Applying Hardiness Training to Second Grade Curriculum - Shiu-Sian Angel Hsu

I am teaching a combination class of first and second grades. All my students are from Hispanic families, receiving free or reduced lunch. Their parents speak limited or no English at all. About one third of my students are overweight which may be due to their food choice and lack of proper exercise. Although they have loving and caring parents, these parents appear to not have enough quality time to educate their youngsters. Therefore, the students spend most of their off-school time watching television and eating fatty snacks.

From the hardiness training seminars, I have learned that hardiness is a particular combination of attitudes and skills that facilitate resiliency under stress and adversity. A personâs coping skill, social support, relaxation, nutrition and physical activity all contribute to his ability to turn stresses and adversity into opportunities (Khoshaba & Maddi). With the particular background of my students, I believe that they need such virtue as hardiness.

Two objectives of the hardiness seminar are (1) to communicate the nature of hardiness through introduction of the hardiness history in theory, research, and practice, with emphasis on the effectiveness of hardiness training with the high-risk community students and (2) to convey specifics of hardiness training by having participants go through some of the exercises used with working adults. Having completed the hardiness seminar, I understand the theoretical background and the effectiveness of hardiness training. Additionally, I have had some specific "personal experience" by having gone through the exercise in the hardiness training. Such knowledge and experience about hardiness is very valuable for me to prepare an introduction to my students.

In this curriculum unit, I will adopt stories from second gradersâ reading textbook and incorporate them with coping skills and social support skills into comprehensible lessons. I will also design many interesting and practicable activities in health science and physical education classes to teach my students relaxation, nutrition, and exercises. Hopefully, my students will be able to grasp the essence of hardiness personality. With constant practice inside and outside the classroom, hardiness will become rooted in their early life, and it will eventually enhance their health, stamina, morale, conduct, and performance. I truly believe if we nurture our students with hardiness during their earliest possible age that we can expect not only fewer at-risk students but also more positive and promising generations in the future. Prevention is better than cure. I hope I can prepare my students with the best tool, hardiness personality, for their whole life.

My goals and objectives of this unit will be:

Coping

I. Students will learn problem-solving strategies.

Objectives:

• Students will identify the problem of the main characters from the reading sections.

• Students will develop oral report skills through "If I were ______ (the character), I would _____" activities.

• Students will predict the outcomes of different choices.

II. Students will develop skills to give and get social support.

Objectives:

• Students will learn to express themselves effectively.

• Students will learn to resolve social conflict.

1. Students will become aware of signs of stress and be able to counteract them.

• Students will learn to relax by deep breathing.

• Students will learn to relax by muscle relaxation.

1. Students will become aware of how nutrition can affect their bodies.

• Students will learn to distinguish good eating habits from bad eating habits.

• Students will learn to make healthy choices.

1. Students will develop healthy exercise habits.

• Students will learn the importance of physical activities.

• Students will learn to enjoy healthy physical activities.

We all know that students who like school have a better chance of success in life than those who do not know how to cope in school. School is the main place for students to interact with others and to extend their knowledge during their growing stage. It is essential that basic skills are provided to students during their school years. There is usually at least one "tough" student in each class who is aggressive, withdrawing, or hard to get along with. From the story Henry and Mudge, students will first identify the problem, then solve the problems by open discussion.

Henry and Mudge

Henry and Mudge describes a seven-year-old boy who is the only child in the family and lives on a street where there is no friends to play with. Usually he goes home alone feeling threatened by neighborsâ dogs or bullies. He eagerly and politely asked his parents to buy him a dog for his company. After he has the dog Mudge, he is happier and more relaxed than before.

The notion of "coping" will be introduced to students as "trying to solve a problem." Before reading, students will be asked the questions:

1. Does anyone have a pet dog?
2. What do you do with your dog?
3. Why do you want to keep a dog?
4. How did you feel before you had the dog?
5. How do you feel now?

1. What was Henryâs problem?
2. How did he solve it? (How did he cope with it?)
3. What if Henryâs parents had not bought him the dog he wanted?
4. Without Mudge, what can Henry do to feel safe?
5. Can you think of other outcomes that might happen to Henry?

Students will discuss what a bully does to other kids and share their own experiences. Then, they will have a role-play for the story. The student that is usually aggressive will be assigned the role of Henry, so he/she can experience being offended. In this role-play activity, aggressive students will have a chance to put themselves in othersâ shoes and talk about how they like to be treated. With open discussion, students will subsequently become aware of how their peers feel and hopefully change their own aggressive behaviors.

From my observation, role-play is a very powerful way to motivate students to read stories actively and get themselves involved in learning. If students can take turns to play different roles of the same story, they will learn to cope with their peers and try to solve problems. The process of their developing strategies is essential to their cognition of coping.

Students will be divided into small groups of four and play the game "If I were _______, I would _______." After small group discussion, the speaker of each character will report orally.

"If I were Henry, I would _______ because _______."

"If I were Henryâs parent, I would _______ because _______."

"If I were the bully, I would _______ because _______."

"If I were a friend of the bully, I would _______ because _______."

"If I were the parent of the bully, I would _______ because _______."

"If I were the teacher of the bully, I would _______ because _______."

"If I were a sister/brother of the bully, I would _______ because _______."

The purpose of this game is to make students think through a stressful situation and help them find a deeper understanding of the situation, so they have an idea of how to deal with it. For example, one of my students said, "If I were Henry, I would show the bully my spinning kicks because the bully would be too daunted to bother me again." Through this game, students will learn to focus on what they can do instead of what they cannot do. After this game, students will be reminded not to do to others whatever they do not like their friends do to them.

Students will think about themselves by keeping a weekly journal. In the journal, they should answer the following questions:

1. When do I feel happy?
2. When do I feel sad?
3. When do I feel proud?
4. When do people like to be with me?
5. When do people dislike me?
6. When do I feel special?

Students are encouraged to read Leo the Late Bloomer and The Little Engine That Could and write a guided book report.

Guided Questions:

1. Who is in the story?
2. How do they feel?
3. What is their problem?
4. When does the problem happen?
5. How do they solve the problem?
6. Do they get any support to solve the problem?
7. How would you feel if you were Leo the Late Bloomer?
8. What would happen if the Little Engine had failed to tug the circus train to the village? Would the boys and girls be very disappointed?
9. Would you rather be Leo the Late Bloomer or the Little Engine? Why?
10. Write your favorite part of each story.

Calling names and fighting are the most common offenses among school kids. When people do not get along, they either stop talking to each other or they fight. If they have good social skills, they will know what to do when there is a conflict.

In the story The Best Friends Club, children will read about two best friends breaking up because one of them is very bossy and has to tell everyone how to do everything. To all children, friendship is important. By reading the story, students can easily relate to their own experiences.

The Best Friends Club

Lizzie and Harold were best friends. They played together. They shared candy and walked home from school together. Lizzie started a best friends club with only Harold and herself as members. Lizzie made up all the rules for the club. When Lizzie was not invited to Douglasâs birthday because she was in a different class, she did not want Harold to go either. She even did not allow Douglas to join the club. Eventually, Harold said, "This club is no fun," and he quit. Lizzie became lonely and sad. However, a ball game played by all three changed Lizzieâs attitude. Finally, Lizzie invited Douglas to be the first member, and she tore up her list of rules and changed the clubâs name into "The No Rules Club."

Students will read the story silently at their own pace. Then, they will be asked to think about the story and answer the following questions:

1. Who are the characters in this story?
2. What is the problem?
3. What happens?
4. What is the outcome?
5. What is the ending?

Students will be divided into groups of three to play the roles of Lizzie, Harold, and Douglas. The first group will act according to the story. The following groups will be asked to express Lizzieâs message in a more appropriate way.

Activity: Friendsâ Interview

Purpose: Students will learn how to make friends, how to get a best friend, how to keep her/ him, and what a best friend is like.

Guided Questions:

1. My name is _______. What is your name?
2. Do you have friends?
3. What do you do with your friends?
4. Who is your best friend?
5. Why is he/she your best friend?
6. Is there anything you do not like about your best friend?
7. What is that?
8. How do you deal with that?
9. Do you have to like everything your best friend does or likes?
10. Have you ever got angry at your best friend?
11. Why did you get angry at him/her?
12. How did you work out your conflict?
13. Do you think you will have other conflicts any more?
14. What would be the best things to do if there is another conflict?

Students will observe and imitate their classmatesâ body language.

Activity: Students will play the game "Can you guess who I am?"

Purpose: Students will practice how to give and get social support from their friends.

Procedure:

1. One student will draw a raffle ticket with a classmateâs name on it, then act like that classmate without telling the name.
2. Other students will guess who the acting student is acting like.
3. The whole class will discuss how they figure it out and what makes them think so.
4. The class will share their opinions about what peopleâs reaction would be. For example, students will be asked "What do you think your friend would do since he/she is always teased by other students?"

Before the end of second grade, students are encouraged to think about the coping skills and social support skills in the following stories:

Princess Pooh

Patty Jean is jealous of her sister until she trades places with her and gets much more than she ever bargained for.

Swimmy

In this classic tale, a little fish named Swimmy shows a group of other fish how teamwork can help to overcome their problems.

Jamaica Tag-Along

Who will Jamaica play with when her older brother wonât let her "tag-along" with him?

Angel Child, Dragon Child

A new school. A student from another country. A young Vietnamese girl and a classmate learn about each other.

Willieâs Not the Hugging Kind

Willie wants to hug, but no one hugs Willie anymore. What can Willie do?

Best Wishes , Ed

How will Ed ever get back to the island where all his friends are?

Lukaâs Quilt

Luka and her grandmother have a fight. Will they ever be close friends again?

Students will be divided into groups of five to make a list of what they can do if they get bored. The group that generates most ideas wins.

Examples:

1. Make a picture dictionary
2. Count and write to 1000
3. Draw a picture
4. Keep daily journal
5. Write to friends
6. Make a wish list
7. Read a book
8. Record personal reading
9. Listen to music
10. Jump rope and exercise
11. Roll in the grass
12. Clean the house
13. Go swimming
14. Ride a bike
15. Have a picnic
16. Eat ice cream
17. Go fishing
18. Do a good deed
19. Build a sand castle
20. Sing
21. Brighten someoneâs day
22. Play in the park
23. Play with your pet
24. Learn something ne
25. Keep a promise
26. Whistle a tune
27. Smile
28. Make someone else smile
29. Dress your stuff animals
30. Take a nap

For elementary school students, it may be hard to get to or stay asleep the night before school starts. Some are anxious to meet the new teacher and new friends, while others are too excited about meeting their old friends to calm down. These are some of the signs of stress and strain along with sweaty palms, muscle tightness, headaches, heart racing, stomach rumbling or nauseated, loss of appetite or craving from food, irritability, mind racing, difficulty concentrating. Very often, they will be told to relax without being taught how.

In this section, I will teach students to relax by deep breathing, muscle relaxation in health science class.

Deep Breathing

Taking a deep breath helps us inhale oxygen into the lowest portion of the lungs. We need oxygen to get down to this lower lung area so that our blood gets sufficient oxygen before it travels throughout our entire body. In other words, we need to breathe from the abdomen. When we breathe deeply, slowly, regularly, we can get so relaxed that we begin to feel sleepy.

The following steps are what we will do to relax by deep breathing (HardiTraining).

1. Lie on the floor, and close your eyes,
2. Place your right hand over your chest, and left hand just below your belly button,
3. Inhale to the count of 5 as you gently imagine your are filling the inside of a balloon.
4. Hold for 2 second, and then?
5. Part your lips slightly and, with a controlled hissing sound slowly but out the air from the "neck of" the balloon (your mouth). Exhale to the count of 5 (Using the fingers on the hand or your abdomen) while you engage in this activity.
6. Repeat this sequence for 15 minutes.

When we feel nervous or upset, muscles in our body become tight, and blood flow to the tense area decreases. Thus, we feel the pain. If we can bring blood flow back to the tight muscles, then we can relax our muscles and soothe the pain.

Before we relax our muscles, we need to identify areas with muscle tension. It is necessary to review body parts before students learn the muscle group.

Muscle Groups:

• Legs
• Thighs and Buttocks
• Stomach
• Chest
• Arms
• Back
• Neck
• Jaw
• Tongue
• Lips
• Cheeks
• Nose
• Eyes
• Forehead

To teach muscle relaxation, we can ask students to tighten each set of muscles, then let go the muscle tension in the muscle group. Students can follow the sequence step by step:

1. Tighten the muscle group to a maximum degree,
2. Notice what it feels like when this set of muscles tighten
3. Let go the muscle tension, and notice the difference between tense and relaxed muscles.

Students will play the game "Simon Says."

Simon says, "Tighten your tongue muscle and make a loud click."

"Relax your leg muscles."

Almost every day, two or three of my students bring bags of chips or puffs to share with other students during recess. Students at this age are growing. They need enough healthy foods and appropriate exercise to help them grow strong. About one-third of my students are overweight. They need to learn how and what to eat to stay healthy.

I will adopt "Healthy Me" nutrition education program by Dairy Council of California in the health science class.

Guided Questions:

Students will learn the food groups from the Food Guide Pyramid.

Activity: Each student will cut out food pictures from grocery advertisement and glue them onto the correct food group.

Students will learn to balance meals. A balanced meal must have at least one food from each of the five good groups.

Activity: Each student will be given a paper plate on which to draw a balanced meal they would like to eat. Then, students will be asked to label the foods with the names of the food groups in which they belong. Last, the students will exchange plates and check to see if the meals are balanced.

Students will discuss snacks and learn to choose snacks from the food groups.

Guided Questions:

1. When do you like to have snacks?
2. What do you like to eat as snacks?
3. Why are foods from the food groups good for snacks? (Food group foods give us nutrients as well as energy. And food group snacks can help us to balance meals.)
4. What are some food-group foods eaten as snacks? (Celery with peanut butter, cheese and tortilla, a cucumber, cereal and low-fat milk, a glass of low-fat milk, a glass of tomato juice, an apple, a banana, an orange.)
5. What food-group foods would make good snack instead of chips? (tortillas, rice cakes, nuts, crackers.)

Extra reading materials:

1. Gregory, The Terrible Eater

1. Never Take a Pig to Lunch and Other Poems about the Fun of Eating
2. The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body

Physical Activity

Physical education is a very important part of a studentâs elementary education. One of the main reasons for the teaching of physical education is to instill a willingness to exercise. Therefore, it is essential for the students to understand the benefits in participating in a lifelong program of exercise and physical fitness. Physical fitness is a bodyâs ability to function well.

Students will learn the benefits of physical activities by brainstorming.

Physical activities can help us

1. grow strong,
2. become flexible and increase range of motion,
3. lower the risk of back problems associated with weak bones,
4. become agile,
5. improve maximum oxygen intake,
6. improve cardiac output,
7. improve the bloodâs ability to carry oxygen,
8. lower the risk of heart disease by strengthening the heart muscle,
9. lower pulse and blood pressure,
10. lower the concentration of fat in both the body and the blood,
11. manage stress,
12. increase energy and enthusiasm for living,
13. resist serious and chronic disease,
14. boost our immune system,
15. maintain a desirable weight, and
16. improve appearance.

Students will learn to coordinate the movement of their arms and legs.

Activity: Jump rope

Procedure:

1. Students will divide themselves into groups of four.
2. One student from each group will stand at the same corner of the basketball court. In other words, all students standing at the same corner are from different teams.
3. The students will jump rope to the second corner and give the rope to their next team member, and so on.
4. The team that complete jumping rope around the court first wins.

Khoshaba, Deborah & Salvatore Maddi. HardiTraining. Vol. I & Vol. II. Hardiness Institute, Inc., 1998.

Healthy Choices, Healthy Me. Nutrition Education Program, Dairy Council of California, 1998.

Barrett, Joyce Durham. Willie's Not the Hugging Kind. Willie wants to hug, but no one hugs Willie anymore. What can Willie do?

Guback, Georgia. Luka's Quilt. Luka and her grandmother have a fight. Will they ever be close friends again?

Havill, Juanita. Jamaica Fog - Along. Who will Jamaica play with when her older brother won't let her "tag-along" with him?

Kraus, Robert. Leo the Late Bloomer.

Lionni, Leo. Swimming. In this classic tale, a little fish named Swimming shows a group of other little fish how teamwork can help to overcome their problems.

Muldoon, Kathleen M. Princess Pooh. Patty Jean is jealous of her sister until she trades places with her and gets much more than she ever bargained for.

Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge. Henry was lonely - he had no brothers, no sisters, and no friends on his street - but that was before Mudge!

Stevenson, James. Best Wishes, Ed. How will Ed ever get back to the island where all his friends are?

Surat, Michele Maria. A new school. A student from another country. A young Vietnamese girl and a classmate learn about each other.

Whinthrop, Elizabath. The Best Friends Club. Three is a crowd. Or is it? Lizzie discovers that in giving up one friendship, she could possibly lose two.

Write what you do well on the left.

Write what you do not do well on the right.

Choose Your Own Food.