Hearts to Hands
Strength Through Peace
Teacher Lesson Guide
(swipe to advance)
Objectives
Self Management
Active Listening
Awareness
Lesson Design
45-60 Minutes
5 Min: Review Learning Objectives
20 Min: Literary Discussion: Clever Mouse-Deer
5 Min: Simon Says…: Kinesthetic Activity
10 Min: Pitch the Problem: Reinforcing Activity
3 Min: Closing Activity
Objectives
Practice skills of social awareness by:
identifying conflicts
identifying factors that lead to conflicts
Demonstrate active listening and observation skills.
Practice essential problem-solving skills
Lingo List
Conflict Words
struggle
conflict
quarrel
fight
disagreement
Unkind Adjectives
mean
cruel
hurtful
Reconciliation Words
compromise
agree
settle
mercy
kindness
Listening Words
notice
wait
observe
attend
accept
Aggravation Words
provoke
aggravate
bug
tease
irritate
annoy
pester
Friendship Words
support
back up
aid
assist
compliment
understand
help
Part of developing strong social problem-solving skills is learning how to self-regulate emotions with frustrations.
When the feelings, perspectives and ideas of others are considered, we can avoid the illusion that getting our way always indicates getting along.
Guiding Question for Class:
What is self-control? When is it hard to practice self-control? What kind of feelings are hard to feel in front of other people? When is it okay for people to have different feelings? What does it mean to actively listen? How do you feel when you are not listened to? How can we listen with our eyes?
Reading:
Clever Mouse-Deer
One day, a buffalo was eating grass by the riverbank when he heard the voice of someone crying in pain.
“Help! Help! Please let me free,” heard the buffalo. He ran to the river where the voice came from. There he found a crocodile with a big log on his back. “Help me, Mr. Buffalo! This log fell on my back. I cannot move and I’m in pain,” cried the crocodile.
Feeling sorry for the crocodile, the buffalo used his strong horn to lift the log off the crocodile. The log was very heavy. The buffalo tried with all his might until the crocodile was free.
“Thank you, Mr. Buffalo! You are very kind to help me,” said the crocodile.
“You are welcome,” replied the buffalo. “I’m happy to be of help to you.”
As the buffalo was leaving, the crocodile suddenly bit one of the buffalo’s legs. The buffalo screamed in pain. The crocodile said, “I’m very hungry, Mr. Buffalo. I cannot help wanting to eat your leg.”
The buffalo was disappointed at the crocodile, whose life the buffalo saved. The buffalo could not believe that the crocodile would return his kindness that way.
Mouse-deer was passing by and saw the buffalo’s leg in the mouth of the crocodile. He asked the buffalo what happened.
“I saved the crocodile’s life by removing the log off his back. But now he wants to have me for dinner!” the buffalo cried, having been let down by the crocodile. Mouse-deer thought for a moment. “Hmmm... I could not believe that the buffalo has the strength to lift such a big and heavy log off the crocodile,” Mouse-deer exclaimed.
“It’s the truth. I lifted the log by myself,” replied the buffalo proudly.
“He is telling the truth, Mr. Mouse-deer,” added the crocodile.
Mouse-deer replied, “I will only believe in your strength, Mr. Buffalo, if I see you lift the log.” Mouse-deer then asked the crocodile to free the buffalo’s leg. The crocodile was curious what the mouse-deer was up to so he released the buffalo.
“Now that you’re free, Mr. Buffalo, put the log back on the crocodile’s back. Prove to me you are strong enough to lift the log,” said Mouse-deer.
The buffalo was challenged to prove his strength to Mouse-deer. He gathered all his might to lift the heavy log until it was again on the crocodile’s back. The crocodile screamed in pain as the log landed on his body. “Oh no! Please take this log off me, Mr. Buffalo,” pleaded the crocodile.
“Aha, I got you! You fell into my trick,” exclaimed Mouse-deer. “Now that you are in pain, Mr. Crocodile, you know how the buffalo felt when you bit his leg.”
The buffalo wanted to relieve the crocodile of his pain. “But if I free him this time, he might want to bite me again,” thought the buffalo.
The crocodile replied, “I realize I have been ungrateful to the buffalo. I’m sorry for what I did, Mr. Buffalo. I promise not to harm you again. Only you have the strength to help me.”
Mouse-deer and the buffalo felt the sincerity of the crocodile. The buffalo again used all his strength to lift the log off the crocodile’s back.
“Thank you, Mr. Buffalo. You are very compassionate,” said the crocodile.
“Thank you, Mouse-deer, for teaching me to be kind to those who help me.”
Mouse-deer was happy to hear that the crocodile learned his lesson. He was also glad that the buffalo was safe. Once again, Mouse-deer used his cleverness to help other animals.
Open-Ended Questions:
After the reading, debrief the story using the open-ended questions below.
Empathy Practice
How does it feel when someone interrupts you?
Not everyone thinks the same way. Can you think of any examples of different opinions between you and your friends?
Active Listening
When you see that someone is trying to speak but no one is listening, what can you do to help?
What can happen when no one listens in a conversation?
How does listening help us to act from the truth?
Problem Solving
What can you do when you do not feel like being around others?
What can you do to help make sure you are giving other students the space to talk?
Kinesthetic Activity: Simon Says…
Purpose: To practice self-regulation and active listening
Instructions:
Discuss what it means to self-regulate and to actively listen. Discuss why those are essential skills when interacting with others and making friends.
Explain that you will take turns being Simon and you all will practice following instructions that are based around physical movement. Remember to STAY IN CONTROL of your body, and FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.
Play a few rounds, as time allows.
Debrief Questions:
Ask the participants to close their eyes and pay attention to the sensations in their body. After about 30 seconds ask students to share what they feel.
How did you like being Simon?
What were some of the emotions you felt during this exercise?
Reinforcing Activity: Pitch the Problem
Objective: Practice expressing how we feel about problems and supporting each other with problem solving
Materials: 1 trash can and 1 piece of paper per group/individual
IInstructions:
Read to students:
“Everyone has problems. Problems are a normal part of learning. The more problems we face, the better we get at solving them, just like math. There is usually not only one way to solve a problem but it can be hard for one person to think up several different solutions. When we ask others for help solving problems, it is like multiplying our brain power. Today we are going to play a game where our teams get points for solving problems. Here we Go!”
If you are in person and have a large group, divide participants into groups of 5-10. Virtually: Break the students up into equal groups by last name for point tracking.
Give each team/individual time to get a piece of scrap paper and a trash can/container to catch the trash.
Place the trashcan about 3 feet away (adjust for space) from the participant/group.
Have each team select a name. Team with the oldest person starts.
You can ask for help to create a problem for the other team/player to solve from any other group/player. Sample problems that can be used for demonstration and for moments where the group is stuck are listed below. Players that provide a challenge problem earns a point for her/his team.
Sample Problems:
It seems like no one listens to me speak.
My parents don’t live together.
I wish I had different clothes.
My brother/sister is mean to me.
Some kids always pick on me.
I do not have lunch today.
Someone said they don’t want me around.
Someone told me they do not want to be my friend anymore.
People are always telling me to stop bothering them.
Someone said they would be my friend if I did something bad.
7. Then the team answering the challenge problem has 1 minute to provide as many solutions as they can invent. Whichever team member provides the problem, that team gets a chance to pitch for a point. Each student that provided an answer can attempt to throw the crumpled-up paper ball into the trash can. If they succeed, their team gets the point. Move on to the next team and open it up to the rest of the groups to provide a problem again.
8. Play as time permits, but leave time for the debrief.
Debrief Questions:
How did it feel to talk about life’s problems?
How did it feel to give suggestions about solving life’s problems?
What can you do to solve problems in your class or at home?
Where did you think about the Four Awesome Questions during this activity?
Closing Activity
Let’s end with a closing circle activity that will remind us of what we learned about working as a team.
Today we practiced self control by identifying our feelings as a way to express ourselves with other people and creating space to listen to others, working the muscle of empathy by helping others solve problems. .
Open-Ended Questions
What new words did you learn today concerning listening and understanding other perspectives?
After today’s activities, what did you learn about building better friendships?
Why is it important to give others a chance to talk?
What was challenging about today?
What was something you learned / liked from the story we read?
Look at the Four Awesome Questions, how do they relate to today’s activities?
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