Introduction
As educators, one of our goals is to help students understand and respect the fact that everyone has their own thoughts and feelings, which we call opinions. It’s essential for children to learn that it’s okay to have different opinions, and that they should be able to express their thoughts without fear of being judged or ridiculed. This blog post will provide you with a no-prep activity, discussion questions, related skills, and next steps to help you teach this valuable concept to your elementary students.
No-Prep Activity
This activity, called “The Opinion Exchange,” requires no preparation or materials from the educator. Here’s how it works:
- Divide the students into pairs.
- Ask each pair to think of a topic they both have opinions about, such as favorite foods, movies, or hobbies.
- Have each student share their opinion on the topic, and explain why they feel that way.
- Encourage the other student to listen attentively and then share their own opinion, even if it’s different.
- After both students have shared, ask them to discuss the reasons behind their opinions and try to understand each other’s perspectives.
- Rotate partners and repeat the process with a new topic.
This activity helps students practice active listening, understanding, and respecting different opinions in a safe and supportive environment.
Discussion Questions
After completing the activity, use these discussion questions to stimulate further conversation and reflection:
- How did it feel to share your opinion with someone who had a different perspective?
- What did you learn about your partner’s opinion that you didn’t know before?
- Why is it important to respect and understand other people’s opinions, even if we don’t agree with them?
- Can you think of a situation where you had a different opinion than someone else, and how you handled it?
- How can we apply the skills we practiced in this activity to other areas of our lives?
Related Skills
Teaching students to respect different opinions is just one aspect of fostering a healthy social-emotional learning environment. Other relevant skills to develop in your students include:
- Active listening
- Empathy and understanding
- Effective communication
- Conflict resolution
- Building and maintaining positive relationships
Next Steps
If you found this activity and discussion helpful, we encourage you to explore more resources and sample materials to support your students’ social-emotional learning journey. Visit Everyday Speech’s sample materials to sign up for free samples of this skill and others. These resources can help you create engaging and impactful lessons that promote understanding, respect, and empathy in your students.
