No+Pouring+Paint


 * Submitted By:** Dawn Wilcox
 * Grade:** 3/4


 * Standard(s):** 1D, 3A, and 3B


 * When Taught:** 1st quarter


 * Materials:** none needed


 * Time:** 30 minutes


 * Goals:** Children will have a renewed concept that their actions have an enormous impact on others. We will make a class agreement that we won’t “pour paint” (another form of put-downs) on others in our school family to encourage positive interactions within our community.

1. Begin by describing an imaginary picture you might draw. It might be a landscape with mountains, trees, and a babbling brook. Describe it in detail so the children have a vivid picture. Ask students if they can imagine it clearly. Ask them then to imagine someone coming up to me and pouring paint all over my painting. It is now a mess with no details and a gray blotch in the middle. 2. Ask the children how they felt about that. Sentiments might include sad, mad, angry, and discouraged. 3. Elaborate on the idea that we sometimes pour paint in the way we treat others. Share a story about someone pouring paint on you or your work. I sometimes share a story about my daughter who had a second grade teacher who looked at a drawing she had made and exclaimed, “There is no such thing as purple mountains.” Was that an example of pouring of pouring paint? All agreed that it was. Do you think my daughter wanted to draw after that? Discuss with students how pouring paint hurts and when it happens, we shut down a little inside and it might make us afraid to share our work or feelings. 4. Ask the children for examples of how we might pour paint on others. Some ideas might include being unkind to a sibling, excluding someone on the playground, or laughing at a classmate’s mistake. This is an opportunity to make it clear that everyone has poured paint at one time or another. 5. Ask the class to raise their hands if they like to have paint poured on them. After no hands are raised, ask all to make a class agreement to work very hard throughout the year on not pouring paint on others.
 * Lesson Steps:**


 * Assessments:** Class check regularly, possibly during class meetings.