What's So Bad or Good About Conflict?
Grade Levels: 2 - 8
Objectives
- Students will explore how conflict can be negative and positive.
- Students will create a bulletin board about conflict.
Materials
- Chalkboard and chalk (or chart paper and markers)
- White paper
- Crayons
Procedures
- Write "conflict" on the board and ask the class for a definition. (If they need help with a definition, explain that a conflict is a disagreement between two or more people, and give a few examples.)
- Ask the class: What do you think of when you hear the word "conflict"?
- Have the class brainstorm all the associations they have with the word "conflict".
- List their ideas on the board or create a web chart.
- Conduct a class discussion using the following questions:
- Which words are negative? Which are positive? Which are neutral?
- Why do you think there are more negative words about conflict than positive or neutral ones?
- Describe a conflict you've had. Would you say it was positive or negative?
- Can anyone describe a conflict that ended in a positive way (where everyone involved felt good at the end or things changed for the better as a result)?
- After the discussion, ask students to write a sentence about conflict and illustrate it for a What's So Bad or Good About Conflict? bulletin board.
Excerpted from Elementary Perspectives: Teaching Concepts of Peace and Conflict by William J. Kreidler.
Provided by Educators for Social Responsibility
