Activity Title: Who Can Help? | |
Suggested Grade/Age Range: Grades 1-3 (ages 6-9) | |
Activity Objective: The goal of this activity is to help children identify 3 or more adults they can turn to for help in times of distress. Because the first adult a child turns to may not always be able to respond effectively to the child’s needs, it is important that the child has a few options to ensure they get the help needed | |
Materials Required: | |
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes Review over lesson plan and key discussion points Task Time: 40 minutes
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Activity Description: Opening Discussion: 1. Tell the class that sometimes when things happen to us, we need to get help from an adult that we can trust. Ask some of the children to share an example of an adult who they feel comfortable speaking with when they need help with something 2. Explain that together you will explore some scenarios and ask them who they can turn to for help during these situations (make sure to emphasize that the person they choose needs to be an adult). 3. For each of the scenarios, ask the children to share who they would go to for help and why. Ask them who else they can go to if the first person they named could not help them in the way they need? Here are the scenarios: You see a younger student being picked on by another student at recess Note: Children might tell you that they have been told to ‘mind their own business’ in these situations, emphasize that it is everyone’s business to help each other and that we need to tell a different adult and to keep telling until we get the help we need. Overall, emphasize to children that if the first person we turn to cannot help us, we need to not give up and keep telling someone different until we get help Your aunt likes to give you a kiss when she visits and you really don’t like it You see an older kid stealing from the convenience store. The kid notices that you saw what s/he did and threatens to hurt you if you don’t keep it a secret Your friend tells you that someone is hurting him/her and tells you not to tell anyone Someone has touched you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable and asks you to keep it a secret You are really nervous about performing in the school play and don’t want to go to school on that day 4. Emphasize that it is important to communicate clearly when asking for help. Have the class think of some verbal cues for asking for help e.g., ‘Excuse me, I need your help’ or’ Could you please help me with this problem?’ Or ‘I have a worry, could you please help me?’, etc. Activity: 5. Tell the children that they will now work individually to think of three or more adults that they feel comfortable turning to for help when they need it 6. Emphasize that it is important to have more than one person in case the first person we turn to cannot help us 7. Hand out ‘Who Can Help’ template to each child and have them work on this individually. Depending on developmental appropriateness, the children can write or draw a picture of helping adults 8. Circulate and check in with each child to make sure they have at least two people written down | |
Potential Adaptations: For ELL learners, allow individuals to write the names/roles of adults in their first language | |
Activity Extensions: Have children identify safe places that they can go to for getting help | |
Additional Comments: Some individuals may have great difficulty thinking of one or more adults they can get help from. It is important to sit with these individuals to help them think about the support networks that are available to them (e.g., teachers and other staff in school, community representatives, police, etc.) | |
Additional Resources: You may also choose to review the Getting Help Literature Review before implementing this activity. It can be found here. |