As school counselors, our role extends beyond providing emotional and academic support to students. We are instrumental in helping them shape their interpersonal skills, particularly those linked to self-esteem and self-advocacy. It’s crucial for students to learn how to express themselves clearly and assertively, especially with their peers. In this blog post, we will walk you through a comprehensive lesson plan for a middle school self-advocacy activity – a simple, no-prep, and interactive approach to teaching students how to speak up with friends.
Teaching Self-Advocacy in Middle School: Why It Matters
Building self-advocacy skills in middle school students can set the stage for a lifetime of self-confidence, effective communication, and healthy relationships. Learning how to speak up assertively, not aggressively, can be a powerful tool for students in navigating the social complexities of adolescence and beyond.
Speaking Up With Friends: A Lesson in Self-Advocacy
The Speaking Up With Friends activity is designed to help students understand the importance of voicing their opinions, feelings, and needs in a respectful and confident manner. This middle school self-advocacy activity uses realistic scenarios to guide students in exploring different ways to communicate effectively and assertively.
Step 1: Introduction
Start the lesson by discussing what self-advocacy is, why it’s essential, and how it relates to self-esteem. Involve students in a conversation about the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness. Highlight the fact that assertiveness is about expressing your feelings and needs respectfully, without infringing on the rights of others.
Step 2: Middle School Self-Advocacy Worksheet
Distribute the Speaking Up With Friends worksheet to each student or partner pair. This worksheet contains a range of scenarios that middle school students commonly encounter, such as disagreements on group project ideas or managing conflicts.
Students should read each scenario, then write or share how they would respond assertively and respectfully. This activity will help them develop practical skills and rehearse for real-life situations.
Step 3: Group Discussion and Role-Play
After students have completed their worksheets, facilitate a group discussion. Allow students to share their responses, and provide constructive feedback on their self-advocacy skills. You may also choose to have students role-play some of the scenarios, with one student playing the advocate and another playing the friend. This interactive element will help students better understand how to put these skills into practice.
Step 4: Reflection and Closing
End the lesson with a reflection on what they have learned. Ask students how they feel about speaking up, how they think their responses will affect their relationships, and in what other scenarios they could use these self-advocacy skills. Reinforce the idea that it takes practice to become comfortable and effective at speaking up and being assertive.
No-Prep Activities for Middle School Self-Advocacy Skills
Here are a few additional activities that require little to no preparation, and can effectively complement the “Speaking Up With Friends” lesson:
- Assertiveness Charades: In this game, students act out different scenarios in an assertive, passive, or aggressive manner. The rest of the class guesses which type of communication they’re portraying.
- Dear Diary: Encourage students to keep a diary or journal of situations where they used or could have used self-advocacy skills. This ongoing activity provides a personal reflection space and can be a useful tool for tracking progress over time.
- Daily Affirmations: Start each day or class with positive affirmations that promote self-esteem and assertiveness. Students can create their own affirmations and share them with the class if they feel comfortable.
In conclusion, nurturing self-advocacy skills in middle school students is an investment in their personal, academic, and social development. By teaching them how to express themselves assertively and respectfully, we can empower them to navigate relationships and advocate for themselves in a myriad of situations. The Speaking Up With Friends activity offers a practical, engaging starting point for this critical journey of self-expression and self-confidence.
Sample Video
Students learn best from watching real students their own age model skills. Try out this sample video-modeling lesson below. We offer our entire Social-Emotional Learning platform free for 30 days here!
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Free Middle School Self-Advocacy Material
