Lesson 2 - Kindness and Respect

Students will continue to explore the Character Education trait of Kindness by listening and responding to a story. Students will deepen their understanding of caring, helping and friendship and work towards exploring other character education traits such as respect and empathy. 

In what ways can we show friendship? How do you show kindness to a friend? How/who do we ask for help?

B1.1 engage in dramatic play and role play, with a focus on exploring a variety of sources from diverse communities, times, and places

B1.2 demonstrate an understanding of the element of character by adopting thoughts, feelings, and gestures relevant to the role being played  

B1.3 plan and shape dramatic play by building on the ideas of others, both in and out of role

B2.1 express feelings and ideas about a drama experience or performance in a variety of ways, making personal connections to the characters and themes in the story

B2.2 demonstrate an understanding of how the element of character/role is used in shared classroom drama experiences and theatre to communicate meaning
B2.3 identify and give examples of their strengths, interests, and areas for improvement as drama participants and audience members 

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate and appropriately acknowledge respectful behaviour
• Role play to solve a problem
• Interpret a story using movement and sound

Readiness

Students need to have a positive classroom climate with pre-established classroom routines, and should be familiar with demonstrating attentive listening, cooperation, collaboration, problem solving, and questioning skills. They should have an understanding of community and know that they belong to the school community.

Terminology

Character Education

Respect

Gesture

Materials

Any board sponsored material that depicts its unique approach to Character Education (e.g. Character Matters)

CD Player

Instrumental Music

Chart paper and markers

BLM #1 Little Red Hen

BLM #3 Role Play Rubric

Whole Class > Brainstorming

Tell students that they are going to listen to a story about helping others. Brainstorm a list of people that they could go to in the school and/or community if they needed help. Prompt: In what ways could each of these people help?

Whole Class  > Role Playing to Problem Solve

Tell the children that together we are going to work  to solve problems. Teacher in role explains that her kitten has climbed up the tree and can't get down. Encourage students to give advice about who she should go to for help. What kind of help can they expect from each person?

Small group >   Improvisation

Divide students into small groups to create a short improvisation illustrating how they could save the kitten.     

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Observe students role playing and problem solving, side coach small groups creating improvisations.

Assessment as Learning (AaL)

Use the class discussion and brainstorming to encourage students to think about kindness and respect in their own lives and how kindness and respect are important in the school and the community. 

Differentiation (DI)

Use various size groupings to include all students. Allow students to respond orally.

Have students present their improvisations, or have students create a tableau that comes to life on a signal from the teacher.

Use a tambourine or music to enhance the movement.

Quick Tip

Review the concept of whole group role play and teacher in role with the class. Together, create a checklist of what a successful role play looks like and use this list as an anchor chart throughout the lesson.  

Children may readily volunteer to help the hen or not. Encourage children to justify their position.

Link and Layer

Incorporate math by displaying survey results in a graph.  

Whole Class >   Making Predictions

Tell the children that you are going to read a story about friends helping or not helping each other. The main character in the story is a hen. Ask students what kind of help a hen might need and who might she ask to give her help. 

Whole Class > Teacher Read Aloud

Read the beginning of the story Little Red Hen (BLM #1) and pause at the description of the wheat. Invite the students to discuss the characters and the main problem in the story at this point. 

Whole class > Exploring Movement and Sound

Invite students to move to a space on the floor. Instruct students on a signal to grow from a very tiny seed into wheat in 10 seconds and then back to a seed in 10 seconds. Repeat in a 5 second time limit. 

Instruct the students to move as wheat in the summer breeze, in a spring rainstorm, in the autumn wind. Invite students to add sound as they move i.e, add the sound of the wind and the breeze and the sounds of the rain and storm as they continue to move.

Whole Class > Transformations

Invite the students to become one of the Friends of the Red Hen (e.g. cat, dog or goose). On a clapping signal, tell students they are to transform into their selected animal. Instruct the students to move through the space as the animal in silence and freeze on a signal. Repeat and instruct students to find their family (other dogs, etc.) through sound.  

Teacher in Role > Problem solving: Will you help the Hen?

In the role of the farmer, approach each group and ask:

What is your job on the farm?

Are you going to help the hen?

How will you help the hen? Why not?

If you could help the hen, what would you do? 

Whole Group > Survey

Ask the students who are willing to help the hen to cut the wheat to raise their hands. Record the number on a T chart. Ask the students who are not willing to help the hen to raise their hands. Record the number on the T chart. Draw the students' attention to the most popular vote.

Key Questions for Discussion

Given the results how should the Little Red Hen proceed?

How could she convince her friends to be kind to her and help with the wheat?