"I feel angry, what can I do?"

Keryn Hensley
Aranui Primary School
Key area of learning – mental health
Level: years 1 to 3

Introduction

Class Composition/Dynamics

At the time of writing, the class consisted of 24 year 1 to 3 students ranging in age from five to seven years. This diverse group included 15 boys and 9 girls, with the students coming from Samoan, Māori, Tongan, Cook Island, and New Zealand European cultural backgrounds. The students' academic abilities were also broad. The class included several students with moderate special needs. Generally, the students related well to each other within the classroom setting. They were an active, boisterous group and enjoyed school. The school itself is a decile 1a urban full primary school in a large city. It has 13 classes including two bilingual classes.

Reason/Rationale for the unit

Clear behavioural guidelines and set consequences enabled students to work and play safely within the classroom setting. However, many students did not apply principles of non-violence in the playground during interval and lunch breaks despite the school's policy and procedures supporting a totally violence free environment. As per school policy, all teachers would give the students the same message: If you are angry, go and get help from an adult. Teachers at the school were required to assist students to solve their problems. Students were not told to "...go and sort it out on your own..."

However, when frustrated or angry, some students would resort to violence. At times, some students would seek out older siblings to sort out the source of the perceived problem. Even when duty teachers were in sight, some students chose the immediate solution – violence – rather than walk over to ask for help.

School policy required that social skills be taught daily, although the specifics of what was taught were up to each class teacher and were dependent on the needs of each class. It was decided to plan a specific unit that looked at:

• What triggers angry feelings?
• Recognising when you are angry.
• Practising using non-violent strategies to solve problems.

There are limits to what can be achieved within a contrived situation when students are not angry. Students would need to apply the strategies they had learned, independent of teacher intervention when they were angry.

The following unit is a starter and is intended to lead onto an ongoing daily maintenance diary.

This diary would provide an opportunity to reinforce appropriate health-enhancing anger management strategies, praise students' appropriate choices when solving their playground problems, and revisit the ideas covered in the starter unit.

Introduction | Prior learning required | Underlying concepts | Lesson one | Lesson two | Lesson three | Student work | Resources