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Adventures in Peacemaking

Author(s): William Kreidler and Lisa Furlong

Publisher: Project Adventure Inc

Type of Resource: Classroom activities and lesson plans

Target Grades: Grades K - 7

Canadian Resource? NO

Resource formally evaluated? No

What is the source, internet link, or article title for viewing the formal evaluation of this resource? Unknown

Ministry of Education Expectations

Subject Areas:language, the arts, health and physical education, social studies, religion, family life

Expectations Met:

GRADE THREE

Language: Writing

Write materials that show a growing ability to express their points of view and to reflect on their own experiences (e.g., journal notes)

Choose words that are most appropriate for their purpose (e.g., express a feeling)

Language: Reading

Express clear responses to written materials, relating the ideas in them to their own knowledge and experience and to ideas in other material they have read

Begin to develop their own opinions by considering some ideas from various written materials

Language: Oral and Visual Communication

Apply the rules for working with others

Rephrase to clarify their ideas (e.g., what I meant was, when I think about)

Speak on a variety of topics in classroom discussions using some specialized language (e.g., metres in measurement), and select words carefully to convey their intended meaning

Use appropriate volume, tone of voice, gestures, and stance when speaking, making a presentation, or reading aloud

Contribute ideas appropriate to the topic in group discussion and listen to the ideas of others

The Arts: Drama and Dance

Communicate, through movement, their thoughts and feelings about topics studied in other subject areas (e.g., create a movement sequence to express their fear of an environmental event such as a storm)

Health and Physical Education: Healthy Living

List safety procedures and practices in the home, school, and community

Use a problem-solving process to identify ways of obtaining support for personal safety in the home, school, and community

Identify examples of real and fictional violence (e.g., schoolyard fights, cartoons, movies)

Health and Physical Education: Active Participation

Demonstrate respect for the abilities and feelings of others (e.g., accepting everyone into the group)

Follow the rules of fair play in games and activities (e.g., giving everyone a chance to play)

Communicate positively to help and encourage others

Social Studies: Canada and World Connections: Urban and Rural Communities

Demonstrate awareness of the possible similarities and differences among people, places, and environments

Catholic Education Religion and Family Life

Family Life: - exploring our own physical, mental, and emotional growth

  • roles within relationships
  • promises, choices and process of decision-making
  • interdependence of people in society

GRADE FOUR

Language: Writing

Begin to write for more complex purposes (e.g., to present and discuss their opinions and viewpoints, to pose questions, to record information)

Language: Reading

Develop their opinions by reading a variety of materials

Language: Oral and Visual Communication

Ask questions on a variety of topics and respond appropriately to the questions of others

Express and respond to ideas and opinions concisely and clearly

Contribute and work constructively in groups

Use appropriate tone of voice and gestures in social and classroom activities

Listen to others and stay on topic in group discussion

Use appropriate strategies to organize and carry out group projects

Identify strengths and areas for improvement in their own work and that of others

The Arts: Drama and Dance

Identify their own feelings and reactions in various situations, and compare them with those of a character they have portrayed

Health and Physical Education: Healthy Living

Identify the characteristics of healthy relationships (e.g., showing considerations of others’ feelings by avoiding negative communication)

Identify the challenges (e.g., conflicting opinions) and responsibilities in their relationships with family and friends

Apply decision-making and problem-solving skills in addressing threats to personal safety (e.g., from abuse or physical fighting) and injury prevention (e.g., bicycle safety, road safety)

Identify people (e.g., parents, guardians, neighbors, teachers) and community agencies (e.g., Kids’ Help Phone) that can assist with injury prevention, emergency situations, and violence prevention

Health and Physical Education: Active Participation

Demonstrate a variety of interpersonal skills (e.g., playing fairly, co-operating, behaving respectfully)

Follow the rules of fair play in games and activities (e.g., displaying good sports etiquette by maintaining self-control whether winning or losing)

Demonstrate respectful behaviour towards others in the group (e.g., speaking kindly, refraining from hurtful comments, acknowledging others’ ideas and opinions)

Catholic Education Religion and Family Life

Religion:

  • respecting dignity of human life through responsible decision-making

Family Life:

  • understanding friendships

GRADE FIVE

Language: Writing

Use writing for various purposes and in a range of contexts, including school work (e.g., to summarize information from materials they have read, to reflect on their thoughts, feelings, and imaginings)

Language: Oral and Visual Communication

Ask and answer questions on a variety of topics to acquire and clarify information

Express and respond to ideas and opinions concisely, clearly, and appropriately

Contribute and work constructively in groups

Use tone of voice, gestures, and other non-verbal cues to help clarify meaning when describing events, telling stories, reading aloud, making presentations, stating opinions, etc.

Contribute ideas to help solve problems, and listen and respond constructively to the ideas of others when working in a group

Discuss with peers and the teacher strategies for communicating effectively with others in a variety of situations

Health and Physical Education: Healthy Living

Apply strategies to deal with threats to personal safety (e.g., in response to harassment) and to prevent injury (e.g., from physical assault)

Identify strategies to deal positively with stress and pressures that result from relationships with family and friends

Identify factors (e.g., trust, honesty, caring) that enhance healthy relationships with friends, family, and peers

Explain how people’s actions (e.g., bullying, excluding others) can affect the feelings and reactions of others

Apply strategies (e.g., anger management, assertiveness, conflict resolution) to deal with personal-safety and injury-prevention situations (e.g., swarming, threatening, harassment)

Health and Physical Education: Active Participation

Follow the rules of fair play in games and activities (e.g., displaying good sports etiquette by maintaining self-control whether winning or losing)

Catholic Education Religion and Family Life

Religion:

  • right and wrong choices; consequences and responsibilities

Family Life:

  • changes within the family and friendships
  • choices, responsibility and consequences, commitment
  • community, signs of a good community

GRADE SIX

Language: Writing

Use writing for various purposes and in a range of contexts, including school work (e.g., to develop and clarify ideas, to express thoughts and opinions)

Language: Reading

Make judgments and draw conclusions about ideas in written materials on the basis of evidence

Language: Oral and Visual Communication

Make reports, describe and explain a course of action, and follow detailed instructions

Ask and answer questions to obtain and clarify information

Express and respond to a range of ideas and opinions concisely, clearly, and appropriately

Contribute and work constructively in groups

Use tone of voice and gestures to enhance the message and help convince or persuade listeners in conversations, discussions, or presentations

Use constructive strategies in small-group discussions (e.g., invite other group members to contribute; ask questions to clarify a point; negotiate to find a basis for agreement)

Follow up on others’ ideas, and recognize the validity of different points of view in group discussions or problem-solving activities

The Arts: Drama and Dance

Evaluate, orally and in writing, their own and others’ work in drama and dance e.g., performances, multimedia presentations)

Solve problems presented through drama and dance in different ways, and evaluate the effectiveness of each solution

Evaluate drama and dance performances, with reference to their own experiences in daily life

Solve artistic problems in drama and dance, individually and in groups, and evaluate the solutions

Health and Physical Education: Healthy Living

Apply a problem-solving/decision-making process to address issues related to friends, peers, and family relationships

Describe and respond appropriately to potentially violent situations relevant to themselves (e.g., threats, harassment, violence in the media)

Health and Physical Education: Active Participation

Follow the rules of fair play in games and activities, and support the efforts of peers to improve their skills

Catholic Education Religion and Family Life

Family Life:

  • valuing human life through the five stages
  • effective behaviours and emotions in relationships
  • code of behaviour, positive and negative influences in relationships

GRADE SEVEN

Language: Writing

Communicate ideas and information for a variety of purposes (to outline an argument, to report on observations) and to specific audiences, using forms appropriate for their purpose and topic

Language: Reading

Explain their interpretation of a written work, supporting it with evidence from the work and from their own knowledge and experience

Make judgments and draw conclusions about ideas in written materials on the basis of evidence

Clarify and develop their own points of view by examining the ideas of others

Language: Oral and Visual Communication

Ask questions and discuss different aspects of ideas in order to clarify their thinking

Express and respond to a range of ideas and opinions concisely, clearly, and appropriately

Contribute and work constructively in groups

Identify some of the ways in which non-verbal communication techniques (e.g., tone of voice and body language) can affect audiences, and use these techniques in their own speech to arouse and maintain interest, and convince and persuade their listeners

Listen and respond constructively to alternative ideas or viewpoints

Express ideas and opinions confidently but without trying to dominate discussion

The Arts: Drama and Dance

Evaluate, orally and in writing, their own and others’ work in drama and dance, using criteria developed by the class

Solve, in various ways, a problem that is presented through drama and dance, and explain ways in which each solution is effective

Health and Physical Education: Healthy Living

Use effective communication skills (e.g., refusal skills, active listening) to deal with various relationships and situations

Describe harassment and identify ways of dealing with it (e.g., by communicating feelings and reporting incidents of harassment)

Identify people and resources that can support someone experiencing harassment

Health and Physical Education: Active Participation

Participate fairly in games or activities (e.g., accepting and respecting decisions made by officials, whether they are students, teachers, or coaches)

History: Conflict and Change

Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of change and conflict, methods of creating change, and methods of resolving conflicts

Examine and communicate methods of conflict resolution employed in everyday life: at home, at school, in the community

Catholic Education Religion and Family Life

Religion:

  • moral decision-making

Family Life:

  • self respect equals the respect of others
  • changing relationships in adolescence
  • changing human relationships
  • freedom and responsible decision making
  • exploring the social nature of humans in community

N/A

Toolkit Evaluation:

(where noted: Consistently (C)   Often (O))

Exploring Well-Being Through Relationships

Knowledge

  • Consistently shows personal growth in and through relationships
  • Consistently shows how healthy relationships support a healthy sense of well-being
  • Often helps differentiate between healthy/equal relationships and relationships that are negative/unequal
  • Consistently increases awareness of how actions and choices impact the well being of others
  • Consistently increases awareness of how actions/choices of others impact personal well-being

Skills

  • Consistently Explore relationships from personal perspectives and experiences
  • Consistently Develop personal self-awareness and understanding of well-being
  • Often helps develop and practice mutual empathy
  • Consistently helps identify and practice values of mutual respect
  • Consistently expresses personal feelings, thoughts, and experiences
  • Consistently provides opportunity for classmates to respond empathetically and respectfully
Exploring Social Relations of Violence, Oppression and Equality

Knowledge

  • Consistently provides knowledge about social structures of inequality, marginalization/exclusion, negative stereotypes, discrimination and violence
  • Often helps develop a gender analysis of social relations
  • Often recognizes and understands oppression on the basis of gender and other forms of inequality (i.e., race, culture, socioeconomic status, education, geographic location, ability/disability, etc.)
  • Consistently develops an understanding of multiple forms and contexts of violence
  • Often shows knowledge about the social relations of equality, inclusion, acceptance and empowerment

Skills

  • Often explores gendered aspects of their social identities, relationships and experiences
Exploring Identity, Gender, and Diversity

Knowledge

  • Often provides knowledge to examine social identities relationships and experiences within the context of multiple social relationships and structure of inequality (vulnerability vs. privilege)
  • Often provides knowledge about how values and biases are (can be) used to exclude and cause harm to individuals and groups of individuals

Skills

  • Consistently provides opportunity for students to identify, explore, and name their own identities, experiences, and values
  • Consistently provides opportunity for students to develop an understanding and respect for the identities, experiences, and values of their classmates/peers
  • Consistently provides opportunity for students to engage with and learn form differences and diversity
  • Consistently provides opportunity for students to express, learn from, and build multiple perspectives on social experiences and diversity
Developing Connections, Creative Thinking and Participation

Knowledge

  • Often provides strategies for personal and/or social change are offered to students for the promotion of healthy and equal relationships.
  • Consistently allows for engagement in learning conflict resolution and anti-violence strategies
  • Often improves knowledge about choices and actions that promote mutual empowerment and respect

Skills

  • Consistently provides opportunities to develop and practice their capacity for healthy interactions and connections within the context of the classroom/school
  • Consistently provides opportunities to work collaboratively with peers to discuss and develop strategies for healthy and equal relationships
  • Consistently provides experience and practice how to resolve conflict positively
  • Consistently provides opportunity for the development of supportive connections between students and teachers/adults

Pedagogical Evaluation:

Structure and Format:
  • Evaluation of the resource (e.g., formal research on the effectiveness of the program
  • Strategies to integrate lessons/activities into the educational curriculum
  • Information guide or scope and sequence of lessons (i.e. how to strategies)
  • Ready to use scripted format
  • Sequential guide or lessons that are user friendly
  • Availability of support to implement the program/resource
  • Accommodations for exceptional students indirectly and directly identified
Teaching/Learning Strategies:

Direct Instruction: whole class and small group

  • Explicit Teaching
  • Demonstration
  • Explicit teaching and use of thinking skills and strategies
  • Explicit teaching and using self-assessment and reflection

Interactive Learning

  • Small-group cooperative learning
  • Small group discussion/debriefing
  • Presentations
  • interviewing
  • brainstorming

Indirect Instruction

  • Guided teacher-directed inquiry
  • Guided student-directed inquiry
  • Reflective discussions

Experiential Learning

  • Simulation, role play
  • Case studies/scenarios
  • Community-based learning opportunities
Teaching and Learning Activities/Lessons Include:
  • Choice, where possible, in student tasks and assignments
  • Multiple opportunities for practice and feedback.
  • Use of graphic organizers (e.g. Venn diagrams, mind maps, tables)
  • Opportunities for students to use their learning styles to learn and demonstrate learning
  • Integration of Multiple Intelligences theory to learn and demonstrate their learning.
  • Portfolio development
  • Oral and written reflection/journal writing
Assessment Methods:
  • Pencil and Paper
  • Reports
Demonstration/Performance:
  • Class
  • School and community-based projects
  • Skills demonstrations
  • Role playing
  • Organizing events
  • Simulations
Personal Communication:
  • Interviews
  • Portfolio work
  • Students assess their own learning and set specific goals
Other:
  • Staff training

Strengths Summary:

This resource is intended for teachers of students in Kindergarten to Grade 6. The resource encourages staff training in conflict resolution. It teaches through examination of key conflict resolution strategies in group activities. It develops skills by using experiential education strategies and reflection, and it assists facilitators and teachers in the development of approaches for resolving conflict in child care programs/settings. The activities include a detailed description of the activity, target age group, group size, and time requirements. There are also suggestions offered to facilitators for altering activities to suit group needs. The sessions encourage opportunities for student reflection after each activity. The program covers many topics, including managing conflict, cooperation, communication, team building, problem solving, appreciating diversity, expressing feelings, and conflict resolution. This resource consistently provides activities that promote healthy relationships and positive resolution of conflicts. Most activities are completed in groups, focusing on teamwork and group cooperation and include a variety of activities, such as story-telling, drama, arts & crafts, and games.