Social Responsibility Activities for Kindergarten to Grade 7
Many school districts require teachers to incorporate aspects of social responsibility into their lesson plans. Spending time on social issues can help children become more empathic to other students in the classroom and the world around them. The activities are appropriate for elementary and middle school students and can be modified as needed.
Other People Are Reading
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Respecting Differences
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Ask children to stand at the front of the room. Call out a prompt, such as, "Your favorite season," and have students pair themselves with others who favor the same season. Once they are in their groups, ask them to think of other ways they are similar. Then, pair students and have them find how they are different from their partners. Give them three minutes to write down every way they are different. Ask students if these differences change the way they feel about each other. With their partners, students can also discuss how they would respond to certain situations you pose, such as "You and your partner are friends. Other students keep making fun of your partner. What do you do?" When partners are done discussing scenarios, the class can discuss options together.
Keeping the Earth Clean
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Teach students about reducing consumption and recycling. Have each student bring in a plastic grocery-store style bag. Have the students tie their bags together to create one long chain. Explain to students that plastic bags are rarely recycled, and they end up landfills and do not break down easily. Teachable Moment claims that 14 billion plastic bags are used in the United States a year. Ask students what alternatives there might be to a plastic bag or if there are ways to reuse them.
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Point of View
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When children can see things from another person's point of view, they are able to empathize more easily. Give students several scenarios and ask some students to volunteer to role play scenes. For instance, in one scene, a daughter might act upset because she has to come home earlier than her friends do, yet her dad wants to make sure she gets enough sleep. After students share their scenario, the class can discuss valid ideas from each point of view.
Character Education
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Encourage students to think about how their character impacts the world by starting a character education program. Each month, choose a new word that has something to do with good character, such as, "responsibility," "empathy" or "integrity." Throughout the month, incorporate the word into your lessons and have students think of ways they can demonstrate this word in their school.
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References
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