Teachers Resource Force Blog

Free Wuhan Coronavirus lesson / assembly resource to help reduce negative jokes and racist comments from students

27/1/2020

My goodness, I don't even know quite where to start with how 2020 is going so far.

We've had the devastating Australian fires, threats of WW3, the ongoing frightening Wuhan Coronavirus and now Kobe Bryant and his daughter - and we've not even made it past the first month of 2020 yet. 😟

I'm not usually once for focusing on the doom and gloom, but I do feel a responsibility to help our students navigate the unstable world around them.

So when deciding on what tragedy to focus on for right now, I chose the one that causes me the most concern regarding the reactions I am seeing from students, and that is the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Tell me if any of these sound familiar:
➡️ Perhaps someone coughs or sneezes in class. Do your students make a “coronavirus” comment and make the poorly student feel paranoid and insecure?

➡️ What about if you see people running away from Chinese students in your school and screaming that they have the coronavirus?

This is the kind of appalling behaviour that is happening with kids right now. You don’t think that’s happening in your school? Spend some time in the playground or even the virtual playground of TikTok - your eyes will be widened and shocked at what is coming out of peoples’ mouths regarding such a frightening and devastating situation.

I think it comes down to ignorance for the most part. Therefore this is a golden opportunity for us to teach our students about character and empathy. They need to be taught that sometimes jokes are completely inappropriate and darn right hurtful.

Enter this resource:

Free Wuhan Coronavirus lesson / assembly resource to help reduce negative jokes and racist comments from students | Teachers Resource Force

Please feel free to use this completely free resource as part of a class discussion or even a whole school assembly. It guides you through the current news of the coronavirus and then gently leads into discussion on the range of reactions we’re seeing from young people.

Oh, and all the text is completely editable so you can modify it for your students and update facts and figures as they emerge.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please be sure to read all the disclaimers within the resource and especially watch the videos on slide 9 before showing them to your class, as they might be too sensitive for your particular students. (Although chances are, if they're TikTok users they've probably seen similar or worse already.)

Either way, this resource will surely hit home and encourage your students to think twice before making insensitive comments or jokes regarding the coronavirus.

This resource is in the free VIP area, so make sure you make an account in order to download it, if you haven't already:

Download Free Coronavirus Lesson

I genuinely hope you use this and that it helps your students, which is why I insisted on providing it to you for free. If you do use it, please share with me how your lesson or assembly went, I'd love to know.

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How to start a Kindness Project in your school to improve wellbeing

23/1/2020

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Are you looking for something to help lift the spirits of your students and co-workers? If so, there is nothing quite like a compliment to do that! The effects of compliments are not only powerful, but are long lasting too. I bet you can still recall a compliment you received many years ago - think about how much power those few words have had on your life. What a wonderful gift to give our students to be able to give and receive that joy!

Watch the video below to see the true power of what giving compliments can do for not only others, but yourself too! It's a great video to show your students as well, and hopefully will encourage them to give more compliments:

So now you've seen the power of compliments, here are 7 ideas you can start a Kindness Project in your school which will work for all ages, even (and especially) for staff! All these ideas can come from simple compliment notes such as the ones below:

How to start a Kindness Project in your school to improve wellbeing | Teachers Resource Force

1) Reward Coupons:

What better way of lifting the spirits of your students than by spreading kindness, especially to those who are caught being good! These coloring compliment notes can be issued as reward coupons to offer students for
good behavior. Students can enjoy coloring the notes in as a reward and then keep them to look back on as little confidence boosters!

2) Morning and Afternoon Meeting:

You can also use compliment notes for morning and afternoon meetings. They can be stored in a “compliment container” and students can take it in turns each day to pick some notes at random each morning. They can read the note aloud to the class and select a student who they think would benefit from that note best either during morning meeting or at the end of the day. By waiting until the afternoon, it gives students a focus for the day and encourages students to look out for each other all day in order to consider who to reward the note to. In order to make it fair and ensure everyone receives a note, cross the name off the register once someone is chosen!

3) Hidden Treasures:

This one is fun! You can hide these little notes in secret places in all the corners of your school for students to find! Some ideas are in students’ desks, on their lockers, inside library books and any other remote places that students might find them! What a treat to pick up a library book and find a surprise note with some encouraging words of kindness which they can color and keep!

4) Take What You Need Bulletin Board:

These also look lovely out on display so why not show them off in your school! You can cut and pin a range of these notes on a bulletin board for students to take for themselves if they need words of encouragement, or indeed they can take to colour and pass on to another student or teacher who they feel would benefit from the compliment. This board could be active all year, being topped up as and when supply dwindles.

5) Give and Pin:

Similar to the Take What You Need Board, but in reverse! You could hand out notes to students to colour as part of your Kindness Project and encourage them to write personal notes to others on the back of them. They can be given to other students to keep, or even pinned to a public bulletin board inspiring the whole school kindness campaign and visually demonstrating just how much kindness has been spread so far!

6) Kindness Club:

You could use these to set up a “Kindness Club” during lunch times for example, and send your members on a mission to color in these notes then spread compliments and joy to others around school! They could hide them around school or issue to people at random in the hallways!

7) Teachers Need Love Too:

Finally, you can even keep a bowl of these in your staff workroom to encourage kindness among staff! They can be picked and given to individuals / put in their pigeon hole, or just taken and kept for their own positive vibes too.

I hope you have found some new ideas for setting up your own Kindness Project in your school! If you like the look of these colouring compliment notes and want to use them for your Kindness Project, you can pick them up in the links below!

Download from TpT

Download from TRF

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3 Fresh Lesson Ideas for Teaching Black History Month in Secondary School

20/1/2020

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Are you looking for some fun, fresh new ideas for incorporating Black History into your classroom this year? In this article, you will find a range of games, independent research activities and calming colouring classroom decor - a bit of everything to suit your needs!

3 Fresh Lesson Ideas for Teaching Black History Month in Secondary Schools | TeachersResourceForce.com

1) Black History Guess The Hero Game

This fun Black History Guess It game works like "Guess Who". There are 24 Black History heroes in total, each with their own biography cards. Students can make up a board by cutting and sticking each person's face on the template (which comes in a variety of different colours) and the game can be played in pairs or small groups.

Guess Who Black History Month Game | Teachers Resource Force

Students take one biography card at random and then they take it in turns to ask each other 'yes' or 'no' questions about the others' identity. Questions can be based on physical characteristics or facts.

Each player folds down the people they have eliminated based on the questions they've asked until they guess the person correctly. This game works especially well as a review activity after they have researched the people in detail, but works just as well as an introduction to the people as well. The game can be played multiple times to give students an opportunity to learn about / review a range of different heroes.

The game can be differentiated for younger or less able students or for when teaching languages, as a simple characteristics game - particularly powerful for building vocabulary whilst familiarizing themselves with some of the most famous heroes of black history. Older / more able students can challenge their knowledge of these heroes by identifying their personal characteristics and achievements.

Download from TpT

Download from TRF

2) Research Activities for Black History Month

Black History Research Activities | Teachers Resource Force

This independent research resource is really easy to use in your classroom – there are 25 printable worksheets which have the name and picture of the same heroes of Black History as the game above: some are well known and others are unsung heroes.

Students can then undertake their own research (at home or in your lesson) to find out more about these people, and then reflect on why they think they are so inspirational and how they have made such a positive impact on Black History. There is also a blank version for students to research their own hero of choice.

Included are a set of 8 deep thinking discussion cards that students can work through in a group and would also make excellent essay prompts as well.

Download from TpT

Download from TRF

3) Martin Luther King Jr Quote Colouring Pages

If you want to create a calming, inspirational vibe in your classroom and simultaneously create some ready made Black History Month classroom decor, then look no further than these Martin Luther King Jr Quote Colouring Pages!

There are 5 different colouring pages to choose from, and all these inspiring quotes are by Martin Luther King Jr himself: great for teaching Growth Mindset on MLK day or during Black History Month.

Most teachers have used these to create a calming and inspirational atmosphere in their rooms by displaying the finished sheets on the wall, which students love.

So take some time out of a hectic day to give your students the opportunity to just focus, motivate and enjoy themselves while being inspired by the wonderful words of Martin Luther King Jr – they, and you, deserve it!