Lesson 20: We're Changing

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will examine changes they’ve gone through and how those changes can affect their relationships.

Question

Share how one of your friendships or relationships has changed over time. Ask your child to share how some of their friendships have changed since starting middle school.

Lesson 21: Why Conflicts Escalate

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will identify behaviors that can cause conflicts to escalate, so they keep them from becoming more serious.

Question

Tell your child about a time when you played a part in escalating a conflict. Explain what you wished you had done instead. Ask your child if they are part of a conflict right now that they need help with.

Lesson 22: Considering Multiple Perspectives

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to view situations from multiple perspectives so they can better avoid and resolve conflicts.

Question

Tell your child about a time when your view of a conflict changed because you were able to see it from another person’s perspective. Ask your child if they have changed their view about a conflict lately.

Lesson 23: Respectful Communication

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will practice using non-blaming language to resolve conflicts.

Question

Ask your child to give you an example of non-blaming, respectful communication. Brainstorm with them to think of a time in your household when non-blaming language could have been helpful and make a plan for how to use respectful communication in the future.

Lesson 24: Resolving Challenging Conflicts

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will think through different ways to resolve a conflict and choose the one they think is best.

Question

Ask your child why they think different conflicts need different solutions. Tell your child about a time when you had to think about the best way to solve a conflict. What did you think about? Did it work out in the end?

Lesson 25: Making Amends

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn ways to make amends and restore a relationship they may have harmed.

Question

Tell your child about a time you had to make amends with someone. What did you do to repair the harm?

Lesson 26: Conflict Solvers

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will use their conflict-solving expertise to help solve a realistic peer conflict.

Question

Ask to see your child’s assignment. If they don’t have it, ask them to explain it to you. Think of a realistic conflict from real life, TV, a movie, or book and have your child explain the steps they would take to resolve it.

Unit 4

Weekly family communications for lessons 20–26

Lesson 20: What Makes a Conflict Escalate?

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will examine common reasons social conflicts escalate from minor to major.

Question

Discuss with your child a time in your life when you were involved in an escalating conflict. What do you wish you had done instead? Ask your child if they are part of a conflict right now that they need help with.

Lesson 21: Keeping Your Cool in a Conflict

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will explore how using emotion-management strategies, such as slow breathing, walking away, reframing unhelpful thoughts, and practicing positive self-talk, can help prevent a conflict from escalating.

Question

Share with your child strategies you use to help yourself calm down during escalating conflicts. Ask them to tell you any additional strategies they find helpful beyond the ones covered in the lesson.

Lesson 22: Conflicts and Perspectives

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to listen to and consider someone else’s perspective during a conflict.

Question

Discuss with your child a time in your life when your view of a conflict changed because you were able to see it from another person’s perspective. Ask your child if they have changed their view about a conflict lately.

Lesson 23: Resolving Conflict Part 1

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to describe a conflict in a non-judgmental way by avoiding blaming language.

Question

Discuss with your child a time in your life when you had a particularly difficult time resolving a conflict. How did avoiding blaming language help?

Lesson 24: Resolving Conflict Part 2

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to consider possible solutions, determine the negative and positive consequences of each of those solutions, and agree on the best solution for resolving a conflict.

Question

Ask your child why they think different conflicts need different solutions. Discuss with your child a time in your life when you had to think about the best way to solve a conflict. What did you think about? How did it work out?

Lesson 25: Taking Responsibility for Your Actions

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to take responsibility for their actions in a conflict and make things right.

Question

Discuss with your child a time in your life when you had to take responsibility for your role in a conflict. What did you do to make things right and repair the harm?

Lesson 26: Tips for Resolving Conflicts

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will apply the skills and knowledge they’ve learned in this unit to create a tip sheet for resolving conflicts.

Question

Ask to see your child’s assignment. If they don’t have it, ask them to explain it to you. Think of a realistic conflict from real life, TV, a movie, or a book, and have your child share what tips they think would be helpful in resolving it.

Unit 4

Weekly family communications for lessons 20–27

Lesson 20: My Values

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will explore their values and identify how behaviors that are important to them show them what they value.

Question

Ask your child about some of the values they have identified and why. Share a few of your own values and how you live out those values in your day-to-day life.

Lesson 21: Values and Relationships

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will draw connections between their values and the healthy relationships in their life.

Question

Ask your child about how one of their values shows up in a healthy relationship they have. This could be a friendship, a sibling or other familial relationship, or even a professional relationship with a teacher or coach.

Lesson 22: Recognizing Others' Perspectives

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will practice viewing conflicts from multiple perspectives to keep conflicts from escalating.

Question

Tell your child about a time when your view of a conflict changed because you were able to see it from another person’s perspective. Ask your child if they have changed their view of a conflict lately.

Lesson 23: Finding the Best Solution

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn to find solutions to a conflict that everyone can agree on.

Question

Ask your child about a conflict they recently had where they got something they wanted after it was resolved. Share a similar situation of your own.

Lesson 24: Making Things Right

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn ways to make amends after a conflict and restore a relationship they may have harmed.

Question

Tell your child about a time you had to make amends with someone. What did you do to repair the harm?

Lesson 25: Unhealthy Relationships

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will identify signs of an unhealthy relationship.

Question

Ask your child who they would go to for advice and support if they found themselves in a relationship that was unhealthy. Share why one of your close friends or family members is someone you turn to for advice and support.

Lesson 26: Guide to Healthy Relationships

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will create a guide to healthy relationships to inform, encourage, and inspire their peers.

Question

Ask to see your child’s project. If they don’t have it, have them describe it. Ask them what the most important thing they learned about healthy relationships is.

Lesson 27: High School Challenges

Summary

In this week’s lesson, your child will think ahead to some of the challenges they might face when starting high school and identify people they can go to for help.

Question

Ask your child about something that makes them nervous about starting high school. Share one thing you were nervous about when you first started high school, but that got better over time.