Today, we are going to talk about "hope". What do you think "hope" is? Allow a couple of students to answer. Those are some really great answers, thank you so much for sharing them. Today, there are four aspects of "hope" that we are going to focus on: having self-worth, being optimistic, setting goals, and sharing hope with others.

Individuals who have hope have self-worth because they care about others and know others care about them. How do you know if someone cares about you? Or, how do you show that you care about someone else? Allow a couple students to answer. Those are great ways to show people that you care.

Individuals with hope are also optimistic because they believe that good things will happen in the future. Do you think good things happen to you? Any examples? Allow a couple students to answer. Those are some cool experiences.

People with hope have goals and work hard to meet those goals too. What are some of your goals? Allow a couple of students to answer. Those are some great goals.

Individuals who have hope try to share hope and affection to the people around them. How would you share hope with others? Allow a couple of students to answer. Those are awesome ideas.

You guys already know a lot about hope and how to share it. Now, we are going to read about different ways people have shared hope with others.

Read One Smile by Cindy McKinley for grades K-3.

Read Gandhi: A March to the Sea by Alice B. McGnty for grades 4-5.

Alright, now I want all of you to get into groups of 3 or 4 people and share your ideas about "hope" that you learned from the story with each other. Allow students to talk with each other for 1-2 minutes. Does anyone want to share something that was talked about in their group? Allow a couple students to answer.

Thank you all for your participation today. Now we all know about "hope" and how to share it with those around us. I want to challenge all of you to do something that gives hope to another student before you leave school today. Can you promise that?

Lunch time activity: Acts/Words of Kindness

Today we're going to start off by singing the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes". Everyone get on your feet.

(For tune of song, click link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpSDuUTrMfU)

(Touch each part of the body as you sing them - for the sake of the lesson cross your arms like you're hugging yourself when touching your shoulder)

We sang this song to help all of you to remember an important skill: how to be a good listener. But, why do we need to be a good listener? Allow a couple of students to answer. Those are some really great reasons why it's important to be a good listener. Everybody likes to be heard. Listening helps a person feel like you care and want to know what he or she thinks. Learning to use good listening skills will help your friends who may be having a hard time. It's also important to show someone that we are listening to them with our whole body.

(Touch each body part just like you did during the song)

We listen with our head by thinking about what the person is saying.

(Shoulder) We listen when we care about what the person is saying.

We listen with our knees and toes by keeping our knees and feet still so there are no distractions in the conversation.

We listen with our eyes by looking at the person talking.

We listen with our ears by carefully paying attention to what the other person is saying and not assuming what the other person is going to say.

We listen with our mouths by letting the speaker finish before speaking and trying to not interrupt them.

(Nose) We listen when we direct our attention to the person talking.

Lunch time activity: Are You OK? Candies

We are going to talk about something very serious today, so I need you guys to be serious as well. Today, we are talking about suicide and how we can reach out with kindness to others. Can someone tell the class what suicide is? Allow a couple students to answer. Thank you for your answers.

(Response for grades K-2) Suicide is when someone is so sad they don't want to live anymore and make their body stop working so they die.

(Response for grades 3-5) Suicide is when someone is so sad they decide to end their life.

(For all grade levels) Everyone who is thinking about suicide shows warning signs in various different ways. They may talk differently, act differently, and feel differently than they normally do. Instead of talking about how much they love life, someone may say, "Everyone would be better off without me", or "Life will never get better", or they may even say "I wish I was dead".

If you ever hear someone say this, immediately tell an adult. Adults know what to do when someone talks like that.

People may also act mean towards others, they may not be interested in their favorite activities, and they may not want to talk to their friends or families. Also, someone who is normally a very happy person may suddenly become very angry or very sad all the time and feel like they can't be happy again. Now, I know that what we've talked about so far is serious, and you might even feel a little sad learning about this. It is important to remember that a lot of what we talked about is common when someone has a bad day. One bad day does not mean that someone is going to consider suicide. However, if you hear someone say something and you feel uncomfortable or unsure about what was said, tell an adult immediately.

Adults can help your friend get the help they need to feel better. If someone tells you about something they're struggling with, this is a great chance to practice your good listening skills. Look at someone when they are talking, pay attention to what they are saying, and care about what they are saying. If they say anything about wanting to hurt someone else, or hurting themselves, if someone is hurting them, if they are being bullied, do unsafe behaviors such as drugs or drinking alcohol, wanting to run away, or if they are feeling very sad or depressed, make sure you act like a friend to them. At that moment, the best thing they need is a friend. But also remember to encourage them to tell an adult. When you suggest to a friend to go talk with an adult, make sure the person knows the adult is someone he or she can trust. Let them know the adult will not judge or punish the person, but will find ways to help.

Ask if the person wants you to come with to talk to an adult so they don't feel alone. Make sure the person knows you care and want him or her to talk to an adult to help the person feel better. But, if they refuse to talk to an adult, remember you need to tell an adult, no matter what. This might seem scary, but it is an adult's job to keep kids safe. Adults can't keep your friend safe if you don't say anything!

Now, we're going to play a game to help us learn about what things people say that are serious enough to tell an adult and what things you can handle simply by being a friend.

Instructions: Tape a medium-length piece of string to the end of a long stick. Tie a magnet to the other end of the string to finish creating the "fishing pole". Print out the fishes with different phrases and place one magnet on the back of each fish before placing the fish in a bucket. On a whiteboard, create two columns: "Trusted Adults" and "Friends Can Handle It" Have Squad members take turns "fishing" As a Squad, identify the column the selected phrase belongs to, placing the fish on the board in the appropriate place.

Answer Key:

• Trusted Adult

  • "I don't have a lot of friends"

  • "Nobody would miss me if I were gone"

  • "Things will never get better!"

  • "I hate my life"

  • "I feel so sad I can't even sleep at night"

  • "Someone I know is hurting me"

  • "I hate myself"

• Friends Can Handle It

  • "I want to run away forever"

  • "I'm having a bad day"

  • "I wish I were better at sports"

  • "I'm not that good at school"

  • "Why can't my brothers and sisters be nicer?"

  • "I'm having a really bad hair day!"

  • "I'm feeling really tired today"

Before the training begins, have the teacher pick 4 students to help in a demonstration: 2 students are best friends with small personal spaces with each other and another 2 students who get along well enough, but would not choose to hang out with each other, and large personal spaces with each other.

To start today we are going to do a little activity. Call up the two best friends. Give each one an end of a piece of string. Have each student stand at opposite ends of the classroom. Alright, (one of the student's name) I want you to pull the

string to pull (the other student's name) towards you with the string. (The second student's name) I want you to say "Stop" when you begin to feel uncomfortable or if you guys are getting too close.

After the student says STOP, have the other two students come up and repeat the activity. After the second set of students says STOP, ask the following questions:

• * Why did you ask the person to stop?

• * What were you feeling?

• * Why did our volunteers have different personal spaces?

• * Is it okay that different people have different personal spaces?

• * What might be the purpose of having a personal space? (Make sure to ask this question last)

Thank you all for your answers. It's important to remember that personal boundaries are meant to help you and others feel safe. We want everyone to feel safe physically and emotionally. It's important to remember that everyone has personal space and we want to respect other people's space as much as we want them to respect our space. So if someone asks us to backup a little we need to respect them and back up. It's also okay for us to ask someone else to back up a little if they are in our space.

As much as it is important to respect personal physical boundaries, emotional boundaries also need to be respected. Can someone tell me what emotional boundaries are? Allow a couple of students to respond. Thank you for your answers. Emotional boundaries are the feelings you have that let you know that it's not your fault a friend is having a hard day. If someone tells you something your emotional boundaries tell you is wrong, tell an adult! You might have been told a bad secret that an adult needs to take care of.

If anyone does tell you something that bothers your emotional or physical boundaries, you may end up getting stressed. How do you feel when you get stressed? Allow some students to answer. Thank you for your answers.

Now, what are good ways to handle stress? Allow some students to answer. Those are some great ways to handle stress. Some other ideas you could try is writing why you feel stressed, run around outside for a bit, dance, or hug someone.

Thank you all for your participation today. Now, we all know about boundaries and handling stress. I would like to challenge each of you to find a way to respect someone else's boundaries or help them with handling stress before you leave school today.

Lunch time activity: When I Am Stressed I Can…

• Write in a journal, say 10 nice things about yourself in the mirror, take a dance break, listen to your favorite song, talk with an adult you trust, do yoga, run around outside, read your favorite book, make a craft, play outside, hug a friend/family member/stuffed animal, draw or paint a picture, get moving!

Today we are going to read the book "We Are All Wonders" by R.J. Palacio. Read the book, Ask the following questions and allow some students to answer.

• * What about the kid did you notice was different than you?

• * What about the kid did you notice was similar to you?

• * How did the kid feel when other kids were saying mean things about him?

• * Is it okay to say mean things about people who are different than you? Why not?

Thank you for listening to the book and having such good answers. This book is about how each and every one of us is a "wonder" or in other words, unique. What makes each person unique from another? Allow a couple students to answer. Thank you. Now, it's important to remember that even though each of us are unique from another, we do have things in common with others, and that's okay. For example, let's say I like to read. Raise your hands if you also like reading. Wait for students to raise their hands. See? I enjoy reading just like some of you guys. But, some of you don't enjoy reading like I do, and that's okay. I'm sure there's something that the rest of us have in common that isn't reading.

But, do you know what's NOT okay? It's not okay to tease or make fun of someone because they are different than you in some way. If you remember in the book it talks about some of the kids were mean and said mean things behind the guy's back. Is that okay? No. Once you start being mean to someone because they are different, then you have become a bully.

Can someone tell what a bully is? Allow a couple of students to answer. Thank you for your great ideas. A bully is someone who purposely hurts someone else physically, with their words (use the word "verbally" for grades 4-5), or online. A bully can also damage someone's belongings, tell lies, or share photos that embarrasses or excludes someone. None of this is okay. If someone is bullying you or you see someone being bullied, what do you do? Allow some students to answer. Those are some good responses. Thank you. Some other things that are important to do is to stay calm and clearly tell the bully to STOP. Also, often times the bully is trying to get a reaction out of people, so don't give them a reaction. Do not respond to them. If they don't get the reaction they're looking for, they won't keep acting the way they are.

After telling the bully to STOP, make sure you tell an adult. An adult can talk to both the bully and the person who is being bullied and help both of them. Now, the best way to prevent bullying is by being a good friend to everyone because everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect, and one way to show that kindness and respect is by using your good listening skills.

Thank you so much for your participation today. Now we know that everyone has something in common, and are different from others in one way, and to stop bullying we need to be a good friend. I want to challenge all of you to come up with ways you can be a good friend before you go home today.

Lunch time activity: I’m A Good Friend Collage