When You Feel Left Out
3/30/2019
We all have gone through life when, at some point, we feel left out. We have somehow felt how it is to be alone. When we move to a new school, new job, new city, even when we show up to a party, we try to find a friend we can talk to. Making friends or building relationships is human nature. At PNA, we recognize the importance of social emotional learning. We recognize that some kids may feel left out at school and we are also aware of the harm exclusion can do to a child’s self-esteem and emotional well-being. Through ACE Club (Academic & Character Enrichment), the topic of inclusion/exclusion was addressed with three goals: 1. Students will learn that exclusion is never OK. 2. Students will be given strategies on what to do when they feel left out. 3. Students will learn that they in charge of themselves. They can shield themselves from getting their feelings hurt. Kindergarten to 5th grade students were divided intro three multi-age groups. A book about a monster feeling left out called "You're Not My Friend" was read to the groups. The book led the discussions about how it looks like to exclude someone, how exclusion feels, and what can we do when we feel excluded. Sometimes children are excluded from friendships because they don’t know how to enter into social situations. So, after the read aloud, students were divided into multi-age small groups. They were given scenarios to act out strategies that will help children begin to learn some of these essential social skills. The scenarios introduce three skills:
Last but not the least, students were asked to fill out "The Hurt Feelings Shield". The activity gave students some things they have to remember to defend themselves against words or actions that hurt them. Teaching children how to manage their own hurt feelings will empower then as they experience situations such as being left out. Sometimes people say or do things that might hurt your child's feelings. When that happens, teach your child to imagine he or she is a knight that has a shield to defend himself or herself from people's hurtful words or actions.
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Jessica GrahamMs. Graham graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, and is currently working on her master's in reading. She enjoys hiking, traveling, arts & crafts, and playing the ukulele. Archives
April 2021
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