Celebrate Your Peers!

At a Glance:

Grades:	3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Subject:	SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)
Topic:	Social Awareness
Lesson Length:	40 mins - 1 hour

Standards / Framework:

Students will interview a classmate and create a comic celebrating their unique strengths and passions.

Pair students with someone they don’t know well.

Select a volunteer. Ask the class if they can guess this classmate’s favorite cartoon? Favorite candy? Repeat with several students.
Explain that we often stick to a small group of friends and don’t have the opportunity to really get to know the awesomeness of everyone in our classroom.
Have students spend 10-15 minutes interviewing a classmate using the following prompts or questions of their own:
- What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of school?
- What is something you are really good at that no one really knows?
- Where are some of your favorite places to go?
- What is one dream or goal you hope to accomplish in your life?
- What is your dream future career?

Have students create a comic featuring this classmate which includes:
- Their classmate's avatar.
- A background that represents their classmate's favorite place to go.
- Outfits, poses and thought or speech bubbles that reflect their classmate's interests.
- Use the classmate's name to name the comic and provide a caption with words describing their personality and characteristics.

Create a Celebration Wall featuring each student as a member of the class community.
Reflect:
- Why is it important to know more about our peers than what we see or what’s on the surface?
- How does it feel to know that someone in class knows you better?

Comic to print or display: Comic.
Suggested Readings:
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman. (Grades 4-5)
- Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman. (Grades 6-7)
- Real Kids Real Stories Real Change by Garth Sundem. (All grades)