Learning to Respect through Literature

Lesson 1
 
Lesson Title: All Around Respect 
Time Span of Lesson: 90 Minutes
Character Standard:  C3.3. The Basics of Respect
Literacy Standard: Standard 3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well- structured event sequences.
 
Essential Question: How can treating others with respect make a difference in the lives of yourself and others?
Materials: Giant sticky notes/anchor chart paper, paper, pen, Writer’s Notebooks, video, basketball, computer
 
Introduction: Have students sit or stand in a circle. To the whole group, ask the question: What is respect? One at a time, students will toss the basketball to each other as they share their ideas about respect and what they believe it to be.  
Procedures:

1. The teacher will tell students that today they will be learning about what it means to be civil, courteous, and polite to others. The teacher will provide students with the following examples of respect in their own life: not interrupting others when they are speaking, using manners, listening when others talk, following rules, etc.
2. Then, pair up students and have them discuss with each other what they think it means to be civil, curious, and polite to others and give examples of each action. Ask two or three pairs to share their thinking aloud. 
3. The teacher will show the students this video to help give them ideas of what it means to be respectful. 
4. The teacher will stick five of the giant sticky notes up on the wall around the room. Each sticky note will have a different person/place/thing on it: Restaurant, Boss, Family, Friends, Stores. Ask students to stand up, making sure they bring their pencil/pen with them. At each sticky note, students will jot an example of how they could show respect using words and/or actions for the given scenario. Have students walk to one sticky note on the wall to start. Give them about 15-20 minutes to freely walk around the room to write on each sticky. Play music as students are walking around.
5. At the end of 10-15 minutes, have students go back to their seats. Break them into five groups (one for each scenario: restaurant, boss, family, friends, stores). In their given scenario, students will discuss with each other what they thought and wrote on their sticky notes about showing respect at these places or to these people.
6. The teacher will ask for a few volunteers to share aloud the examples they discussed with their group.
7. Have students retrieve their writer’s journals. 

Journal Reflections: Describe a time in your life when you were not respectful. If you could go back and change what happened, how could you be more respectful? Give students about 20 minutes to reflect on respect in their journals.
Assessment: Students will be able to give an accurate representation of respect, including but not limited to being civil, courteous, and polite in their journal reflection. 
Closure: The teacher will elaborate on how being civil, courteous, and polite is how we can treat others with respect. The teacher will allow students to elaborate on how treating others with respect makes them feel. 

 
Lesson 2
 
Lesson Title: Be a Bestie not a Bully
Time Span of Lesson: 90 Minutes
Character Standard:  C3.4 Climate of Respect and Kindness
Literacy Standard: Standard 11: Analyze and provide evidence of how the author’s choice of point of view, perspective, and purpose shape content, meaning, and style.
 
Essential Question: How can creating a safe environment through respectful actions impact the way myself and others feel?
Materials: Notecards, pencil/pen, paper, Writer’s Notebook, computer, Molly Lou Melon , Acts of Bullying Cards
 
Introduction: Pose the prompt: Raise your hand if you have ever been bullied. Give students a few moments to think and respond. Then, pose another prompt: Raise your hand if you have ever been a bully to someone else. 
Procedures:

1. Read aloud the book Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. Have students discuss with the people around them how the words and actions of Molly Lou Melon and Ronald Durkin in the book made them feel. 
2. The teacher will talk about how seeing things through a different perspective can change how we view the situation. In other words, putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes can provide new insights into being respectful to others.
3. Have students write in their journals why they think Ronald Durkin’s actions towards Molly Lou Melon were a reflection of a bully. Pose the questions: Why would Ronald Durkin pick Molly Lou Melon to bully? How must he feel about himself? What does this say about Ronald Durkin’s respect towards others? Allow ample time for discussion.
4. Have students partner up in groups of two or three and Pass out Acts of Bullying Cards with the following examples of bullying: 
   1. Intentionally not including someone in a recreational activity
   2. Teasing someone for the way they look (height, teeth, etc.)
   3. Spreading rumors
   4. Getting into altercations or fights
   5. Demanding someone to give their food away at lunch
   6. Taunting or publicly embarrassing someone
   7. Unnecessarily disrupting someone
   8. Interfering with someone’s personal property
   9. Persistent use of offensive language
   10. Aggressive yelling or shouting 
5. In their journals, have students create a T-chart. On one side, label “Acts of Bullying.” On the other side, label “Safe Climate.” Students will list the actions/words from the card they receive that represent disrespectful behavior on the “Acts of Bullying” side. Then, students will discuss in their groups how that same situation on the card they receive could be changed to create a safe climate for all people involved in the scenario. 
6. Have students pass cards to each other when they are finished. Complete this 4-5 times. Give students 25 minutes to complete 4-5 T-charts for different Acts of Bullying Cards. 
7. Students will come back together as a group. Ask a few volunteers to share what they wrote with their partner about creating a safer environment by eliminating acts of bullying.

 
Journal Reflections: Students will retrieve their journals and answer the following questions: How does seeing the point of view of a bully and the bullied change your perspective on treating others with respect? How can you be yourself and be a friend to others? Give students 20 minutes to reflect and respond in their journals. 
Assessment: Students will be able to describe disrespectful behavior and how they can change that behavior to reflect respectful behavior to create a safe, positive climate. 
Closure: The teacher will discuss with students how showing respect through being a friend instead of a bully helps others respect them, as well. The teacher will allow students to elaborate on how understanding how their actions can make others feel about themselves.

 
 
Lesson 3
 
Lesson Title: The Golden Rule
Time Span of Lesson: 90 Minutes
Character Standard: C3.2 The Golden Rule
Literacy Standard: Standard 6: Summarize key details and ideas to support analysis of thematic development.

Essential Question: How can treating others you want to be treated create a more respectful environment and have a more positive impact on the world?
Materials: Boxes of dominoes, tape, paper, pen/pencil, computer (with Where is the Love video or song), Writer’s Notebook  
 
Introduction: The teacher will tape off 6 feet for each group. Then, the teacher will pair students in groups of two or three. Each group will receive a box of dominoes. The students will have 10 minutes to stack and line up the dominoes between the 6 feet. When the ten minutes is up, the students will push the first domino to visualize the “domino effect.” Teacher will discuss how each domino impacted the next, and the next, and so on
Procedures:

1. Teacher will play the video about respect and how kindness also has a rippling effect. 
2. The teacher will discuss with students how kindness and respect have the same effect as the dominos did during the group activity: the first impacted the second, the second impacted the third, and so on.
3. The teacher will teach students that the message or life lesson the author is trying to teach in the text and/or multimedia source is called the theme.The teacher will give examples such as to never give up, hard work pays off, and love is stronger than hate.
4. Students will listen to Where is the Love? The teacher will give students a few minutes to think about the song and the lyrics they just heard. Then, the teacher will ask students to respond to the question: What is the message/life lesson the author is trying to teach the listener? Give students time to think first, then turn and talk with someone near them. 
5. Have students get out their journals and pencils. Play the song again. This time, ask students to think about the theme of the song. Ask them to jot down words and/or phrases in the song that led them to this conclusion.
6. Have willing students share their thinking out loud. Use student ideas to lead them to the theme of the song: treat others how you want to be treated. 
7. Direct students to the lyrics of the song:

“And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how hate works and operates
Man, we gotta set it straight”
8.              Ask students to think about if they would want to be judged because of their race instead of their character. Have them turn and talk with the person beside them about a time in which they felt judged before someone knew them as an individual instead of what they looked or sounded like. Ask for a few volunteers to share.
 
Journal Reflections: Students will write in their journals examples of times throughout their normal day-to-day schedules/activities where they can treat others the way they want to be treated. Give students about 20 minutes to reflect on respect in their journals.
Assessment: Through discussion and reflection, students will be able to understand how treating others the way they want to be treated creates a positive impact.
Closure: The teacher will discuss the Golden Rule with students and how it can have a positive domino effect on others if they live by this rule.

 
Lesson 4
 
Lesson Title: Seek First to Understand
Time Span of Lesson: 90 Minutes
Character Standard: C3.3. The Basics of Respect
Literacy Standard: Standard 6: Write independently, legibly, and routinely for a variety of tasks, purposes, and audiences over short and extended time frames.
 
Essential Question: How can we show respect to others when everyone is unique and different in their own way?
Materials: A Bad Case of Stripes, paper for Instagram profile, pen/pencil, markers/colored pencils, Writer’s Notebook
 
Introduction: Ask students to share out and name their favorite food. The teacher will name several types of food and will have students raise their hands to show their favorite food.
Procedures:

1. Introduce the activity Categories. Tell students the only rules are: There are no rules, and you have to be welcoming to others categorizing themselves in the same group.
2. Have students break into groups based upon the following categories (***Students create groups themselves - remember, there are no rules!***):

a.              Gender
b.              Favorite Holiday
c.              Religion
d.              Favorite Color
e.              Race
f.               Socioeconomic status
g.              Favorite genre of music
h.              Number of family members
i.               Favorite sport

1. Have students stand in a large circle. Discuss with students how the activity made them feel. Were they uncomfortable? Did they feel excluded at times? Were they surprised by some groups formed by others? Did they ever feel singled out?
2. Read the book A Bad Case of the Stripes. Talk about how Camilla could have sought to understand how others were different from her, and how that is okay because she is uniquely different too.  
3. Have students create their very own Instagram Profile. The profile should include all the things that make them who they are whether it’s different from others or not. They should include (not limited to):

 .               Likes/Dislikes 
a.              Hobbies/Interests
b.              Background
c.              Goals/Life Dreams
d.              Appearance 

1. Next, have students tape their Instagram Profiles on the walls around them (Gallery Walk style, like an art gallery). 
2. Then, students will walk around the room with their pencils and journals as they observe each other’s similarities and differences. They will create a T-Chart labeled “Things That Were Similar” and “Things That Were Different.” As they learn about other students, they will find these similarities and differences and write them in the chart. Give students about 10-15 minutes to complete this task.

 
Journal Reflections: Students will reflect in their journals about the similarities and differences they noticed they had with other students. They will write about how these new findings can help them better respect others around them. Give students about 20 minutes to reflect on respect in their journals.
Assessment: Students will be able to have a better understanding of treating others with respect by valuing their customs and traditions and how they might come from different backgrounds, lifestyles, and cultures.
Closure: The teacher will discuss with students how each person is different and brings their own strengths, talents, and ideas to make them unique. We can respect each other by acknowledging and accepting each other’s differences instead of thinking they are wrong.

Lesson 5
 
Lesson Title: Think Win Win
Time Span of Lesson: 90 minutes
Character Standard: C3.3 Basics of Respect
Literacy Standard: Standard 1: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop logical interpretations through collaborative conversations; build upon the ideas of others to clearly express one’s own views while respecting diverse perspectives.
 

Essential Question: How can I show respect when I disagree with someone?
Materials: Paper, pen/pencil, Writer’s Notebook, computer (with win-win mindset video)
 
Introduction: Teacher will present students with this scenario: You are outside trying to enjoy the weather and relax. On the court next to where you are sitting, there are a group of people playing a game very loudly. How can you make this scenario win-win? Give students about 5 minutes to discuss a win-win situation with the people around them. Then, bring students back together for a whole-group discussion. Ask students what win-win situations they thought of, guiding them toward the idea that both sides are cooperative and come to a compromise.
Procedures:

1. Students will watch the video displaying a win-win mindset.
2. As a group, the teacher and students will discuss the scenario in the video on how the two parties sought to understand each other and how it helped both sides reap benefits. 
3. With a partner, students will create their own scenario where two sides disagree on something. Together, they will decide on a compromise where both sides pay attention to the well being of one another and strive to make them feel welcome and respected. Give students 15 minutes of work time together. Let students know that when their time is up, they will be acting out their scenarios.
4. Bring students back together in a whole group. Ask for volunteers to act out their scenarios for the whole group, displaying their think-win-win situation. 
5. After groups have shared, pose the question: How did you come to the compromise? The purpose of this is to lead students to think about how they could use this strategy for other situations that are different from the situation they just devised. 

 
Journal Reflections: Students will think about a time when they have considered someone’s else’s opinion or desire and reached a compromise that made both themselves, and the other person happy. Additionally, they will think of a time where they acted with anger or resentment instead of with a win-win attitude and how they would have reacted differently to that situation knowing what they know now.
Assessment: Students will be able to build upon the ideas of others to come to a compromising agreement. Students will know they are successful when they are able to come to a compromise with another individual. 
Closure: The teacher will discuss with students that it is possible to show respect to others when they disagree with them.

Included in each lesson.