Introduction

It’s essential for students to learn how to react when things don’t go as they planned or hoped. Staying calm and following the group’s decisions, even when they don’t align with personal preferences, is a valuable social-emotional learning (SEL) skill. This ability helps students build resilience, develop empathy, and maintain harmonious relationships with their peers. In this blog post, we’ll outline a no-prep activity that educators can use to teach students how to stay calm and follow the group when situations don’t turn out as expected.

No-Prep Activity

This activity, called “The Unexpected Outcome,” requires no preparation or materials from the educator. It’s a simple, engaging way to help students practice staying calm and following the group in a low-stakes environment.

1. Divide the class into small groups of 4-5 students.
2. Assign each group a simple task, such as choosing a group name, picking a favorite animal, or deciding on a class game to play during recess.
3. Give the groups a few minutes to discuss and agree on their choice.
4. Once the groups have made their decisions, announce that you will choose the outcome for each group, ignoring the group’s initial choices. For example, if a group chose “Lions” as their favorite animal, you might say, “The favorite animal for this group is now ‘Giraffes.'”
5. Observe how students react to the unexpected change and encourage them to stay calm and accept the new outcome.
6. After the activity, gather the class for a group discussion about their experiences and feelings during the exercise.

Discussion Questions

Use these discussion questions to help students reflect on the activity and explore the importance of staying calm and following the group:

1. How did you feel when the teacher announced the unexpected change? Was it difficult to accept?
2. What strategies did you use to stay calm and follow the group’s new decision?
3. Can you think of a real-life situation where you needed to stay calm and follow the group, even if you didn’t agree with the decision? How did you handle it?
4. Why is it important to stay calm and follow the group in certain situations? How does it benefit the individual and the group as a whole?
5. How can practicing this skill help you in your daily life and future interactions with others?

Related Skills

There are several other SEL skills that complement the ability to stay calm and follow the group. These include:

• Active listening: Paying full attention to the speaker, showing empathy, and understanding the message being communicated.
• Conflict resolution: Resolving disagreements and finding solutions that meet the needs of all parties involved.
• Self-regulation: Managing one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others, enabling better communication and stronger relationships.

Next Steps

If you found this no-prep activity helpful and would like to access more resources for teaching SEL skills, we encourage you to sign up for free samples from Everyday Speech. Our sample materials cover a wide range of SEL topics, providing educators with engaging and effective tools to foster students’ personal and social growth.