Marvelous Me

Summary

A unit in which the student identifies and strengthens self-esteem.

Materials

• Paper
• pencils
• crayons
• puppets

Instructional Procedures

Day #1

Read, All I Am by Eileen Roe or any other book on self-esteem.

Ask, "Are you all those things that we read about in the book?"

Ask, "What makes everyone special in this class?"

"What makes you special?"

Have every student stand up. Tell them to walk around the room until you tell them to stop. When you say "Stop" the student must shake hands with the person standing closest to them. Then the partners give each other a compliment. Do this four more times so that each student gives and receives five compliments.

Have the students begin creating a "Marvelous Me" book. On the first page, the student will draw a picture of him/herself and them write what they like to do.

Day #2 Select two children to role play. With the first role play, have the two students pretend to run into each other in the hall. Have them get into a little argument and say mean things to each other.

The second scenario, have them run into each other but this time they are kind to each other.

Ask the class, "How do you think both children felt after the first time they ran into each other?"

"How do you think each person felt after the second time?"

Reinforce that handling situations positively can make each person feel good inside.

Have students work on the next page in their "Marvelous Me" book. This page could be about the student's family. Have them draw a picture of their family and write down the names of their family members.

Day #3--Have the kids make some puppets or use any you may have. Have the children practice interacting in a positive way with the puppets.

In the next page in the "Marvelous Me" book, the student can draw and write about their pet(s) or about a pet they would like to have.

Day #4 Have each student decide that they will do a nice deed for someone. It can be someone in class, a friend not in the class, or someone at home. The deeds can be written down or shared orally with the class.

Allow time to work on the next page of their "Marvelous Me" book. On this page, have them draw and write about their friends.

Day #5--Have the students report back on their deeds. Talk about how it made them feel when they did something nice for someone? How did it make the person receiving the kind action feel? How does it make them feel when someone does something nice for them?

Day #5--Pre-arrange to go to a kindergarten class. Pair up each first grader with a kindergarten student. Have the first graders read a story, draw a picture or play a game with their kindergarten friend.

Go back to class and have the student write and draw about their favorite sport in their "Marvelous Me" book.

Day #6--Have the children sit in a circle. Have each student stand up one at a time and tell the class something that they like about themselves.

Have students create the next page in their "Marvelous Me" book. On this page, the student will write his/her favorite color. The student will draw some things on their page that are his/her favorite color.

Day #7--The teacher could present each student with a certificate that states something that he/she does well i.e., is a good friend, keeps desk clean, always tries to do their best work. Certificates could be presented to the student or left on their desks.

On the last page of the "Marvelous Me" book, the student will write about his/her favorite foods. After this page is complete, compile the student's books and staple them together.