Smiles Change the World
What does it mean to be a member of a community?
Photo Credit: Hugging kids by Nithi Anand is licensed under CC by 2.0
Students analyze the importance of friendship in a person's life and identify organizations that help people who need the support of friends.
To introduce students to the need all people have for friendship and belonging. They will apply what they learn by working with a partner to create a page for a class "big book". The book will be given to another class to help them learn the importance of friendship and belonging and some methods for filling these needs at school in the form of serial reciprocity.
This lesson introduces children to the importance of facial expressions and their impact on other people. The feelings behind different facial expressions are discussed and the benefits of smiling at each other are emphasized. Students prepare to fill an unmet need for friendship by creating a banner to be given to a group selected by the class as part of a lesson later in this unit.
Students discuss friendship, the different kinds of friends, and generate a list of organizations which might help someone find friends. They use their writing skills to develop individual lists of people who have an unmet need for friendship. Using their individually created lists, they generate a class list of organizations that might help people who have an unmet need for friendship that might appreciate receiving the class Friendship Banner made in Lesson Two: Friendship Begins with a Smile.
Children evaluate a list of organizations and reach a consensus concerning which group should be recognized.
Students reach consensus on who to recognize and plan and deliver the recognition.