to work with. Restorative approaches and ways of thinking are now developing and growing in many schools across the UK. An increasing amount of evidence demonstrates a very positive impact on improving and sustaining positive behaviour, attendance, attainment and progress. At the heart of this is teaching and modelling restorative conflict resolution skills to the children. Restorative approaches give pupils the skills, knowledge and understanding to use an incident of misbehaviour as an opportunity to: See both sides Understand the thoughts, feelings and needs of all involved in the incident Develop emotional literacy Take responsibility Repair the harm Ensure that all parties have closure Plan ahead and prevent a recurrence To support Anti-Bullying Week 2013, in collaboration with the Anti-Bullying Alliance, we have produced this lesson plan, engaging with resources from Restorative Thinking: A Restorative Practices Interactive Toolkit Written by Teachers, for Teachers (KS1 & KS2). Should teachers need support around delivery of this lesson plan, please contact Lesley Parkinson at Restorative Thinking for an informal chat. Restorative Thinking: A Restorative Practices Interactive Toolkit Written by Teachers, for Teachers (KS1 & KS2) gives pupils carefully structured opportunities to understand the impact of their own and others actions, along with strategies to put things right in a restorative way. To purchase a copy of the toolkit please visit our website ( and submit your order on the Order page.

2 Bullying: A Restorative Approach (Years 2-3) Context Restorative Thinking: A Restorative Practices Interactive Toolkit Written by Teachers, for Teachers (KS1 & KS2) contains six session plans, supporting teachers to introduce and explore restorative approaches with primary pupils. The toolkit contains clearly laid out lesson plans, teacher notes, paper resources and a number of kinaesthetic resources to support delivery. In the toolkit four central characters Paul, Qasim, Golda and Amy appear in six Case Studies, giving pupils the opportunity to explore how restorative approaches can be applied through each story. We have included one of the Case Studies ( Rules of the Game ) to support this lesson plan, and have chosen to explore and develop empathy, a key component of restorative approaches. This lesson plan has been written specially to support schools during Anti-Bullying Week Lesson aims/objectives To begin to apply restorative approaches to the teaching and learning of anti-bullying To start to understand how thoughts and feelings affect actions To start to be more self-reflective To develop empathy Activity 1 Give each pupil a blank sheet of A4 paper and ask them to draw a picture or outline of themselves. On the left of the page, ask pupils to list three or four good things they have done in the last week, eg. helped someone, studied hard, achieved in sport. On the right of the page, ask pupils to list three or four negative things they have done in the last week, eg. missed a homework deadline, argued with somebody. Ask pupils to share (voluntarily) some of their responses. Teacher selects three or four of the examples. In a circle, pupils suggest how they felt/what they were thinking before, during and after each incident. Activity plenary: teacher explains what empathy is and how it can deepen our understanding of ourselves and others. Differentiation Teacher provides an A4 sheet with an outline of a person. Pupils work in groups initially and suggest examples of good and negative behaviour/incidents, perhaps things that have happened in school recently. In circle time, pupils role play or freeze frame the scenarios, improvising their responses to each incident.

3 Activity 2 Read the Restorative Thinking case study: Rules of the Game. Q&A session to test pupil understanding of the story. Q&A session, led by teacher, using the following questions: What was... thinking when...? What do you think... was feeling when...? Hand out the Restorative Thinking Feelings, Thoughts and Behaviour Mountain resource and explain its significance (please see accompanying resource notes). Working individually or in pairs, ask pupils to write their responses on the resource sheet, in character as Qasim or Paul Differentiation Q&A to be followed by role play/freeze frames to retell story. Plenary Short discussion around what is empathy? Ask pupils in pairs to come up with their own definition of empathy. Can we start to identify our own trigger thoughts and feelings and start to understand them and perhaps control them? Can we start to look on others behaviour/actions in a different way? Should we start to ask our friends/classmates how they are thinking and feeling when things aren t right? If we see someone being bullied, can we ask those involved to think about how both parties might be feeling? If we suspect bullying is taking place on line (eg. through a social networking site) can we do the same? Resources A blank sheet of A4 paper and pencils and coloured for each pupil Copy/copies of Restorative Thinking Case Study: Rules of the Game Copies of Restorative Thinking resource: Feelings Thoughts and Behaviour Mountain (one per pupil)

4 Teacher Resource Feelings, Thoughts and Behaviour Mountain (The Metacognitive Triangle) Teacher information: This is another useful tool to encourage pupils to recognise their emotional responses. The triangle is described as a mountain. The behaviour is the bit on top that we can see and the thoughts and feelings are happening under the surface, often where people can t see them. A useful discussion point is to understand and recognise the difference between feelings and thoughts. As a starting point, show students the Feelings, Thoughts and Behaviour Mountain resource (on the next page) and offer an explanation of how feelings and thoughts can affect behaviour. Refer to the teacher resource The Metacognitive Triangle on page 69. Then ask pupils to think about the differences between thought and feelings, by completing the following table (this can be done as a whole class exercise). Pupils can relate to their own experiences, or focus on one of the characters from the case study, or refer to an incident that has taken place in school. Feelings Thoughts* Behaviour Delighted I have been lucky Kind to others Gloomy I hate her Shouting Nervous What will happen now? Crying Cross It s not my fault Punching *Putting thoughts in speech marks helps to remind us the difference between thoughts and feelings. Next, ask pupils to complete the tables on the Feelings, Thoughts and Behaviour Mountain, from their own perspective and/or that of others.

5 Feelings, Thoughts and Behaviour Mountain Talking about thoughts and feelings is important, as it can help us to understand our own actions and behaviour, and that of others. My Feelings My Thoughts My Behaviour Name Their Feelings Their Thoughts Their Behaviour

6 The Metacognitive Triangle Information around this resource can also be found in The Five Themes of Restorative Practices, as Theme 2 is based upon this. Thoughts Feelings Actions

7 What I am thinking affects how I am feeling and this impacts on my actions. The problem is that we always presume that we understand what others were thinking and feeling in a situation and we often act on our own thoughts and feelings about the person. If we take for example the child who comes into school and, seemingly unprovoked, hits another child: we assume that the child was angry or a bully and we seek to punish the behaviour. However, without knowing what that child was thinking and feeling we will never fully understand the behaviour. What if the child who did the hitting is subject to a dare and doesn t really want to cause hurt? The child may be more afraid of others than of the consequence of the action. What if the child who did the hitting has been subject to inappropriate behaviour from the other child, but it has gone unnoticed? What would the child be thinking and feeling? As adults we are often pressed for time and seek a quick fix to an incident, but does that give us a true understanding? Encouraging children to consider the links between thoughts, feelings and actions encourages them to become more selfreflective and to process thoughts before acting. It also teaches children to become more self-regulating through recognising trigger feelings and thoughts. If a child can recognise that if they feel unsafe they are likely to think of others as a danger and then perhaps to act out in a self-protective way, perhaps by hitting out first, this can help the child to out-talk the feeling and ultimately to prevent the behaviour. Introducing children to the metacognitive triangle also encourages them to reflect on what others may be thinking and feeling when they act. This in turn can develop a greater sense of empathy and capacity for compassion.

8 Case Study 6 (Years 2-3) Rules of the Game It was difficult to play with Qasim; he always tried to change the rules. Golda had had enough. She persuaded the others to leave him out. From then on, when Qasim tried to join in, everyone ran off, laughing. Paul felt bad about treating Qasim like this. Although afraid of what Golda might say, he went to play with Qasim. Golda and some other children started to make fun of Paul and Qasim. Afraid of being bullied, Paul ran off, leaving Qasim scared and alone. They kept teasing him until Amy told them to stop. They had gone too far. Qasim was crying. Qasim explained to his teacher why he had no friends. They get cross because I don t understand their games. He was glad Paul had tried to help, but didn t understand why he had run off. Gathering them together, the teacher explained that Qasim was unhappy. Golda hadn t realised that Qasim didn t understand the games. She was upset that she had been bossy and unkind. Paul wanted to explain to Qasim why he ran off. He is frightened of Golda and didn t want to be picked on as well. Amy felt ashamed that she had joined in. Do you think we ll be able to play together if I explain the rules? she asked Qasim.

9 Contact: Lesley Parkinson, Director, Restorative Thinking T: M: E: W: