What I Think and Feel Matter

Students will be able to list at least three things or activities that they like and at least three things or activities that they don’t like.

I can identify things and activities I like.

I can identify things and activities I do not like.

Exit Ticket

“Self-Respect means feeling good about yourself.”

“Self-Confidence is knowing I can do things.”

Explain to the students that you will now hand them the posters that they worked on in class last time [hand out the posters] and a copy of their Exit Ticket from Lesson 2 [hand each student a copy of their Exit Ticket]. Tell them that they will cut out what they can do, and what they are good at, and glue these words to their poster.

Once complete, have one of the teachers show their poster to the group. Have the teacher read their poster aloud and tell the students that they feel good about themselves when they look at their poster. Ask students if they would like a chance to show their poster to the group. Encourage students to practice self-confidence skills (eye contact, speaking clearly, etc.) when showing off their poster.  

Put posters away and let students know that self-esteem and self-confidence are going to be important words for today’s lesson. You may want to keep the terms and definitions posted throughout class via a projector, whiteboard, or anchor chart.

Our likes and dislikes can help us decide a lot: what we want to do, who we want to spend time with, what we want our lives to look like. Your interests matter and you can always speak your mind. In this class you will practice communicating with each other about their likes and dislikes. You will practice honoring and respecting each other whether or not we like the same things.

Say: “Let’s start by thinking about some of the things that happen during the day.” Using your students’ schedule, list out a few of the day’s activities in a column. Create two adjacent columns, one that says “like” and the other that says “dislike” or “don’t like”. Discuss each part of the day and poll the students. Ask, “Who likes lunch? Who doesn’t like lunch?” Use this as an opportunity to informally assess your students’ preferences and encourage them to be honest.

Reinforce to students that everyone likes and dislikes different things, and part of having self-esteem and self-confidence is being proud of your interests.

To check for understanding, have students do thumbs up and thumbs down about a few of their day-to-day activities. Example: lunch, reading, etc.  Teachers may need to use an alternative strategy to assess if there are concerns that students answers will not accurately reflect their real answers.

Note for teachers: As you discuss, you may notice that some parts of the day aren’t enjoyable, but are necessary. If you can, talk about how some things must be done even when we dislike them and emphasize the purpose of these things.  For example, some students may not like reading or find reading to be very difficult. Explain that, though challenging, reading is a very important skill to help us navigate the world and get what we want. Reading is something that we may not enjoy but, most of the time, is worth learning to do. Reinforce that it is always okay to dislike things and, whenever possible, be on the lookout for opportunities to collaborate with students to create accommodations or scaffolding to aide in creating successes during parts of the day that are challenging.  

2. Place the tape, cones or another divider down the center of the room.

3. Explain to the students that one side of the room will have “LIKE” and the other side will have “DON’T LIKE”.

4. Explain that you are going to draw “Do You Like?” cards from a basket and students will need to move to the side of the room that reflects how they feel about the activity written on the “Do You Like?” cards.

5. Draw the first card and help students move to the correct side of the room. Model what to do and ask students if they do or do not like each thing to make sure they are understanding how to play.

6. Once students have moved to the correct side, ask them to look around and take note of other people who like (or do not like) the same thing as them. Tell them that one way to make a friend is to find things in common. Explain that we are figuring out not only what we like and dislike, but what our classmates like and dislike, also. This is a first step in making friendships.

7. As you play, keep track of things that students dislike. Choose three or four items from the “Do You Like?” cards to facilitate the next part of the activity.

8. Assign a partner to each student and have them sit together. Using the three or four pre-selected “Do You Like?” cards, explain that you noticed many students didn’t like the things listed. Explain that we will now practice communicating when we dislike something. Explain that learning to tell someone how you feel about something is an important part of learning to be a healthy and safe adult.

9. With your co-teacher, conduct a short role-play using one of the cards. Have the co-teacher ask you if you’d like to do the activity listed, and respectfully (but clearly) decline. Depending on the card, you might simply reflect how to respectfully hear the person’s preference, or you could model how to accommodate them. For example, if the person doesn’t like pepperoni on their pizza, you may offer a different topping, ask their favorite, or compromise with a pizza that has half pepperoni and half something else. Then have students practice in their small group doing the same role-play. Be sure to take time to ensure that each student has the tools needed (iPads, communication boards, etc.) to clearly communicate their preference.

Reaffirm that each of your students’ likes and dislikes matter.

Have each student share one like and dislike. If they can, have students explain why. After each student shares, thank them for their opinion and offer validation or agreement when relevant.

Pass out the Exit Tickets for students to complete.