Integrity (I)

Jan 4

Have the students brainstorm about what integrity means.

"Integrity is one of those words that can be hard to define. If you look it up in a dictionary, you're likely to find definitions like these: 'Steadfast adherence to a strict code of moral, ethical, or artistic values; incorruptibility; the quality or state of being whole, entire, undiminished, or unimpaired; soundness; the quality or state of being undivided; completeness."   (What Do You Stand For?, p 135)


Have the students break up into small groups to discuss one of the following 6 scenarios - OR - pick 1-2 scenarios to discuss as a class:

1. You are going to a just released movie that is sold out. Tickets had to be pre-purchased. You have your ticket and arrive 10 minutes before the door opens and the line is already wrapped around the corner. You spot a friend near the front of the line. Do you join your friend near the front of the line so you can get a good seat?

2. You have an iPod loaded with great music. Your friend just bought a new iPod and asked you if you can load his iPod with your songs. What do you do?

3. Alicia and Sara are best friends who have practiced and practiced learning all of the cheers and all of the movements in anticipation of trying out for the cheerleading squad. They’ve made a pact that both will be on the squad or neither of them will. "We’re in this together,” they agreed. The day after tryouts the panel of judges announces the new cheerleading squad. Sara has made it! Alicia has not. Sara has second thoughts about “their pact.” She joins the squad. Did Sara do the right thing?

4. Standing in line at a store, you notice, when a customer in front of you pulls the keys out of their pocket, $10 falls to the floor. No one notices this but you. Do you pick up the $10 and keep it “finders keepers, losers weepers” or do you give it back to the person ahead of you in line.

5. You have a major project due in a couple of days. You have been busy and haven’t been able to come up with any good ideas and time is running out. Your older brother had to do the same project and he got a good grade on it. Your teacher wasn’t at the school when your brother was there. So there is no chance he would recognize it was someone else’s project. If you don’t turn something in, your grade will go from a “C” to an “F”. Do you re-type your brother’s project so it is your own and turn it in? Do you use parts of the project and turn them in so at least your grade won’t drop to failing? How much of the project do you use? Or do you come up with your own project or turn nothing in and hope for the best?

6. Your friend Evan is popular, well liked, and a great soccer player. Your school’s soccer team is competing for first place in the district, and Evan is key to winning. During math class this morning, you saw him cheat on an important test. No one else noticed. If the teacher found out, Evan would be kicked off the soccer team. Is it your responsibility to report what you saw? Is it anyone’s responsibility? What might be the consequences of not reporting?

Class Discussion Questions:
1. How would you show integrity in this scenario?
2. Would your actions change if you were around different people (ie: your parents, your friend group, teachers, grandma, coaches, church friends, etc.)?
3. Is integrity really just being honest, or is it more than that?
4. Where do you often have the opportunity to practice your integrity?


As you finish, please share the following quote:

"Integrity is doing the right thing. Even when no one is watching."
-C.S. Lewis

Boundin' (Resilience)

Dec 7

What is Resilience (the R in GRIT)?
Resilience– The ability to bounce back from failure or discouragements. 

Please show the following video (4:42):

PIXAR 2003: Boundin
Posted by Full HD -│♪│ VIDEOCLIPs & VIDEOs │♪│ on Sunday, April 11, 2010

Classroom discussion:

1. How did The Lamb use resilience to overcome his challenges?
2. What was a time in your life where you felt vulnerable (or shorn)?  :)
3. Who is the Jackalope - or support person - in your life?
4. What strategies work for you when you're trying to REBOUND?
5. How can you be a Jackalope - or support person - for someone else?

5 Best Ways to Build Resilience

1. Pump Up Your Positivity
• Resilient people... tend to find some silver lining in even the worst of circumstances.
2. Live to Learn From Your Experiences
• “What I see resilient people do is immediately look at the problem and say, ‘What’s the solution to that? What is this trying to teach me?'"
3. Open Your Heart
• Acts of kindness [both given and received], and the serotonin boosts that accompany them, have a cumulative effect.
4. Take Care of Yourself
• Good health — and a regular routine of healthy habits — are foundational to both mental and emotional resilience.
5. Hang On To Humor
• Laughing through adversity can be profoundly pain relieving, for both the body and mind.

(courtesy of Experience Life: https://experiencelife.com/article/the-5-best-ways-to-build-resiliency/) 

Growth Mindset

Nov 16

Today we're going to talk about having a Growth Mindset (the G in GRIT). By the end of this lesson, students will understand:

• The brain is malleable
• Using strategies and help from others will help us change brain pathways for growth and brain strength
• Doing hard work is the best way to make the brain stronger and smarter

Watch “Neuroplasticity” by Sentis (2:03). This is a good visual introduction to the concept of
how the brain can be rewired as we learn and think differently.

(If that link doesn't work, please copy and paste THIS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g into your web browser.)

After the video:

1. Please share a personal story about a time you had to work hard to get better at something and relate it to the video. In this story, highlight:

• Hard work
• Strategies
• Help from others

OR you can share this story:

"When I was in middle school, I remember struggling with adding negative numbers. I had a hard time figuring out what a ‘negative’ even meant when talking about a number - how can you have less than nothing? I ended up going through many practice problems and continuing to get many of them wrong. I was a very shy kid, so I didn’t ask my teacher many questions. My thought was that I had reached ‘the peak’ of my math talent, and it was all downhill from here. I eventually asked my mom about this topic and she explained to me the basic concept of negative numbers. This helped me understand it a little, but it was still fuzzy to me. I then researched online for some real-life contexts to show what these mysterious numbers represented outside of some abstract universe. Some of them made sense, and others didn’t. I still didn’t entirely get it and I was so frustrated that I wanted to just give up (or continue hoping that negative numbers were not going to appear in math class ever again). I started to dislike math simply because I couldn’t understand it anymore. Instead of entirely giving up on my academic career, I eventually mustered up the courage to ask my teacher for help as well. She explained it in a few different ways, and gave me new strategies to try out. After some practice with these new strategies, I started to solidify my understanding of negatives which allowed me to quickly pick up basic algebra afterwards. While it was a lot of work and I wanted to give up at many points during my journey, I eventually was able to ‘rewire’ my brain so that negative numbers actually made sense to me."

2. Ask students to share a story about a time that they made their brains smarter. This leads to a discussion about how working hard, taking on challenges, and finding the right strategy can make people smarter.

3. While students are sharing, you can make a two-column list on the whiteboard about the beliefs and behaviors of a growth mindset and how it compares to a fixed mindset. Urge students to map out how beliefs influence behaviors which ultimately lead to results.

Sample:

grit

Oct 5

Please show the following short video about paralympian Evan Strong, and how he used GRIT and personal strength to overcome a difficult obstacle (2:53, can start 10-12 seconds in to skip the intro about the Olympics):

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/54460323#54460323

Run through the GRIT PowerPoint (emailed separately). Class discussion points about the video are on the last slide.

More lessons will follow on each of the GRIT character traits!  :)

Unity Day

October 19

On Wednesday of this week (Oct 21), please encourage your students to wear the color orange. It can be an orange T-shirt, an orange tie, an orange hat, or even an orange band. Wearing orange is a sign that you support those who have been bullied and are uniting to make a difference.

Classroom Discussion

• Have students look up the definition of “unity.” According to Webster’s English Dictionary:

Unity.
noun, plural u•ni•ties.
The state of being one; oneness of mind, feeling; concord, harmony, or agreement

• Make a list of synonyms for unity with students. Possible answers include: harmony, peace, consensus, solidarity, or agreement.
• Discuss what unity means to each of them, their school, and their community — and how it relates to preventing bullying and creating a safer school. Reflect on the statement, “When we stand together, no one stands alone.
• Discuss how you can show unity in your classroom.

Class Activity

The purpose of this activity is to make a powerful statement about uniting against bullying.

The process is simple. Students write a message on a strip of ORANGE construction paper. (These strips will be provided to your class.) Please have them write with dark ink or marker.

TEACHERS - BEFORE STAPLING THE STRIPS TOGETHER, PLEASE PROOFREAD WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE WRITING, SO THAT NOTHING NEGATIVE OR INAPPROPRIATE IS  INCLUDED.

The strips are then stapled together, resulting in one long, connected chain that visually represents the power of uniting for a common cause.


Ask students to write what they do to help make our school a safer place - OR - acts of kindness they have seen at Indian Hills.

  

The message is this — while one person can speak out against bullying, our message is much stronger when we come together to make a difference.

Thank you to Pacer.org for this fun Unity Day activity and lesson: http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/toolkits/classroom/project-connect.asp.

Stop-Walk-Talk 2.0

Sept 21, 2015

Show brief Stop-Walk-Talk PowerPoint. It is loaded on our IHMS Counseling Center website as a slideshow:

http://ihmscounselingcenter.weebly.com/kindness-campaign.html

Please discuss each bullet point listed in the body of the slides with your class.

Here's the admin break-down for you:

Dr. Edy McGee (A-K)
Halley Nelson (L-Z)

And here's the counselor break-down:
Roxann Wolfe (A-G)
Kimberlee Montoya (H-N)
Melissa Jones (O-Z)


Enjoy!

(Thank you, Mrs. Bates, for the great PPT!)

My Good Deed - 9/11

Sept 8

Start with a brief discussion about 9/11 and why we remember it. And that even though it was a tragic, difficult day, HOPE was also born on this day.

Watch the video, Hope Was Born on 9-11 (2:19 run time):

http://www.scholastic.com/911day/?eml=SMP/e/20150827////MGD//SL2////&ET_CID=20150827_SNP_MyGoodDeed_SL2.2_MIM_14950&ET_RID=31322941

A big shout-out to KESHA for finding this OH-SO-AWESOME clip!


Class Discussion:
What is a good deed? (a kind act without expecting something in return)

What does it mean to give service? (a helpful activity, providing aid or assistance - also without expecting something in return)


What are some good deeds that you could do this 9/11?

• Brainstorm ideas on the white board with your class (different ideas for various areas: personal, home, neighborhood, school, community)
• Possible examples: Say "Hi" to someone new, make cookies for someone, help someone with their locker, help at home, clean up the neighborhood, service project in the community, go sing at a retirement home, walk the neighbor's dog, babysit for free, etc.

On or after 9/11, ask the students what good deeds they did.
 

It's All About Perspective

April 27

Discuss as a class the pictures below:

Old Lady or Young Lady?  Can you see them both?

(Clue if the class can't see it: The chin of the young woman becomes the nose of old woman)

Is this a seal or a polar bear?

Have students write their responses to following questions and then pair share their answers:

• Why is the point of view or perception important in resolving conflicts? 
• What did you learn from looking at the different optical illusions? 
• How can this help you when you have a conflict with another person?

Share with students:   

Often times, we think there is only one way to see things, one solution to a problem or one way to think about our current situation. Acknowledging that there are different perspectives will help you approach the problem differently. A different perspective can help you feel better in a challenging situation or find a resolution when having a conflict with another person.

Watch the following short clip to end lesson:
 
http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/99-The-Greatest

Friendship

April 13

Play the clip “Odd but Lovely Friendship between Animals”

https://youtu.be/b1J9hQQXaOY

Friendship Characteristics

Have students brainstorm on what they think are the characteristics of a good friend.   List their ideas on the white board.  And discuss why they are important.  Some examples:

·      Listens to you

·      Doesn’t put you down or hurt your feelings

·      Is understanding

·      Helps solve problems

·      Gives compliments

·      Dependable

·      Respects others

·      Trustworthy

·      Gives you room to change

·      Honest

·      Allows you to have other friends

·      Supportive of you and your goals

·      Caring

·      Sticks with you in good times and bad

·      Accepts you for who your are

·      Understand your moods and feelings

·      Allows change in the friendship

Discussion Questions:

1. What does it mean, “In order to have good friends, you have to be a good friend." Do think this is true?

2. What is a “best friend?”  Is it possible to have more than one “best friend” at the same time? 
3. How do you resolve conflicts in a positive way with more than one best friend

4. How do you tell the difference between true friends and false friends?

5. Is it ok for your friendship to change?

6. What do you gain from friends who are different from you?

#MakeItHappy - Being Kind Online

We spend a lot of our lives online or texting... It is important that we learn how to be kind in the digital world, too. Please share the following short video (2:54) from Kid President about making the Internet a little happier.

http://youtu.be/i9VnTZrSNvU

Have the class discuss (and write on the board) a list of things that they can do to spread happiness.

• Some examples could include: posting funny videos, sharing inspirational quotes, sharing fun activities or positive things, telling funny stories, encouraging friends and family, fun graphics, bright happy colors, ignoring negativity to focus on the positive

Shake It Off

This video was made by our Peer Leadership Team (PLT) to show a fun twist on coping and resilience. The video is 4 minutes long:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zpkepicwiwqw15v/ShakeItOffMusicVideo.m4v?dl=0

Discussion Points
We can't always control what other people do, but we can control how we react.
How can we "shake it off" when something hurtful is said or done?

• What things can you SAY to yourself? (positive self-talk - I'm good at lots of things. There are people who care about me. My friends know that isn't true. I'm good at rugby. etc.....)
• What can you DO to "shake it off?" (take a deep breath, think about your favorite things, ignore and focus on someone else, walk away, etc)

What examples did you see in the video of ways to "shake off" what others say or do?

The Real You

The following clip is from Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs/real-you



Discussion Points:
Why did she change her "look"?
What effect did bullying have on her life?
What did she give up to fit in?
Why is it important to be true to yourself?

Take A Chance to Make A Change

Thank you to our awesome NJHS team for another fun video! This one (3:32) shows various Indian Hills students, talking about how they took a chance to make a change.

Take A Chance to Make A Change video

Classroom Discussion Points:

1. What have you done to Take A Chance to Make A Change?
2. Were the things the students mentioned BIG changes or LITTLE things?
3. How do these little things add up to making a BIG change in our school?
4. Has anyone done something special for you that made a difference?

Diversity

Feb 23

Please project (or print off) to share the following quote:

If desired, you can share the full quote:

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Class Discussion:

1. How can we apply Dr. King's quote to things happening here at school? Or in your own life?
2. Sometimes we think of major changes that we could make to improve things, but the more effective changes are the little adjustments that we make in our daily routines. What sort of little adjustments can you make to "drive out darkness/hate" in our school? (Saying hi, smiling to people you don't know, opening the door for someone, inviting someone to sit with you at lunch, etc.)
3. What is the "darkness" that Dr. King is talking about here? And what could be the "light" that drives it out?
4. How would you summarize Dr. King's message? And what does his overall message mean to you?

Taking Initiative

Feb 9

Please show the following clip (6:05) to your class.  This clip shares the story of a young boy who is bullied and the initiative he took to change things for himself.

http://www.wimp.com/simplething

Class Discussion Questions:

1.  What little things could you do to make things better in your world?
2.  Everyone wants to belong.  When Josh didn't find a place to fit in, he created one.  Why is taking action important and empowering?  How did it change Josh's high school experience?
3.  Are you willing to take the risk to change things in your own life?