Respect Unit Using Respectful Words Lesson Plan:
Materials Needed:
World Map Unit Journals
White Board and Dry Erase Markers Pencils
Respect Cards "The Prince and the Rhinoceros" from Rhinos & Raspberries by Jeff Sapp
Various Props for Skits
Madison Metropolitan School District Standards:
Make appropriate choices and discuss consequences of inappropriate choices
Describe how all home and school members have rights and responsibilities
Participate in activities that require the division of labor
Describe different ways of expressing emotions and feelings
Demonstrate responsibility for their role within the school environment
Exhibit an awareness that children grow up in different parts of the world with similar and different experiences
National Council for Social Studies Standards:
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places, and environments
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions
Objectives:
Students will learn that using kind words is a way to show respect for others
Students will brainstorm characteristics of a kind speaker
Students will develop short skits that show how to use respectful words
Lesson Opening:
Gather the students on the carpet and go through the respect cards having them read each one in unison. Make sure to pull out the card(s) that relate to respectful words last. Tell the students that they will be learning about another way to show respect for others. Tell them that today they will learn about using respectful and kind words to show respect for whoever they are talking to.
Procedure:
1. Explain to the students that you will be reading them a story that comes from India. Have a student point out India on the world map. Tell the students that people all over the world have to learn how to show respect to one another and that respect may look differently in some places than in others. Discuss a few ways that respect is different between American culture and Indian culture, such as:
· In Indian culture, it is considered rude to open a gift in front of the person who gave it to you
· It is respectful to use both hand for certain things like handshakes or giving a gift in Indian culture
· It is inappropriate for a man to make any comments on a woman’s appearance in Indian culture
· In Indian culture, it is rude to address anyone older than you by their first name
Also explain to the students that there are many commonalities in the ways to show respect for others between these two cultures. Discuss some of these similarities, ending with using respectful and kind words to show respect, and tell the students that this is what the story you will read is about.
2. Read “The Prince and the Rhinoceros” to the students. Throughout the reading, discuss the story with the students. Ask the students why the rhinoceros wouldn't move during the first contest. Would they have helped someone who talked that way to them? How did it make Great Joy feel? How do you feel when someone uses unkind words to you? Ask the students why the rhinoceros did pull the wagon during the second contest. What changed its mind? Did the prince feel sorry for the way he talked to the rhinoceros before? How do you know? Did the prince show respect for Great Joy in the story? How?
3. Tell the students that they will be making a list of characteristics of a respectful speaker. Take the students' suggestions and write the list on the board. Also, tell the students to write the list in their unit journals. Some things that should be on the list include:
▪ Use a gentle voice
▪ Not using naughty words
▪ Look at the people you are talking to
▪ Gives compliments
▪ Using an “inside voice”
4. Next, tell the students that they will be creating a skit to show any situation where someone is not showing respect with their words, just like the prince in the beginning of the story. Break the students into groups of 3 or 4 and tell them that each person in their group must have a role in their skit. Remind the students that this is just acting and that if they are not comfortable showing disrespect or being the person who is not being respected, to tell their group members so that they can have a different role in the skit. Tell the students to be sure to be respectful of all of their group members' comfort levels when developing their roles in the skit. Also, remind the students that this is still school and that they cannot use naughty words or inappropriate actions in their skits. Let the students have the option of using the props you have provided in their skits or create their own props if needed. Give the students adequate time to develop their skits.
5. Have the each group of students present their skits one at a time. After each skit, ask the rest of the class how this situation could have been better and how the character could have used kind words to show respect in the skit. Before taking suggestions from the students, tell the performing students to actively listen to what their peers say because they will use the information to revise their skit. Then, have the group redo their skit showing how it would look if the characters had shown respect for one another using their words. After this performance, ask the students which of their classmates' suggestions they incorporated into their new skit and how the new skit portrayed showing respect for others. Be sure that every student in the group says something during this discussion.
Lesson Closure:
Ask the students how it felt to be disrespected in the skits and how it felt when the skit was redone showing respect. Remind the students that it is important that they use respectful words all the time to show that they are respectful people and in order to gain the respect of others.
Assessment:
During the discussions on the book, the creation of the list, and the skits, observe the students to assess their understanding of what a respectful speaker is and how to be a respectful speaker, their engagement in the discussions, and their active listening skills. Also, you can look at the unit journals to assess the students' writing skills. During the skits, observe the students to assess their cooperation skills, creativity, and their understanding of using respectful words.
Extension Ideas:
Students can learn about the different ways that people show respect with their words in other cultures (especially ones that are represented in the classroom community).
Students can discuss, learn about, and experience the different non-verbal forms of communication that one can show respect or disrespect, such as facial expressions and hand motions.
Students can write about or draw a picture to represent time that someone used words to show disrespect and how that made them feel in their unit journals. They could go even farther with this by writing alternative ways that the person/people they are writing about could have handled the situation in a respectful manner.
Read and discuss Words Are Not for Hurting by Elizabeth Verdick with the students.
