Peers, Relationships, and HealthEDUC

Final Assignment

Developing a Unit of Work in

Peer Relationships

Genuine Inquiry Booklet

UNIT TOPIC/ TITLE: PEER RELATIONSHIPS - FEELINGS

YEAR LEVEL: 2/3

TIME FRAME: 8 to 10 Weeks

RATIONALE:

It is important for students to learn about this Health and Physical Education topic as they need to gain an understanding of how their actions and reactions can effect their peer relations and friendships. Being able to understand and effectively communicate ones feelings is a vital skill for students of this age to develop.

Furthermore by teaching this unit on feelings we are then able to use this unit as a spring board into teaching bullying and harassment, and anger management. It is first important to understand feelings as without this the students will lack the understanding/ empathy to grasp bullying, and the control of their own emotions.

This is also in accordance with the National Safe Schools Framework. This framework suggests under the key element of provision of education for students, that each student within the school is provided with adequate curriculum and programming that will enable the students to learn important lifelong relationship and citizenship skills (Aust. Govt – National Safe Schools Framework Website)

The overall aim is that hopefully once the students develop an understanding of different feelings, they will be able to recognise the need to consider others feelings when interacting with peers and friends. The intention is to help students build life long skills that once the students become adults will be help them create, and keep friendships, as well as aiding them in their work place relations.

AIM / KEY ASPECTS:

The educational aim for this unit of work is for the students to gain knowledge and understanding of the impact that we each can have on one another’s feelings. The unit is also designed to give students the ability to decipher the many different feelings and emotions they can have, and to give them the words to express how they feel; rather than just the stock standard happy or sad.

ICT’s:

This unit of work will include word processing to type out and present work.

THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDINGS:

Evidence base – Why study feelings??:

Erwin (1993) states that with children it is important to build up their understanding of empathy, and that they need to understand situations in order to be good empathetic responders.

Dunn et al (1991) found that children who had feelings explained to them had a greater ability to explain and understand the feelings of someone in a specific situation. In others words these children were about to imagine how they would feel in that situation and empathise with that person better. The result of which would emply that these children would have better forethought and insight into issues such as bullying and harassment. Therefore these children would be able to understand why it is bad to bully someone, and as such make the implementation of a “Bullying – no way” policy much easier,

Cassey et al (1992) looked at whether a child’s ability to express themselves emotionally impacted on their peer relations. The results of their study showed that students who have a greater understanding of emotions were more accepted by their peers (Cassey et al. 1992:612).

Furthermore to summarise this research Cassey et adds that...

“…understanding the meaning of emotions, the causes of emotions, and of the responses appropriate to others’ emotions would both influence and be influenced by social relations with peers”

(1992:614)

Research References:

Cassidy, J., Parke, R., Butkovsky, L., and Braungart, J. (1992) Family-Peer Connections: The Roles of Emotional Expressiveness within the Family and Children's Understanding of Emotions. Child Development, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Jun., 1992), pp. 603-618

Dunn, J., Brown, J., Slomkowski, C., Tesla, C., and Youngblade L. (1991) Young Children's Understanding of Other People's Feelings and Beliefs: Individual Differences and Their Antecedence. Child Development, Vol. 62, No. 6 (Dec., 1991), pp. 1352-1366

Erwin, P. (1993) Friendships and Peer Relations in Children. John Wiley and Sons, West Sussex, England

PARENT INFORMATION:

As this is a whole term topic it is advised that at the parent information night, parents are informed about the focus on feelings. They will be told that the reason for this is to enable their children to understand and learn how to decipher the difference between different feelings, and that this will then be linked to empathy and understanding how others feel in different situations. The parents will also be informed that this unit of work is a link into bullying and anger management.

At the end of the unit, parents will be able to see the students completed work on feelings (see unit plan) as well as a written notation on their progress in their report card. Parent-teacher interviews will also be used to convey how their child went with the unit. This will also be a time for any outstanding issues with the comprehension of feelings will be raised with parents

AT RISK STUDENTS:

At risk students will be identified as students who are being excluded, isolated, bullied, and harassed. These students will be assessed on a case by case basis. The outcomes of these assessments may result in either visiting the school counsellor or chaplain, having peer mediation within the classroom with the effecting child(ren), or being set-up with a buddy class if they are finding the work on feelings too distressing for them.

ASSESSMENT:

Students will be assessed via

Discussion rubrics Their ability to join in to brainstorming and discussions Self assessment Ability to join into and have a go at activities such as drama Their ability to think of situations that evoke different feelings (I feel book) Completing their creative writing task and presenting it with their painting of

their story Willingness to contribute in drama activities Completion of worksheets to the best of their ability

What will be looked for in the students work:

The ability to understand that we all react differently to each situation An understanding that we deal with our feelings differently Ability to use words other than just happy and sad to describe feelings Gives examples/experiences to illustrate a point Can build on other’s ideas Is able to use reasoning / justification to support their view Shows respect for fellow peers opinions Does not use reasons that are illogical Considers all point of view Can show collaborative skills during group discussions such as

* Taking turns* Disagrees without putting down fellow peers* Doesn’t interrupt when others are taking* Listens attentively* Asks questions that show sensitivity* Encourages others

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION (SACSA FRAMEWORK)

SELECT STRAND(S) Physical activity and participationX Personal and Social Development Health of individuals and communities

IDENTIFY ESSENTIAL LEARNINGSTO BE EMPHASISED

X Futures Identity InterdependenceX Thinking Communication

KEY COMPETENCIES TO BE EMPHASISED

X KC1: collecting, analysing and organising informationX KC2: communicating ideas and information KC3: planning and organising activities KC4: working with others in teams KC5: using mathematical ideas and techniques KC6: solving problems KC7: using technology

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1.5 Develops a range of capacities in social and working contexts by demonstrating skills of developing and maintaining effective relationships. [Id] [In] [C]

SEQUENCE OF IDEAS / LESSONS

1/. INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIT

As an introduction to the this topic on building up and maintaining relationships the students will first be read John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat, by J Wagner. After reading this book as a class the students will engage in a teacher lead discussion.

Discussion Questions:Why did John Brown tip out the milk?Main Points:

Why did Rose want the cat?Main Points:

How do they communicate?Main Points:

After these discussions ask the students to suggest some of the feelings the characters may have had in the book. There suggestions can be noted on the board either in one column, or alternatively use on column for each main character to try to identify the different feelings that each character had.

After this re-read the story then ask the students why these characters felt this way, and what is happening to make them feel this way

To conclude this lesson let the students know that ‘feeling’ and our ‘friendships’ will be the basis of our study for this term.

The aim of this section of work is to give students the opportunity to learn that that they can have many friends and should not be afraid to include others.

2/. PRIOR KNOWLEDGE / FEELING WORDS

Today we will be creating a feelings chart. This chart will include many different feeling words, to help students to expand their vocabulary from just happy and sad.

Brainstorm as a class, you may also like to build on from the words that were used in the first lesson. After these words are suggested divide them up and ask each student

to write the each of their words on a heart cut-out (Appendix A). These cut-outs will then be stuck onto a poster and displayed around the room.

The aim of this lesson is to explore and discuss new feeling words, to help students better explain their emotions and feelings.

ASSESSMENT:Students are assessed on their ability to contribute to the initial brainstorming. As well as their ability to stay on task whilst cutting and writing out their words. A rubric has been created (Appendix B) to facilitate the assessment of students contribution.

3/. DRAMA - EXPRESSING / DISPLAYING FEELINGS

The next lesson will be a drama based lesson, looking at the students understanding of feelings and ability to convey these feelings. You are looking to see if they can demonstrate the ability to decipher between feelings.

Have a set of cards with words for different emotions on them. Eg: Happy

SadAngryAloneEmbarrassedScaredBulliedHurt

Begin the class by reading through the cards and having a discussion about how this emotion would make you feel, act, and what your body might look like.Eg: A card with the word ‘sad’, the students might suggest crying, being alone, curled up in a ball, slumped shoulders, frown etc.

After this ask the students to act out the emotion cards non-verbally as you hold them up and call them out. Eg: Ask them to try to imagine they are feeling scared, also ask them to think about how someone else might be feeling if they were scared etc.

The second part of this lesson involves the students being placed into groups. Each group needs to act out a scenario from the book John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat. You may wish to re-read the book and allocate specific scenes to each group.

After each group has given their enactment of the story conclude the lesson with some brain teaser questionsEg:Will John Brown and the cat be able to get along?How could they get along/ what should they do to get along?Do you think that the cat being in the house will change how Rose treats John Brown?

ASSESSMENT:The assessment for this activity is done via observation. The main aim of this task is for the students to imagine what it is like to feel all these different feelings. It is to try to help them understand empathy and how they might be making other peers feel. To assist and help guide in this process a rubric has been created (Appendix C).

4/. CLASS DISCUSSION - UNDERSTANDING OUR FEELINGS

This lesson is in discussion format, whereby students explore the notion that not all people have the same reaction for each feeling. At the beginning of this lesson it would be a good idea for the class to decide on the rule or boundaries for the lesson. For example take turns to speak, don’t interrupt each other, be respectful of what others have to say. It may be easier for the students if they are sitting in a circle with the teacher asking each question then facilitating the questions. You may also like to scribe the answers onto the board or butchers paper.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:When do you feel happy, angry, scared, sad?

Can you feel several emotions at the same time?

Do we all feel the same in each situation? Why/Why not?

What do you when you get angry? How do you cope?

How can other people help you when you get sad, angry, or worried?

Who are the people that help you when you feel like this?

How does it make you feel when someone else hurts your feelings?

Have you ever hurt someone else’s feeling?

How can you fix a situation when you have hurt someone’s feelings?

Adapted from (Harrold, book B. 2003:60)

ASSESSMENT:Through out the discussion the teacher will be attempting to fill out the Discussion Rubric (Appendix D). This is a way of tracking each students input and level of contribution.

After the discussion has taken place the students will be asked to fill out a Discussion Self Evaluation Sheet (Appendix E). This will allow the teacher to gauge how the students are coping with the community of discussion. It will also give the students a chance to highlight where they think they need improving, and will allow them to do so at the next discussion

5/. WORKSHEET – MY FEELINGS

This worksheet allows students to think about their own life and what feelings they have in different situations.

To make this lesson stronger it would be advisable for the class teacher to read out one question at a time and allow the class to answer the questions together. For the second section I would ask the students to think of situations at school and with their friends that make them feel angry, happy and excited. Then at the end of the worksheet a basic discussion could link together the importance of acknowledging how we feel in these school situations and then what we can dso to ensure our peers don’t every have to feel this way. For example one student may write “I feel angry when the ball gets stolen from me at lunch time”, as such the class could think of ways to stop this students from feeling angry. Eg: stop the ball thief, talk to a teacher, etc.

The worksheet is located in Appendix F(Harrod Book B. 2003:61)

ASSESSMENT:Students are able to identify real life situations that trigger the feelings specified. They are also able to contribute to the problem solving section of the lesson. In that they are able to think of ways to help stop situations that make their fellow peers feel angry.

6/. LANGUAGE - I FEEL BOOKS

Lessons (2-3)

Students are to write a book about their feelings called ‘I feel…’

Each page of the book will express a different feeling that the students chose to represent. Encourage the students to look at the feelings chart and to think of situations when they feel some of these feelings.Eg: For angry, a students may write

I feel angry when someone steals the ball from me at lunch timeFollowing this they would draw a picture of someone stealing the ball from them

Students are to write a draft of their “I feel” statements in their language books. Once checked by the teacher the students are then to create books with one statement and picture on each page.

ASSESSMENT:

Students are able to link words that depict feelings with situations that have conjured up these feeling for them. In the time given they were able to create a draft which was then turned into a booklet with associated pictures.

7/. DISCUSSION – FRIENDSHIP AND FEELINGS

We now need to strengthen the link between friendships and feelings. It is important for students to understand that their actions and words can hurt their classmates’ feelings.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONSWhat makes a good friend?

Do you have one special friend or lots of friends?

Would you say that everyone in this class you friend??

Do you ever hurt your friends feelings?

What are some of the things we do and say that might hurt our classmates’ feelings??

What could we do if one of our classmates’ are upset?

Adapted from (Harrold book C. 2003:54)

ASSESSMENT:Through out the discussion the teacher will be attempting to fill out the Discussion Rubric (Appendix D). This is a way of tracking each students input and level of contribution.

After the discussion has taken place the students will be asked to fill out a Discussion Self Evaluation Sheet (Appendix E). This will allow the teacher to gauge how the students are coping with the community of discussion. It will also give the students a chance to highlight where they think they need improving, and will allow them to do so at the next discussion

8/. RULES FOR GOOD CLASS RELATIONSHIPS

We are now able to create a set of class rules for ‘creating good classroom friendships’. This is done by drawing on all of our examples from our books and discussions. For example if a constant theme is being left out, we would write a rule that states ‘we will do our best to include everyone, and make sure no one feels left out’.

It is important that the ‘creating good classroom friendships’ poster is written in a positive voice, which encourages instead of threatening the students.

This activity could be done by breaking the class up into small groups and asking them to brainstorm some rules for the poster. These ideas could then be collaborated into the board by the teachers. The students would then be able to discuss these ideas/rules, and talk about what they mean and why they are important to the class. This would then lead into creating a final list of rules for the poster. The final step is for each group to write up one of the rules onto an A3 piece of paper, decorate it, and display it around the room.

ASSESSMENT:Students are able to

o work in groups, o listen to each other point of view, o make justifications, o link the rules to specific examples if asked, o Describe how each rule will help peer relationships

9/. WORKSHEET - FRIENDSHIP

This worksheet is a cross word puzzle, whereby students have to select the right word to finish a sentence. The sentences all revolve around friendship and feelings. It is a piece of work that reinforces thinking about your peers feelings when chosing actions.

This would also make a good homework assessment piece if class time is running short.

This worksheet is located in Appendix G(Harrold – Book B. 2003:57)

10/. DRAMA – ROLE PLAYS

(Lessons 2 -3)

Students work in groups to create a role play showing a classmate having their feelings hurt. These groups may be self chosen or picked by the class teacher. You may wish to remind the students about what we have learnt about each other feelings and how they can be hurt, then ask the students to pick their own groups. This could be a good way for you as the teacher to see how much they have learnt about peer relations and inclusion.

The topics they may chose from include someone being,Left out / excludedPicked onIgnored

Bullied / harassed

The students will then be given a period of time to create a role-play depicting what happens in this scenario. These are then performed for the class

Depending on the productivity of the class and the time restrictions, the class may then be able to create a second role-play using the same scenario but including a different ending whereby someone in the role-play helps the student that is picked on/harassed/ignored etc.

ASSESSMENT:The assessment for this activity is done via observation. The main aim of this task is for the students to imagine what it is like to feel all these different feelings. It is to try to help them understand empathy and how they might be making other peers feel. To assist and help guide in this process a rubric has been created (Appendix G).

11/. CREATING WRITING – FRIENDSHIP AND FEELINGS

Lessons (1-2)

Students are briefed to write a story about classroom friendship and feelings. This story is to be about a school whereby a student or group of students are either,Hurting someone’s feelingExcluding someone, orBullying themThe students are to write about what is happening, and how the victim felt. The story should also involve an outcome or resolution. The students should be encouraged to think of how they could reverse or fix the situation.

Students are to write the draft in their language/creative writing book. This is then to be marked by the teacher. Once marked the students are to type out their story onto one 1A piece of paper. This story will be presented by attaching it to the piece of art created in the next lesson.

ASSESSMENT:Students will be marked on their ability to highlight a situation whereby a classmates feelings could be hurt/damaged, and their ability to resolve this situation. The focus of this assignment is not so much on spelling and grammar but rather the students ability to identify what behaviour can damage peer relations and how this damage can be rectified or avoided in the future. They will also be marked on their ability to stay on task and to ask for help when needed.

12/. ART – ILLUSTRATING YOUR CREATIVE WRITING

Lessons (1-2)

This lesson allows students to illustrate the creative story they have been working on. The medium that will be used is paint and paintbrushes. The students will be able to pick a scene from their story that they class as important. This may be the actual problem or the resolution stage. They are then to paint this to the best of their ability.

The main aim of this art lesson is to allow the students to express their understanding of feelings and how they effect their peer relations. Once their art work is done the students are to type out a brief statement that describes their paintings relationship to their story.

ASSESSMENT:The picture, story and explanation are all to be presented together. They can be hung around the classroom as a constant reminder to the students about the effect and importance of improving and maintaining peer relations. The marking of this assignment is based around the students understanding of the depth and hurt created by poor peer relations. It should also highlight the capability of class mates to intervene and to fix or prevent these poor peer relations happening in the future.

This is to be the final piece of work for the students to produce in regards to studying feelings in relation to peer relations.

REFERENCES

Australian Government. Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations. Resilience Education and Drug Education (REDE)http://www.redi.gov.au/professional_development/all_redi/

Australian Government. Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations. National Safe Schools Frameworkhttp://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources/profiles/national_safe_schools_framework.htm

Cassidy, J., Parke, R., Butkovsky, L., and Braungart, J. (1992) Family-Peer Connections: The Roles of Emotional Expressiveness within the Family and Children's Understanding of Emotions. Child Development, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Jun., 1992), pp. 603-618

Dunn, J., Brown, J., Slomkowski, C., Tesla, C., and Youngblade L. (1991) Young Children's Understanding of Other People's Feelings and Beliefs: Individual Differences and Their Antecedence. Child Development, Vol. 62, No. 6 (Dec., 1991), pp. 1352-1366

Erwin, P. (1993) Friendships and Peer Relations in Children. John Wiley and Sons, West Sussex, England

Harrold. J. (2003). Primary Health and Values – Book B. R.I.C Publications,

Harrold. J. (2003). Primary Health and Values – Book C. R.I.C Publications,

Vise. A (2007). This Is Your Life: Making Healthy Choices. Curriculum Cooperation, Victoria, Australia

Wagner, J (**) John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A.HEART CUT-OUT

APPENDIX B.DISCUSSION / FEELINGS CUT-OUTS RUBRIC

APPENDIX C.DRAMA: FEELINGS RUBRIC

APPENDIX D.DISCUSSION RUBRIC

APPENDIX E.DISCUSSION SELF EVALUATION SHEET

APPENDIX F.WORKSHEET – MY FEELINGS

APPENDIX G.WORKSHEET - FRIENDSHIP

APPENDIX H.DRAMA: ROLE PLAY RUBRIC

Appendix A.

Appendix B.

DISCUSSION / FEELINGS CUT-OUTS RUBRIC

Appendix C.

Drama: Feelings Rubric

Appendix D.

Discussion Rubric

Appendix E.

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ____________________

Discussion Self Evaluation Sheet

How did I feel today???

Happy Sad Angry Scared Worried

(Please tick where you feel you were)

Speaking and Listening Hardly Ever Almost

Always

1.Did I speak directly to others? _______________________________

2.Did I try to answer the questions? _______________________________

3.Did I show respect by not interrupting _______________________________

4.Did I explain my ideas clearly? _______________________________

5.Was I a good listener? _______________________________

Community Building

1. Did we build ideas together? _______________________________

2. Did I encourage and support others?

_______________________________

3. Did I show tolerance of others? _______________________________

4. Did I take turns? _______________________________

What is one thing you found interesting or learnt today___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Adapted from Murris, K., and Haynes, J. (2000)

Appendix F.

Worksheet - Feelings

Pg: 61Harrold. J. (2003). Primary Health and Values – Book B. R.I.C Publications,

Appendix G.

Worksheet - Friendship

Pg: 57Harrold. J. (2003). Primary Health and Values – Book B. R.I.C Publications,

Appendix H.

Drama: Role Play Rubric