Learning 
Expectations

 9. Acquire personal safety skills

9.1 Implement techniques for resolving conflict and reducing stress within a school setting
9.3 Apply effective problem solving and decision making models to make safe and healthy choices

1. To open up the unit on conflict resolution, try some of the "Conflict Resolution Activities." 
2. 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.)
• 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)? 
3. Pair-Share About a Conflict You've Experienced.
• In pairs students will take turns talking and listening. 
• Give each person two or three minutes to respond to the following question: What was a recent conflict you experienced? Who was involved? What did he or she do? How did it turn out? 
• After each partner has had a chance to speak, ask: What was that like? Did your partner really listen? What made you think so? What kind of body language shows that someone is listening (eye contact, facing the speaker, leaning forward)? What were the outcomes of some of the conflicts? 
4. Give each student a copy of the “Survey About Conflict and Me”.
• Have each student fill it out. Remind students to be as honest as possible. 
• Assure them that other students will not see their responses. 
• The survey provides you with a good database for creating role-plays and conflict scenarios to use in conjunction with other exercises.
5. Teach the Problem Solving Method.
• Explain that when there is a conflict, there is a problem. 
• When trying to resolve conflicts, it helps to have a way to think about the problem and to attempt to solve it. 
• Place the following steps on the board: 
• Define the problem. 
• Brainstorm solutions. 
• Choose a solution and act on it. 
• Have student volunteers act out the “Tape Recorder Fight”. When they have finished, take the class through the problem solving approach. 
• When the class has decided which solution it likes best, have the players act it out. Is it a win-win resolution?
• There may be several solutions the class likes. The actors may try acing out all of them.
• Once older students have the idea of conflict resolution skits, have them work in small groups to create their own. They can present these to the class. They may even want to present them to younger children. 
• Once all of the skits have been performed, conduct a class discussion using the following questions: 
• What makes the conflicts in the skits escalate? 
• What words can people say to indicate that they want to stop the fight and try to solve the problem? 
• Have you ever had a conflict like this one? How did you resolve it? 
6. Ways to resolve conflicts:
• Explain that there are many ways people resolve conflicts, some of which have names. 
• Read the “Resolution Vocabulary” handout with the class, discussing each of the terms.
• Hand out the “Identify the Resolution” handout and read the following situations to the class. 
• Have students identify what type of conflict resolution is being used. 
• Answers to "Identify the Resolution":

A. NEGOTIATE
B. ARBITRATE
C. COMMUNICATE
D. MEDIATE 
E. LEGISLATE 
F. LITIGATE
 
• Conclude this activity by having a class discussion using the following questions: 
• Have you used one of these conflict resolution approaches? If so, describe the situation. 
• What are some other ways of resolving conflicts that are not on this handout? (compromise, problem solving, competing, using chance) 
• To take the discussion even further, read the poem "Ations" on page 59 of Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic. 

1. Conflict Resolution Activity List
2. Survey About Conflict and Me
3. Tape Recorder Fight Role Play
4. Resolution Vocabulary
5. Identify the Resolution Worksheet
6. Ations poem by Shel Silverstein

Performance
Indicators

Implement techniques for resolving conflict.
Apply effective problem solving and decision making skills.
 

Here is a list of five to ten minute activities that are intended to promote positive community building. In all activities, students should have the opportunity to pass if they so desire. 

Find a soft ball. Have the class stand in a circle. Begin by completing the sentence, "I feel angry when ..." Ask for a volunteer who is willing to restate what you just said. Toss that student the ball. That student restates what you said, then completes the sentence for herself. She then tosses the ball to someone else, who repeats what she said, then completes the sentence for himself, and so on. 

Pass out markers and 5x8 index cards. Ask each student to write on the card in large letters one word that describes how he or she is feeling right now. Then ask students to hold up their cards and look at the variety of responses. Point out how rare it is for different people to bring the same feelings to an experience or situation. Invite students to share why they wrote down the words that they did. 

Have students complete the following sentence: "A time I got something I wanted was when ..." 

Place yourself in the middle of the room and say, "Imagine that I represent conflict. Think about how you usually react when you experience a conflict personally or witness a conflict happening nearby. Then place yourself, in relation to me, somewhere in the room in a way that indicates your first response to conflict or disagreement. Think about your body position, the direction that you're facing, and the distance from conflict."  Once students have found a position relative to you in the room, ask individuals to explain why they are standing where they are. You might also want to ask, "If this represents your first reaction, what might your second reaction be, after thinking about the conflict?" 

Go around the group and have students answer: "What is something you have that you would put up a serious fight for--even risk your life for--if someone tried to take it away?" (This can be a material thing, like a gold chain, or something intangible, like a good reputation.) Then ask: "Why is this so important to you?" 

Have students describe a time they felt they were being taken advantage of and they stood up for themselves. 

Cut up a large quantity of 4x4 construction paper squares in a wide variety of colors. Be sure to have plenty of red, black, brown, and gray. Ask each student to choose a color or group of colors that she thinks represents conflict. Either in the large group or in smaller groups of five or six, have participants share the colors they chose and why they chose them. (If you split up into smaller groups, come back together at the end and have volunteers share with the whole group which colors they chose and why.) 

Go around the group asking each student to respond to this question: "If you saw a fight starting in the street between two people you didn't know at all, what would you do?" 

Go around the group, asking each student to complete the sentence, "When I get into a conflict, I usually ..." 

When filling this out be as honest as possible! 

1. Most people fight or argue when they:
2. Most people fight or argue over:
3. One good thing people get from arguing or fighting is:
4. One bad thing about arguing and fighting is:
5. People generally respond to conflicts by (list two):
6. I fight or argue when:
7. I get upset or angry when other students:
8. I make others angry when I:
9. When I'm talking to someone else who is really angry or upset, the most important thing to do is:
10. When I'm really angry or upset with someone, the most important thing for me to do is:
11. When I'm upset at, mad at, or bothered by another student I can (list three):
12. When I have a disagreement or conflict with someone, we can agree to:

  http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2961.html

Characters:
Student 1: Wants to use the tape recorder
Student 2: Is using the tape recorder 
Scene: A classroom 

Script:
Student 1: Quick! I've got to use the tape recorder! 
Student 2: But I'm using it now. I'm listening to this story. 
Student 1: That's not important. We need it for this play we're doing. 
Student 2: Can I be in the play? 
Student 1: No-we already have enough people. There's no room for you. 
Student 2: (pauses) I'm using the tape recorder. 
Student 1: Don't be a jerk! You can listen to that story anytime. We really need it now! 
Student 2: So do I. 
Student 1: No you don't. See if I do anything for you ever again. You slob! You pig! You jerk! 
Student 2: Oh! I'm telling on you! 
Student 1: I'm telling on you too, creep face! 

  http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-3025.html

COMMUNICATE

Some conflicts start because people misunderstand each other. Talking things out and explaining might take care of it. 

When two or more people decide to work out a conflict themselves, they might follow a set of steps. The steps help them work out the conflict or negotiate. 

Sometimes people want to work out a problem but have trouble negotiating. They might ask someone to help them. That person is called a mediator. He or she mediates the conflict by helping the people work it out. The mediator does not tell the people what to do; he or she helps them decide for themselves. 

Sometimes a mediator does solve people's problems. Then he or she isn't called a mediator. He or she is called an arbitrator. When people ask an arbitrator to help them, they must agree to do whatever the arbitrator suggests. 

When people can't work out their conflict themselves, they may go to a court and have a trial. They hire lawyers and go before a judge. A judge is like an arbitrator. The lawyers try to convince the judge that their client is right. The judge decides who is right according to the law and decides what solution there should be. 

To legislate is to make something the law or a rule. Some kinds of conflicts cause people to try to change laws or rules so the problem won't happen again. 

http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2989.html

http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/~95002353/AV-98/library/shel/ations.htm