Module 8
“Individual Growth and Understanding”
Weeks 15-16
Mid-way summary We have come a long way in teaching students about many aspects of anti-bullying. Ask the students to respond verbally to the following points:
- “Keen Awareness Training” where we focused on the necessity of becoming aware of surroundings to avoid negative encounters.
- “Hitting the Light Switch” focused on the need for students to immediately and purposefully prepare their minds for action the very second they encounter a bullying (or any negative) situation.
- “The 3Rs” which taught students the specific actions to practice and implement.
- “To the Bully” has given students insights into the mindset of the bully, while also addressing the bully about their negative behavior, presenting them with reasons and ways to change their behavior.
- The “Initial Emotional Impact of Bullying” considered the emotional impact on students when they experience being bullied, and the necessity for adults to therefore be more mindful and involved in the prevention and elimination of bullying.
- “Meditation Training for Mental Toughness” taught students how to better internalize new concepts like “being aware”. It also focused on the development of their own mental toughness.
- “A Bully’s Mental Weakness” demonstrated to students that bullies are not as tough as they appear to be, desperately attempting to hide their weakness.
In Module 8 we will together teach the students about their development of “Individual Growth and Understanding.” It begins with two (2) review questions to which they respond in their Student Workbook on page 57:
“Who are the only ones to whom you should demonstrate the skills you are learning, and why?”
“Explain the “elements of surprise and confusion” and how this can help you in a bullying situation,
Students are to think about and write their interpretation of the illustration’s theme/main idea, and any hidden message(s) as it applies to bullying.
“I’M AS SELF-CONFIDENT AS CAN BE” – Poem
For a while, I let the bully steal my self-confidence away from me, or maybe it was never really there.
The bully caused me to hang my head and question my inner strength. Sometimes I just sat around doing nothing, with a blank stare.
Bullies have a way of making you feel much smaller and weaker than you really are.
However, kids, your strong self-confidence can defeat the bully by you coming to grips with who you really are.
Bullies want to keep a kid weak, with a confused mind,
That way the bully can take advantage of a kid, time after time.
Lucky for me, I found my self-confidence. It was anxious to surface. I just hadn’t found it yet, even though it was always there.
Powerful self-confidence is in all kids, that includes you. It sometimes gets lost along the way; kids need to just find out where.
Here’s to your new self-confidence you will soon surely find and daily display. With it, you will defeat the bully.
I once was a victim of the bully too, but not anymore. I’m as self-confident as can be.
Al Johnson
Remind students: Select your favorite words or phrases in the poem. Copy them onto your “My Favorites” at the end of your workbook! Practice repeating them over and over again, so you are ready to confidently respond to a bully.
“I’M AS SELF-CONFIDENT AS CAN BE” – Vocabulary Lesson
- Discuss the meanings of the following words/phrases, and how they are used in the stanzas of the poem for a clear understanding of the Theme/Main Idea of the poem:
- Inner strength
- Blank stare
- Discovering who you really are
- Confused mind
- Powerful self-confidence
- Daily display
- “I’m as self-confident as can be”
2. Following the class discussion of the vocabulary words, students are to write their interpretation of each of the poem’s stanzas on the lines provided in their Student Workbooks (Page 60).
REMINDER: Modules 1-16 are followed by a short quiz (in the student workbooks) so students can demonstrate mastery of the lesson. This is followed by a teacher evaluation, taking into consideration various aspects of what the students have learned from that module. Please make special note of any particular accomplishments, improvements made, or areas in need of improvement, FOLLOWED BY YOUR SIGNATURE AND DATE.
