Teaching Guide: Respect

This material about teaching respect and social emotional learning is from the teaching guide
for the video “RESPECT“
in the 10-part DVD series THE SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER

HOW TO BE
RESPECTFUL

Treat other people the way you want to be treated.

Be courteous and polite.

Listen to what other people have to say.

Don’t insult people, or make fun of them, or call them names.

Don’t bully or pick on others.

Don’t judge people before you get to know them.

TEACHING RESPECT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

If you are using the video, ask the first question before viewing.

1. Are teasing, putdowns, and insults fun or funny?

    Questions to ask after showing Act I

2. What happened in the video so far? What do you think of the way Burna treated her friends?

3. What are some of the disrespectful things Burna did while playing with her friends?

4. Burna justified her rude behavior to her friends by saying that she was just kidding. Does that make it okay? Why, or why not?

5. Why did Burna want to exclude the new kid from the game? How do you think it made him feel? Do you think Burna was acting like a bully? In what way?

6. What excuses did Burna’s friends give for leaving the game? (take care of the hamster, make sandwiches, read a book) Do you think those were their real reasons? If not, what was the real reason? Can you think of some other ways they could have dealt with Burna if they didn’t like the way she was behaving? What would you have said or done if you had been there?

This material is from the teaching guide
for the video “RESPECT“
in the 10-part DVD series THE SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER

7. When Burna’s friends walked away from her, everyone, except Muggsy, made up excuses about why they were leaving. Did it take courage for Muggsy to stand up to Burna and tell her the truth? Why? Do you think the others were right to lie about their reasons? Would you think more highly of them if, like Muggsy, they told Burna the real reason they didn’t want to play with her? Why, or why not?

8. Do you think Burna is aware of how other people feel about the way she treats them? Why?

9. From Burna’s song, it seems she is confused about what she did. List some things you think are unclear in Burna’s thinking. Can you think of a question Burna could ask herself that might help her understand what is going on?

    Questions to ask after showing Act II

10. Why did Socrates ask Burna to throw the boomerang? What message was written on the boomerang? (What goes around comes around) What do you think that means?

11. Socrates told Burna that when she figures out what the message means, she’ll have the answer to her problem. What did he mean by that? Why do you think Socrates refused to tell Burna what the message meant?

12. Diotima asked Burna, “how do you want your friends to treat you? Do you want them to make fun of you, exclude you?” How could this question help Burna understand how her friends are feeling?

13. Why did Diotima give Burna the disrespect alarm? Do you think Burna will use it? How might it help her?

14. Can you predict what Burna might do now after talking to Socrates and Diotima?

    Questions to ask after showing Act III

15. At the beginning of Act 3, Burna’s friends told her about four things she does that they consider disrespectful. What were they? (see the next four questions)

16. Groark told Burna, “you’re always calling us names.” What is so bad about name-calling?

17. Essie told Burna, “I’m tired of all your put-downs. Whenever I make a mistake, you make fun of me.” What is so bad about that?

18. Nubbs told Burna, “it bothers me that you never listen to what anybody else has to say.” What is so bad about that?

19. Muggsy told Burna, “when we’re playing, and new kids want to join in, you leave them out instead of including them.” What is so bad about that?

20. Did Burna learn anything about being more respectful? How can you tell?

21. What did the message on the boomerang mean? (The way you treat others is the way they’ll treat you.) What does that have to do with respect?
Here are some general discussion questions about respect.

General questions about respect:

22. Is there anything you dislike about the way people treat each other here at school? Do you know of any disrespectful behavior? Describe it. How do you feel about it?

23. What do you like most about the way people treat each other here at school? Does it have anything to do with respect?

24. What is a bully? Is bullying an act of disrespect? In what way? Are there bullies here at school? Can someone be a bully without meaning to be? How?

25. How can treating people with respect prevent fights?

26. When you are with a group of kids, what things might other kids do or say that make you feel good? What things make you feel bad?

27. How does treating people with respect affect your friendships?

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To find guides on Teaching Respect and related topics for other grade levels click here.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES to BUILD GOOD CHARACTER

1. What does it mean to treat other people with respect? Have your class brainstorm a list of do’s and don’ts for treating people with respect. Ask for specific examples of each behavior they identify. Compare their list with the one at the top of this page. Hang the list up on the wall as a reminder.

2. Go through each item on the list (#1, above), and have the children describe how Burna did just the opposite. Then ask them what Burna could have done to be more respectful.

3. Make a class contract in which the kids layout a set of rules for having a respectful classroom. What will be the penalties for violating the rules?

4. Brainstorm ways to make your school environment more respectful. Create a list of recommendations, and place them in your school newspaper or on a poster.

5. Have the kids roleplay or use puppets to act out the following situation: Four good friends are planning to spend a day at an amusement park. Two of them want to invite another kid who’s new in school. The other two don’t want to include this person because he/she is different in some way (different race, a “dweeb,” from a foreign country, etc.). After the role play have a class discussion. Then, have four others do another role play changing what it is that’s different about the new kid. Repeat this process changing the difference each time.

6. Bring in articles from newspapers and magazines describing situations in which respect or disrespect are issues. Talk about who is acting respectfully, and who is acting disrespectfully in these situations.

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Other teaching guides in this series:

•  Trustworthiness •  Respect •  Responsibility

•  Fairness •  Caring •  Citizenship

This material is from the guide
for the video teaching “RESPECT“

in the 10-part DVD series THE SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER

TEACHING RESPECT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

1. Summarize the story of the video. Point out major turning points where something one character did affected the other characters.

2. Watch a movie or TV show and write about how the characters treated each other. In what ways were they respectful or disrespectful? Give some specific examples.

3. Write a letter from Burna’s point of view telling someone else what she learned from her friends about respect and disrespect.

4. Draw a picture of Max, and write a description of him. Tell how you would treat him if he wanted to join in a game with you and your friends.

5. Write about an experience you had with bullying. Were you the bully? Were you the victim. Were you just watching? What happened and how did it make you feel?

6. Are kids ever picked on at your school? What do they get picked on about (height, weight, appearance, disability, accent, skin color, etc.)? Exactly how are they picked on? How do you think these kids feel about this? How do you feel about it?

7. In what ways do you treat people with respect? Are there any ways in which you don’t?

8. Write a letter to an imaginary bully, telling this person what he or she is doing that you don’t like, why you don’t like it, and how you want this person to behave instead.

(If you wish to copy or use any material from this website, please click here for Terms of Use.)

Dear Parent,

Your child has just viewed a video entitled The Six Pillars of Character: RESPECT  which depicts and identifies respectful and disrespectful behavior, and teaches that treating people with respect leads to good friendships and positive interpersonal relationships.

Here are some things you can do to reinforce the message of this video and our related learning activities.

• Ask your child to tell you about the video program and what he or she learned from it. • Talk with your child about the importance of treating other people with respect. Make sure he/she knows that it is important to you, and that it will lead to stronger friendships.

• Watch a television program together, and talk about the various ways in which the characters acted respectfully or disrespectfully towards one another. Watch for put-downs, insults, and subtle forms of bullying.

• Help your child become sensitive to his or her own behaviors or language that may be of a disrespectful nature, as he or she deals with siblings or friends

• Remember that you are a powerful role model for your child. When you treat people respectfully, you are teaching respect to your child.

This material is from the teaching guide
for the video “RESPECT“
in the 10-part DVD series THE SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER

Teaching social emotional learning, good character, and mindfulness education

• Both English and Spanish on same DVD.

• Closed Captioned for the Hearing Impaired.

For more information about individual videos in this series, click on the title below.

•  Trustworthiness
•  Respect
•  Responsibility
•  Fairness
•  Caring
•  Citizenship

Wouldn’t this poster or banner look good in your classroom? Click Here!

Meet the

Puppets

Nubbs, Burna, Muggsy, Essie, Groark