BUILDING POSITIVE SOCIAL BEHAVIORS IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Transcription

1 BUILDING POSITIVE SOCIAL BEHAVIORS IN YOUNG CHILDREN HANDS ARE NOT FOR HITTING CREATING POSITIVE SOLUTIONS TO ANGER CREATED BY: Telesa Bullock and Tannis Bailey and Medicine Hat School District # ext

2 Social and Emotional Developmental Kits Introduction: Recognition of early social and emotional problems in young children is necessary in achieving the best developmental outcomes. If left untreated, early onset conduct problems (aggression, rebellion, oppositional behaviours and emotional disturbances) place children at high risk for frequent social and emotional difficulties. Early detection and intervention of social and emotional problems can have a long-term impact on the developing child in major areas. The development of emotional self control and social ability in the early years plays a significant role in determining the way children think, learn, react to obstacles, and develop relationships throughout their lives. (Bright Tots, Rationale: To provide children and educators with strategies and resources to teach and promote appropriate social and emotional behaviours. Social and Emotional Developmental Kit Titles Keeping Calm Dealing with Aggression Being a Good Friend - Understanding Relationships I Have Feelings - Understanding Emotions Hands Are Not For Hitting Creating Positive Solutions to Anger Being a Good Student - Building Teacher / Student Relationships Coping with Change Working through Transitions I Like Me Building Self Esteem Making Good Choices Being Honest 2

3 Hands Are Not For Hitting Kit Contents - Book My Relaxation Book - Squeeze Ball / Corn Starch Balloon - How s Your Body Feeling? Too Fast, Too Slow or Just Right? - Book Hands Are Not For Hitting by Marine Agassi - Book - My Hands are For? - Book - Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think - Turtle Technique Cue Cards - Problem Solving Steps Cue Cards - Solution Cue Cards - Bowls and Green paper for Tucker the Turtle Craft - Scissors / Glue Stick / Crayons - Paper for I Love You Card - Sign Language Picture Cards - Kind (Thumbs Up) and Unkind (Thumbs Down) Pictures - Role Playing Supplies blocks, car, lace and beads - Foam Hand Stamp and Roll of 3 1/4 inch Paper for Helping Hand Chain - Small stamp for child s hand - Ink pad - Little figures, Sam and Molly - Felt board 3

4 Lesson Suggestions Please note - these activities may be taught in a number of settings and revisited at different times of the day. Some activities may work better in a one on one or small group setting, while other stories and activities can be used with the whole class participating. Don t try to get through all of the ideas in one sitting. Give the children time to practice what is being taught at center time or on the playground. Lesson 1 Objectives: To understand that my hands are used for many things and that I can think of positive solutions to problems instead of hitting. 1. Read to the whole class, an individual child or a small group of children the book, Hands Are Not For Hitting by Marine Agassi. This book provides children and adults alternative actions and activities they can do with their hands instead of hitting. While reading the story, act out the positive things you can do with your hands, such as handshaking, clapping, blowing kisses, pointing, etc. 2. Have the children talk about how they might feel when someone hits them. Teach the problem solving steps using the cue cards provided in your kit. Demonstrate and discuss how to identify the problem, think of some solutions, evaluate what would happen if you tried this solution, (making sure the solution is safe and fair) and then have the child give it a try. Teachers may post these visuals where the children can see them as reminders of the problem solving process or have the ring of cards handy for the children to look at. 3. Using the solution cue cards included in your kit, play a game of What could you do instead of hitting? There are a number of possible solutions to each problem. Have the children role play the scenarios with you. Props are included in your kit. The following are some likely situations that could occur in the classroom. If possible act out scenarios that have occurred recently in your children s lives. The children will find the information much more meaningful if it is relevant to them. a. Someone took the car you were playing with. (A toy car is included in your kit.) What could you do? b. Someone pushed you in line. What could you do? 4

5 c. Someone knocked your block tower down. (Blocks are included.) What could you do? d. You want to be first in line, but someone else is already there. What could you do? e. One of your classmates has a book you want to look with. (Use the Hands Are Not For Hitting book.) What could you do? f. Someone picked up your beads and they fell off the string. (Use the lace and beads provided.) What could you do? The solution cue cards may be posted in the room or have the ring of cards accessible to children throughout the day. Children may need a visual reminder when trying to come up with positive solutions instead of hitting. Lesson 2 Objectives: To understand and demonstrate that I can use my hands to help others. 1. Review lesson one by playing a game of thumbs up and thumbs down using the kind and unkind pictures included in your kit. Discuss each picture with the children. If the scenario is a kind, positive activity to do with their hands, have the children put their thumbs up, if it is unkind or hurtful, have them put their thumbs down. 2. Have the children make a helping hands chain. Using the larger foam hand stamp and ink pad provided, catch the children using their hands to help others or to be a friend. As you recognize a child s helping hand behaviour, have the child stamp the hand on the large roll of 3 1/4 inch paper provided and make a helping hand chain. The hands can be placed on the wall to wrap around the room, or in the hall to link with a neighbouring class. Using the small hand stamp, stamp the child s hand as a helping hand. On a regular basis, celebrate how long the helping hand chain is getting! Try to catch all the children helping others. You may need to set some children up for success by helping another teacher, the school secretary, librarian or principal. 3. Using the felt figures, Sam and Molly and the felt board, have the children act out helping hand situations. The following are just suggestions. a. Sam fell down at recess and hurt his knee. What can Molly do to help? 5

6 b. Molly misses her mom and starts to cry. What can Sam do to help? c. Sam lost his soccer ball. What can Molly do to help? d. Molly dropped her lunch kit. What can Sam do to help? Lesson 3 Objectives: To understand that I can use my hands to talk. 1. As a story review, ask the children What can you do with your hands? Read My Hands are For? Review and discuss positive things we can do with our hands. 2. Recall from the stories, My Hands are For?, and Hands Are Not For Hitting the ways our hands can talk: hands wave hello and goodbye, hands draw and write, they gesture come here and they point, clap count, hug and give high-fives. Discuss how we can also talk with our hands using sign language. Using the sign language pictures included in your kit, demonstrate a few simple signs and have the children imitate. Teach the simple sign, I Love You. Using only one hand bend the two middle fingers to touch the palm. Encourage the children to try to make this sign and others to request, please, thank-you, all done, or more. 3. Have the children make a sign language I Love You card. Children can do this activity in a small group, individually, or as a whole class. (If the whole class is participating, you will need more paper, crayons, scissors and glue sticks than what is included in your kit.) Have the child trace his/her hand and cut it out. Fold the cardstock paper in half to make a card. The child then glues his/her hand on the front of the card with the two middle fingers folded down. This is sign language for I Love You. Inside the card, have the child write, or dictate to a teacher who the card is for and sign his name. 4. Sing and use gesture to the song, Skinamarinky Dinky Dink by Sharon, Lois and Bram. Here are the words: Skinamarinky dinky dink, Skinamarinky do, I love you. Skinamarinky dinky dink, Skinamarinky do, I love you. I love you in the morning, and in the afternoon, I love you in the evening, and underneath the moon. Skinamarinky dinky dink, Skinamarinky do I love you. (I really mean it), I Love You Too! (Boo boo bee do.) 6

7 Lesson 4 Objectives: To verbalize and demonstrate positive solutions to anger, such as taking time to tuck and think like Tucker Turtle or using My Relaxation Book and squeeze ball. 1. Read the story, Tucker Turtle takes Time to Tuck and Think. Discuss when Tucker is angry, he knows how to stop and tuck into his shell and take three deep breaths. He then thinks, thinks, and thinks, and comes up with great ideas about what he can do with his hands instead of hitting. Talk about what it feels like when we are angry. Our heart might beat faster, we might get red in the face, our bodies might get tight, and we might even feel hot. Discuss how if we do what Tucker did, we can calm ourselves down. Demonstrate taking three deep breaths, cooling off and calming down. Point out that when you are calm you can wiggle your fingers, your breath is smoother, your heart beats slower, your neck and shoulders are loose and you can even smile! Physically demonstrate and have the children practice being both angry and calm. 2. Make a Tucker the Turtle Puppet. Have the child trace and cut out his/her hand on green cardstock paper. Using the crayons and bowl provided, turn the bowl upside down and have the child color the turtle s shell. Cut the child s paper thumb and fingers off of the green paper hand. Glue the thumb and fingers on the bottom of the bowl as a head and four legs for Tucker the turtle. Draw a face on the head. Using a scrap of green paper cut a small triangle for a tail and glue it to the bottom of the bowl. Have the child demonstrate how Tucker the Turtle Tucks and Thinks, by folding his legs, head and tail into the shell. 3. Take a large sheet or parachute from the gym and drape it over a table in the classroom. Have the children pretend it is a big turtle shell. Tell the children to go under the shell and practice taking three deep breaths before they come out of the shell. Play a game where you give the children a situation, such as Tucker just got hit in the head with a ball get the children to go under the shell, take three deep breaths and then come out and talk about what Tucker could do instead of hitting. Bring out the solution cue cards to help remind the children of possible, creative solutions to try instead of hitting. 7

8 4. Using the turtle technique cue cards and teacher tips review often how Tucker the Turtle calms down. You may want to have the cue cards posted in your classroom as appropriate calming down cues. 5. Have the children go through My Relaxation Book using the squeeze ball or corn starch balloon provided. Review how your body feels to be calm and demonstrate how your body feels when it is angry. Introduce How s your body feeling? Too fast, Too Slow or Just Right? monitor. Physically demonstrate with your children how it feels when your body is fast like a bunny or slow like a turtle. Teach the children that it is better to have your body feeling just right. Review calming strategies like, tuck and think, or using the squeeze ball and My Relaxation Book as positive ways to keep your body at the just right state. 6. Praise the children s efforts in calming their bodies down appropriately. 8

9 Hands Are Not For Hitting Creating Positive Solutions to Anger Student: Instructor: The child will engage in the following lessons to learn how to create positive solutions to anger. Please indicate if the child requires prompting (i.e. verbal cues or modeling) or if the child can complete the objective independently on the tally sheet below. The goal is to have the child achieve 80% accuracy at the independent level. This record sheet should be placed in the student s binder for reference for IPP goals. Lesson 1 Objective: To understand that there are positive solutions to problems instead of hitting. Date With Prompting Independent Level 9

10 Lesson 2 Objective: To understand and demonstrate that hands can be used to help others. Date With Prompting Independent Level Lesson 3 Objective: To understand that hands can be used to talk. Date With Prompting Independent Level 10

11 Lesson 4 Objective: To verbalize and demonstrate positive solutions to anger. Date With Prompting Independent Level 11