Social Awareness – Grade 6 – Lesson 1
Objectives:
- Identify Characteristics of a Healthy Relationship: Students will be able to recognize key characteristics that contribute to building and maintaining a healthy relationship, including trust, open communication, mutual respect, and the establishment of personal boundaries.
- Understand the Importance of Trust in Relationships: Students will grasp the significance of trust as the foundation of strong relationships and comprehend its role in fostering emotional security and reliability between individuals.
- Develop Empathy and Consider Different Perspectives: Students will practice empathizing with various points of view in relationship dilemmas, encouraging them to understand how different actions can impact others’ feelings and perspectives.
- Learn to Communicate Healthy Emotional Boundaries: Students will learn to establish and communicate their emotional boundaries effectively, recognizing the importance of self-worth and self-respect in relationships.
Mindful Awareness Exercise
Check-in, debrief, allow time to explore anything that came up during meditation.
Introduction:
Trust is a fundamental aspect of healthy relationships. It involves trusting yourself, your own judgments, and trusting others. Trust forms the foundation of strong relationships, providing stability and security. Building trust requires mutual commitment, and it’s vital to meet each other’s emotional needs. However, trust is fragile, taking time to build but easily broken, so it needs to be handled with care.
Boundaries are essential in building trust. They represent the limits and rules people set for themselves in relationships. Healthy boundaries enable individuals to say “no” when necessary while also being open to intimacy and closeness.
Activity 1: Relationship Scenarios
In a relationship, trustworthiness is demonstrated through consistent actions. Small behaviors, like keeping commitments, respecting boundaries, and keeping private information confidential, show reliability. Building this trust happens over time, as both individuals consistently demonstrate trustworthiness.
Discussion Questions:
- How important do you think trust is in a relationship?
- Have you ever lost someone’s trust or experienced someone losing your trust? How did that feel, and why?
- What actions do you take to be trustworthy?
Scenario 1: Marta’s Dilemma
Marta agrees to go out with her friend Kim for pizza and to the movies on Friday. A few hours later, Marta’s friend Jessica asks her if she wants to go to a popular concert that same Friday night. What should Marta do?
Discussion Questions:
- What emotions do you think Marta is experiencing?
- How do you think Jessica and Kim will feel based on Marta’s decision?
- Encourage empathy and understanding of different points of view
- What are possible solutions, and how do you think they would work out?
- Encourage students to consider various outcomes and how to communicate their choices
Encourage the students to explore not only the “right” course of action but also their personal desires and how they might approach different outcomes. Prompt them to think about how they can articulate their responses effectively.
Activity Conclusion:
Trust is a vital aspect of building healthy relationships. It involves consistent actions, respecting boundaries, and communicating openly. By understanding different perspectives and empathizing with others, we can strengthen our relationships and build lasting trust. Remember, trust takes time to develop, so treat it with care and nurture it through mutual commitment and respect.
Activity 2: Setting Boundaries
Personal boundaries are essential limits and rules we establish in our relationships. They allow individuals to say “no” when necessary while also being comfortable with intimacy and closeness. Emotional boundaries protect us from being hurt, manipulated, or used by others. They are an expression of self-worth and help define who we are, what we think, and how we feel. By setting boundaries, we create the necessary emotional space between ourselves and others.
Communicating a boundary does not mean “I’m right and you’re wrong.” It simply means, “This is what I need to feel positive about myself and be respected by you.”
Discussion Question:
- What are some ways that you can communicate healthy emotional boundaries?
If students have difficulty identifying examples, use the following prompts to guide the discussion:
- Moving slowly into friendships to establish trust
- Stating personal values despite what others believe
- Respecting others despite their differences
- Respecting oneself, even in the face of disapproval
- Clearly communicating needs and wants, even if there’s a chance of rejection
- Recognizing when personal boundaries feel invaded
- Understanding that others may not anticipate your needs
Scenario 2: Mary’s Dilemma
Mary is overweight and feels ashamed when her friends talk about obese girls and their clothes.
Discussion Questions:
- How can Mary communicate to her friends that their discussions are hurtful?
- How can she ask her friends to modify their discussions?
Scenario 3: James’ Frustration
James feels frustrated when his best friend takes decisions out of his hands and assumes that James will do whatever his friend wants. James is afraid that speaking up about this to his friend will ruin their friendship.
Discussion Question:
- How can James communicate his feelings to his friend?
Activity 3: Healthy Relationships Quiz
Distribute the Healthy Relationships Quiz
Introduction:
In healthy relationships, everyone deserves to feel safe and respected. Let’s find out where we all stand in terms of healthy relationships by taking this quiz. Please answer YES or NO to the following questions, checking the boxes to record your responses.
Scoring:
Give yourself one point for every NO you answered to numbers 1-4, one point for every YES response to numbers 5-8 and five points for every YES to numbers 9 and above.
Display or distribute the scoring rubric – page 2 of the quiz.
Debrief:
After completing the quiz, discuss the results with the students and encourage them to share any observations or reflections on their relationships. This debriefing session will provide an opportunity to address any concerns, reinforce the importance of healthy relationships, and offer guidance on improving relationship dynamics when needed. Remember, healthy relationships require open communication, mutual respect, and the establishment of personal boundaries.