The Freeze Game

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Theme: Self-Control

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Vocabulary: Self-control

SAY: Self-control means stopping yourself from doing something. It's like being a superhero who can make good choices and wait patiently. Self-control is an important skill for finding balance in any situation.

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Explore: 

ASK: When watching your favorite TV show or playing a game, how do you feel when it's time to stop? Why is it good to take breaks from screens and do other activities like playing outside or reading a book?

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DO: The Freeze Game

Explain that today, they will play a fun game to practice self-control. 

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The game goes like this: 

• You will be dancing and moving around when the music is playing, but when the music stops, you have to "freeze" and stay very still until the music starts again. 
• It’s important to stop as soon as the music stops and stay frozen even if you want to keep dancing.
• Play music and encourage the children to dance, jump, and move around. 
• Stop the music suddenly and remind them to freeze. 
• Repeat several times, varying the time the music plays and the "freeze" periods.

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Reflect: After playing, gather the children in a circle and discuss the game. 

ASK:

• Was it hard to stop when the music stopped? 
• How did it feel to stay still when you wanted to move? 
• Why do you think it's important to have self-control?

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Example Scenarios:

Provide a few simple scenarios and ask the children what they would do to show self-control:

1) What should you do if you want to talk to your friend but your teacher is talking?

2) What should you do if you see a yummy cake but it's not time to eat it yet?

3) What can you do if you feel upset when you have to turn off the computer or tablet?

1. Look Up - Look at the person talking 
2. Breathe - Take deep breaths 
3. Finish Up - Close or turn off the device.

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‍Key Learning: By playing the Freeze Game, they learn to manage their impulses and make good choices.

Kind Ideas Tree

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Theme: Cyberbullying

Materials: Paper leaf cutout

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Vocabulary: Cyberbullying and Empathy

SAY: Cyberbullying is being mean to someone online. It is important to be kind both online and offline. It can be fun and safe to go online to chat or play games. Bullying in person is the same as cyberbullying when online.

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It’s when you make fun of someone, tell lies about someone, threaten someone, or make them afraid. Just like we don't say mean things to our friends at school or on the playground, we shouldn't say mean things when using a computer or tablet.

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Empathy is the ability to understand and share in the feelings of others.

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Explore: 

SAY: Here’s a situation: When playing a game together, one friend messes up what another friend does. How does this make that person feel? What should they do? Here’s a similar situation, but they are playing online, and one friend says something unkind to the other. What should they do?

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Show me with your face; how do you think being bullied makes people feel?

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ASK: What should someone do when they feel bullied online?

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SAY: Doing these three things will help keep you safe. 

1. Go away from the computer
2. Stop playing the game
3. Tell a trusted adult.

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DO: Make a Kind Ideas Tree

Give each child a paper leaf cutout. You can make a large tree outline on craft paper, or use crumpled brown packing paper stapled to the wall to make a tree!

Students write or draw their solutions to online bullying behavior and post them on the tree.

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Reflect: Students will say what their leaf shows and, as time allows, place it on the tree.

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‍Key Learning: Learn what cyberbullying is and how it relates to in-person bullying. Develop empathy for those affected by bullying and learn practical steps to take when encountering cyberbullying. Students will explore the impact of cyberbullying on emotions and discuss appropriate responses.

Kind Ideas Tree

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Theme: Feelings

Materials: A short story to read out to the class that illustrates the importance of kindness and being nice to others. Select one of your own or use one of these: 

• “A Sick Day for Amos McGee” by Philip C. Stead
• "Stick and Stone" by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld.

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Vocabulary: Bullying

SAY:  Bullying in person is the same as cyberbullying: It’s when you make fun of someone, tell lies about someone, threaten someone, or make them afraid. Just like we don't say mean things to our friends at school or on the playground, we shouldn't say mean things when using a computer or tablet. 

There is another person on the other side of the screen, using their device, just like you. It is important to be kind both online and offline. 

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DO: Read a short, age-appropriate story about kindness and the importance of being nice to others online and in person. 

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DO: Make a Kind Ideas Tree.  

Invite the class to add any new ideas the story may have given them for solutions to bullying behavior to the kind ideas tree. Give each child another paper leaf cut out and have them illustrate or write out ways to be kind online or offline! 

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By continuing to create the Kind Ideas Tree, they reflect on positive behaviors and how they can contribute to a caring online and offline community.

Feelings Sandwich

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Theme: Feelings

Materials: Feelings Handout

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Vocabulary: Empathy, Feelings, Emotions 

SAY: Empathy is the ability to understand and share in the feelings of others. 

Feelings and emotions are the ways we react inside to things that happen around us. For example, when something good happens, you might feel happy; when something bad happens, you might feel sad or mad.

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Explore: 

‍SAY: It is okay and appropriate to feel many different feelings. Feelings can come from inside and outside, and screen time can give you feelings too. Expressing feelings is important, but we need to learn healthy ways to do so.

Sometimes, feelings just bubble up, and sometimes, we feel things because of what we see or hear. Today, we will talk about and name different kinds of feelings.

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DO: Let’s Act Out Some Feelings!

• Ask six volunteers to come to the front of the class. 
• Explain that you will give them a feeling to act out, but they shouldn’t tell the other students. 
• Assign each volunteer an emotion by pointing at it on the “Feelings Handout.” 
• For younger students and non-readers, teachers can say the feelings quietly or use graphics of feelings with words.

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SAY: Okay, actor-volunteers, I will pretend to offer you a sandwich, and I want you to react in a way that shows us the feeling on your paper. Then, the class is going to guess what the feeling is.

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Reflect: After each actor-volunteer acts out the feeling, ask the class to guess what it is.

After each actor-volunteer has gone, debrief the activity.

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SAY: Everyone experiences feelings that sometimes can be big and uncomfortable. Our feelings and how we show them can affect everyone around us. That’s why it's important to practice naming feelings. It helps us be more kind, considerate, and thoughtful about other people's feelings too.

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‍Key Learning: Children learn to understand that everyone experiences a wide range of feelings.