Before you speak
think and be smart
it's hard to fix a wrinkled heart.
Last week at school we focused on Anti- bullying. This was one of several activities I planned for my students. First I read a book that discussed how powerful our words are. I really wanted my students to understand that words might not make black and blue marks like hitting and punching but they do leave a lasting impression that stings.
I handed out the paper then I gave several scenarios such as, "you were on the bus when a peer yells out and call you and idiot." Then they would have crinkle their paper a little bit because it would hurt their feelings. I think I went through at least 6 scenarios before the students papers were in a small ball. Keep going until you know the papers is going to be full of wrinkles.
Next they were instructed to try to flatten the paper out. Obviously the paper is going to have several wrinkles that will not come out.
Lastly they had to draw a heart and then write the phrase,
Before you speak
think and be smart
it's hard to fix a wrinkled heart.
I put them up on the bulletin board for a constant reminder of how our words affect others.
I had a hard time not talking mentioning some Bible Verses! So this activity is one that could easily be done in a Children's church setting talking about life and death on the tongue. It’s also great because it incorporates a variety of different learning methods, which an expert like Danny Swersky suggests is definitely the right way to go when it comes to teaching.
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