Learning to Be a Positive Healthy Person

Learning To Be a Positive Healthy Person

Background:

Youth sometimes join gangs because they don't realize that there are other positive ways for them to spend time with kids their age. Unfortunately they erroneously think that there is "nothing else" for them do, and that joining a gang is the only way for them to associate with their peers. Instead of wasting their time on gang activity there are many other positive activities that kids can participate in, or many alternatives to gang involvement. These "alternatives" can provide youth with something constructive to do in their free time, as well as a beneficial opportunity to associate with other kids their age.

Promoting Self-esteem and allowing youth to gain confidence in their abilities is an effective strategy to help fend off gang involvement. Gangs prey on perceived weaknesses therefore, it is important for each individual to understand their worth. Allowing youth to express what they are interested in and finding ways to pursue those interests is a great way to show positive commonalities among members of their peer group.

This activity contains portions of the Make Awesome Waves Together lesson plan. The complete lesson for Make Awesome Waves Together can be found in Beth Teolis’s book, Ready to use self-esteem and conflict-solving activities for grades 4-8.

Teaching Notes:

• Conduct a classroom discussion about all the things that make us who we are. You may want to discuss various things that impact youth including friends, family support, peer pressure, safety, healthy body, school, individual interest, quirks…
  • Draw a sun on the board and put your name in the middle. On each spoke write something down you think is important for you to be a positive healthy person (I have a loving grandma, I respect authority, I am able to make positive decisions, I have a healthy self-esteem, I have supportive friends that I trust…)
• On a blank piece of paper have the class drawn their own sun and write down the things they feel are important for them to be a positive healthy person.
• Using examples from the students work, illustrate to the class that there are many things that help encourage people to live a positive and healthy lifestyle. However, things can change in our life or something may go wrong, we are often left with a void that needs be filled. Gangs try to fill that void. Recall the lesson on recruitment.
• Make a ‘yarn web’ that shows the connection of living a positive healthy life and keeping a balance. You will need a ball of yarn, construction paper and tape.
  • Ask a student to volunteer their sun. Pick out five things that the student wrote down.
  • Ask for six volunteers and assign one of the five things from the sun to each volunteer; the last volunteer will be assigned the label ‘A Positive and Healthy Me’. Use construction paper to make signs to tape on each student or hang around their neck.
  • Have students stand in a circle and give the ball of yarn to ‘A Positive and Healthy Me’. Ask the person with the yarn to hold on to one end of the yarn and toss the rest of the yarn ball to someone in the group that is not beside them. Continue tossing the yarn to each member of the circle until it reaches the start. You should have a ‘yarn web’ when you are complete.
  • Tell the class that each of those five things is helping to make that person who they are. It is important to try to keep these good things in their life.
  • Ask the class what would happen if one of the things wasn’t their. Have one of the students drop their yarn. You will see the web start to fall apart. Sometimes gangs use this opening to try to get you to join a gang. Thus, it is important to have many positive things in your life that will help you keep your web strong. This way it will be hard for gangs to get into your life.
• Have the class share some of their ideas about what they enjoy doing at school or in their spare time and ask the students if they enjoy being with others who like some of the same activities as they do. Lead a discussion about “good times” students with common interests have shared together.
• Pass out the worksheet Make Awesome Waves Together. Tell the students they are about to complete an activity that lists their favorite activities and interests. Ask them to complete the fill-ins listed on the waterslide.
• Have students mingle in the classroom to find 6-8 other people that share some of their interests. Have them write down the names of the people they share interests with in the classroom. Collect and read the activity sheets. You may want to form future groups based on common interests. ** Musical link – “Slip Slidin” by Paul Simon
• Have students write a journal entry on the importance of being a positive healthy person. Have them discuss what they have learned about how gangs can take advantage of them.