How to Teach Conflict Resolution to Fourth Graders

Children may be more malleable than adults.

Conflict resolution is seldom easy, but it may be easier to teach children than adults. All the concepts involved in effective conflict resolution are easily within the grasp of fourth graders. And children may not overcomplicate conflicts or create artificial boundaries that hamper solutions, such as a sense that certain things must go unsaid. Children are naturally expressive. It's not enough to simply share the concepts of conflict resolution, though. For kids to learn it, they have to practice it. Role-playing can be a very effective tool, as acting out a conflict resolution will help children recall these skills when they are needed.

Instructions

1. Practice empathy within a group of students. Perform a role-playing exercise where children observe two children acting out the beginning of a conflict. Assign two of the children their motivation in the conflict and how their needs aren't being met, and allow them to act out the scenario accordingly. After the role play, let the class ask questions and guess how the two people feel and what they think.

2. Confirm the grievance of each person in conflict. Have the class gather feedback from each person in conflict and have the class echo back not just the thoughts, but the feelings of the people in conflict. Write the problems on the board. State the negative, or the need that's not being met.

3. Identify satisfactory outcomes. Have the class question the people in conflict, restating their grievances slightly. They can ask, "What do you want?" and "What would make you feel happy?" They may find this question further reveals the nature of the problem. For example, if someone's need isn't being met, satisfying their need may not make them feel better if what they really want is an apology because they feel they were poorly treated.

4. Practice validation and acceptance and compromise. Having identified the problems, the feelings and the actions required for resolution, simply ask the class if there's any reason all parties cannot meet the needs of the other people. If they can, have the class practice acknowledging the way the people in conflict felt, and then giving them what they ask for.

5. Practice compromise. If it is impossible for both people in conflict to have what they requested, have the class practice acknowledging the thoughts and feelings of the people in conflict, and then proposing a compromise. Invite the injured parties to participate, saying, for example, "I'm sorry you're upset. Do you have a suggestion for a compromise?"

Tips & Warnings

• Conflicts are wrought with anxiety. As with a fire drill, practice helps overcome the anxiety of the event.

References

• EQI: Conflict Resolution
• United States Institute of Peace: Students Learn Conflict Resolution Basics at USIP; Mimi Wiggins; 2010
• Walden University: Teaching Fourth Grade - A Day in the Life; 2009