For our first lesson in our new rotation, we discussed Conflicting Feelings. We started off our lesson with a Brain Builder called Switch It Up, where pairs were combined into groups of fours, and partner A's and partner B's took turns asking each other how they felt for each scenario. Any time both A's or both B's had the same answer, the pair would switch places, moving them to a new partner. This Brain Builder emphasized the idea that people don't always have the same feelings about something.
We also talked about how people can have more than one feeling about something at the same time. We talked about a girl named Eva, who was feeling both curious and nervous about Oobleck, a new substance her teacher had brought in for a lesson about liquids and solids. The teacher gave students the opportunity to touch the Oobleck if they would like, and Eva wasn't sure if she wanted to. Students identified feeling clues for both curious and nervous, and also shared why she might be feeling each of those feelings. Students then had to think about each feeling by itself and decide whether they would touch the Oobleck if they had that feeling. Many students said they would touch the Oobleck if they felt curious, but they wouldn't if they felt nervous. We talked about what it means to have conflicting feelings, and why this was making it hard for Eva to decide what to do.
We brainstormed ways Eva could help herself decide: watching to see what others do, telling the teacher how she was feeling, or telling a friend. Eva ultimately decided to tell the teacher how she is feeling, and the teacher says it is okay if she doesn't want to touch it. Eva doesn't end up touching the Oobleck, and some others students make the same decision.
