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On Purpose Plan

Learners with weaker social judgement have a difficult time accurately perceiving the intentions of others and understanding whether something was done accidentally or on purpose. Especially powerful between siblings, this skill ends many conflicts caused by misunderstood intentions.

Preview an SEL skills lesson: On Purpose Plan

1 Show the video to your students

<INTRODUCTION>

Narrator: It can be hard to tell when things happen by accident or if they’re done on purpose.

<Animated scene>

Boy2: (spills drink on Boy1)

Boy1: (thought is upset)

Boy2: I’m sorry!

Narrator: To help us figure out whether something was done on purpose or not, we can use the On Purpose Plan.

Boy1: (inner thought) Did he want to hurt my feelings?

Narrator: If someone plans to hurt another person’s feelings, that is On Purpose. If someone hasn’t planned it and it just happened, it was an Accident.

Boy1: (inner thought) No. I think it was an accident.

 

<SKILLS>

Narrator: To use the On Purpose Plan, we can:

Look at the other person’s reactions. We can tell if someone has planned something by looking at how they react. 

Think about their facial expression, tone of voice, and actions. Do they look surprised or angry that this happened?

Let’s see how Eric uses the On Purpose Plan.

 

<SCENE 1 – classroom>

Eric: (struggling with his binder) I can’t get my binder open.

Kiara: (notices Eric) Here, let me help you. (gets Eric’s binder)

Eric: Thanks.

Kiara: (rips a page from Eric’s binder) Oh no! The paper ripped a little.

Eric: (inner thought) Oh no, my paper ripped! (takes a deep breath) But… this is a small problem. I don’t need to get upset. I can tell Kiara didn’t mean to rip it on purpose.

Eric: (to Kiara, shrugs shoulders) It’s okay.

Kiara: I’m so sorry, Eric. Let me get you some tape. (leaves to get tape)

Eric: Okay, thanks.

 

<FROM MY VIEW>

Eric: I felt upset that my paper ripped, but I used the On Purpose Plan. I noticed how Kiara reacted. She looked surprised and upset when the paper ripped. This helped me realize that Kiara didn’t rip the paper on purpose. It was an accident, so I shouldn’t be upset with her.

Narrator: When something happens and upsets us, we can use the On Purpose Plan to figure out if the action was on purpose or not. Eric watched Kiara’s reaction to the paper ripping. She looked surprised that the paper ripped. Kiara also said “Oh no!” when it happened, which means she didn’t mean to rip the paper. Even though Eric was upset, he used the On Purpose Plan to figure out that the paper ripping was an accident. Eric stayed calm and did not get upset with Kiara.

 

<WHAT DID WE LEARN?>

So, what did we learn?

If someone plans to hurt another person’s feelings, that is On Purpose. If someone hasn’t planned it and it just happened, it was an Accident.

To use the On Purpose Plan, we can:

Look at the other person’s reactions. We can tell if someone has planned something by looking at how they react.

Think about their facial expressions, tone of voice, and actions. Do they look surprised or angry that this happened?

2 Review with the Companion Worksheet
3 Apply new skills with activities & games!

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Other SEL materials on On Purpose Plan
On Purpose Plan Introduction Video
On Purpose Plan Introduction

Elementary School

On Purpose Plan Question Prompts Activity
On Purpose Plan Question Prompts

Pre-k and K

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