Kindergarten: Being Assertive

For our final lesson in our skills for learning unit, we discussed being assertive: asking for help in a calm, firm, respectful way. We began our lesson by introducing a new way for students to share ideas called Think, Turn, Tell. When we share using Think, Turn, Tell, the first thing students do is think. I will pose a question to the class and each student must come up with an answer. Once all students show me the silent signal that signifies they have an answer (a silent thumbs up), I instruct students to turn and tell their partners their ideas. One student shares first, and once that group is finished sharing, the other partner is able to turn and tell their partner their ideas. We practiced this new way of sharing by having students share their favorite thing about recess.

Next, the students had a visit from puppy and snail. Snail had been given a classroom job to water the plants, but he could not find the pitcher. He asked Puppy for help, but Puppy did not know where it was either. Puppy advised Snail to ask the teacher  for help, and Snail was scared at first, but finally Puppy convinced Snail that it was okay to ask the teacher because she is here to help. We talked about the importance of the order in Snail's attempt to solve the problem: first he looked for the pitcher himself, then he asked a friend, and finally he asked the teacher.

We spent the remainder of our lesson talking about a picture of a student named Lucy. Lucy was in the library looking for a book about dinosaurs, but she couldn't find it. The teacher was busy helping another student, so Lucy could not ask her for help.  Students used Think, Turn, Tell to discuss different options Lucy could use to solve the problem. Students came up with several ideas: take one more look, ask another student, wait until the teacher has finished and then ask for help. We talked about what to do when we need help: try one more time yourself, then ask a friend, and finally if the friend can't help ask an adult.

Puppy showed the students three different ways to ask for help.

• Passive (looking down, shy): I just can't find the book.
• Aggressive (demanding): Grrr. Just get that book for me!
• Assertive (calm, firm, respectful and confident): Excuse me, can you please help me find the book?

We talked about why the last way was the best way to ask for help, and why the other two ways weren't good. We discussed what it means to be assertive, and what it means to be assertive. We concluded our lesson by having students take turns being assertive when asking for help.