February is a month when many of us send cards or messages to our family and friends for Valentines Day. It is a good time to introduce a lesson on the differences between sending out positive and negative statements. When you get to the bottom, don’t forget to download the free lesson sheets.
Some of our young adults get into a habit of throwing barbs at each other without considering the consequences of hurt feelings or the bad impressions they are making. They may not be aware how these statements affect their friendships and the opinions of adults that hear them. It is good to remind them that it can be next to impossible to completely repair the damage once a hurtful comment is said.
Consider the following: Can your students tell which statements will be considered positive? Can they tell if what they say is offensive to someone? Can they change their perspective and switch to a more positive statement when necessary. Hopefully the free lesson will help you address these concerns with your students.
At the bottom of this post, you will find a Download Star. Click on this link for a free list of statements. The statements are ready to be printed and cut out for your lessons. The statements can be used in a variety of ways. Students can practice taking a negative statement, changing the wording and flipping it to be more positive. I have used the analogy of flipping a pancake. When conducting a social group, I present a spatula as a prop to remind someone to flip offensive statements. Later on, I just have the spatula over to the offending person.
You can also talk about statements that should be left in the mind and not verbalized. Just because a statement is true does not mean it should be said. There are times it is kinder not to say something we think.
You can also explore what effects a difference of intonation may make on a statement. It is possible to convey a message opposite in meaning when using a sarcastic tone. A rising tone at the end can make a statement into a question and it will not seem like you are making an accusation.
I hope you can make use of the free lesson and It lightens your lesson planning load a bit.
On a side note, I have recently changed my site host. The site is now operating with Host Papa. You may notice the little black lock has returned in the URL which indicates it is a secure site.
