Teaching Guide:
Asking for Help
for grades
K-5
 |
|
HOW TO ASK FOR HELP
• Remember, it's okay to ask for help. Don't be embarrassed, and don't worry about other people judging you.
• Think what might happen if you don't get help—or if you do.
• Decide what the problem is and what help you need.
• Think about who you can ask for help. Choose someone you trust and who will know how to help you.
• Think about what you'll say when you ask for help. Do it.
• Remember, getting help when you need it is part of being responsible—to yourself.
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GOALS
• Children learn that it's important to ask for help when they are having difficulties.
• Children learn not to let pride or embarrassment keep them from asking for help.
• Children learn that everyone needs help occasionally, and that it's nothing to be ashamed of.
Moose, Missie, and Fiona are working on a school science project growing crystals in a beaker. Each has been assigned a role, and Moose's job is to to read the instructions out loud to the others. Unfortunately, Moose can't read. What's more, he's too embarrassed to admit it, so he fakes it by making up most of the instructions. Since the crystals have to be left overnight to grow, Moose has plenty of time to ponder what he's done. He knows he's ruined the experiment. He's sure they'll all get bad grades. And he's terrified that when the others find out what happened they'll think he's a dope. What can Moose do now? Happily, though, it all comes clear when a group of real children, led by host Michael Pritchard, conclude that when we're having difficulties we should get the help we need to overcome them. Moose confesses his reading problem to his classmates, and is surprised to learn that they, too, have had problems that required special help. Relieved to learn that he doesn't have to go through life reading poorly, Moose vows to ask his teacher to help him.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
If you are using the video, ask the first two questions before viewing.
1. Have you ever felt embarrassed because you didn't know something or couldn't do something? How did it feel? What did you do about it?
2. Why can it be hard to admit you don't know something? What could happen?
3. What is Moose's problem?
4. How do you think Moose is feeling? Have you ever felt that way?
5. Why didn't Moose tell Fiona and Missie that he couldn't read? Was he being fair to them?
6. What could happen if Moose never asked for help?
7. Have you seen kids try to make others feel stupid? What makes them do that?
8. Think about a time when you needed help because you didn't know how to do something. Who did you turn to? How did you feel asking for help?
9. If you're having trouble with schoolwork, what can you do about it? What can happen if you don't do anything?
10. If you need help but don't ask for it, how can that lead to more problems?
11. What can you say or do when someone you know needs help?
12. What did you learn from this video program?
1. Have the class look for ways people treat each other in TV shows. Do they put each other down and try to make each other feel stupid? Or are they kind and helpful toward each other? In what types of shows are they kind and helpful? The children could also look for role models of helping or put-down behavior in books or stories.
2. Encourage students to ask for help by organizing a "help swap." Those who want help write what they need on a slip of paper and place it in a shoe box or envelope. Read the slips of paper aloud occasionally, and ask volunteers to provide the needed help or suggest ways to get it.
3. Have the class work in small groups to brainstorm different kinds of help kids can get from others. Each group focuses on a particular group of helpers such as teachers, friends, siblings, or parents. This activity could be expanded by making a classroom bulletin board or posters showing different kinds of help and potential helpers.
4. Divide the class into pairs of “helping buddies.” Each buddy has two tasks: (1) decide on some knowledge or skill he or she would like to improve and (2) work with his or her buddy to improve the knowledge or skill--or get the necessary help. The buddies meet regularly for a week or two and then report to the class on how they helped each other improve.
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1. Write about a time when you or someone you know was really embarrassed about something. How did it turn out?
2. Divide a piece of paper lengthwise into three columns. In the first column make a list of things you do really well. In the middle column make a list of things you'd like to know or do better. In the third column list ideas about where you could go for help to improve the things in the middle column.
3. Keep a "helper's journal." Write about times you've helped other people or observed people helping each other. Share the journal with your classmates.
4. Imagine that someone needs help but is embarrassed to ask for it. Write a short story about the person with two different endings: (1) if he or she didn't ask for help and (2) if he or she asked for help and got it.
5. Group writing project: Get together with two or three classmates and make a list of different things kids might need help with--one to a page. Pass the pages around the group and have each group member add a new idea for getting help with that problem.
6. Write a thank-you letter to someone who helped you solve a problem, learn something, or improve a skill.
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HOME ASSIGNMENTS
To enlist the involvement of parents, make copies of the "For Parents" block (see below) and send them home with the children. Tell the children to discuss the video with their parents, and to perform the following activities.
1. Ask a family member or neighbor to tell you about a time when he or she felt embarrassed about not knowing or not being able to do something. What happened? How did he or she get help?
2. Be a "secret helper" to friends or family members by helping them without talking about it. At the end of a week or two, tell them about the help you gave them. See if they can remember some things you did to help.
3. Ask a friend or family member to help you reach a goal. An example might be improving a skill or learning a new one. Make a plan together with small steps that will help you get closer to the goal every day.
Note to the teacher or group leader: It might be a good idea to think
of some way for the children to share the outcomes of these activities
with each other. Perhaps they could give written or oral reports or discuss
their experiences in small groups.
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(Copy this block and send it home to the parents.)
FOR PARENTS
Dear Parent,
Your child is involved in learning-activities designed to develop good character, enhance self-esteem, and empower young people to make good choices for themselves. He or she may be asked to complete several tasks at home. Your cooperation with these activities will support our overall program. The current lesson is about the importance of getting help when we're having difficulties in school or elsewhere. We have shown a video entitled Asking For Help, which presents a skit and discussion about someone who's too embarrassed to admit he can't read. We urge you to ask your child to tell you about this video program and what he or she learned from it.
Here are some things you can do to encourage your child to ask for help when he or she needs it. Keep in mind that many children don't ask for help because they're too embarrassed to admit they need it.
• Talk with your child about the importance of letting you know when he or she is having difficulty with something. Let your child know you want to help or get the right kind of help to overcome the problem.
• Make it clear that it's normal and okay to ask for help. Let your child know about times when you needed help and how you solved problems by getting help from others. Stress the importance of taking responsibility for getting the help we need.
