Reinforce the Skills
SECOND STEP Extension Activities for Preschool/Kindergarten
Skill: Empathy
A Week of Feelings
Read On Monday When It Rained by Cherryl Kachenmeister. Ask children to point out clues in the photographs that show how the character feels. Have children make their own books by drawing a picture about something that happened on each day of the week and dictating or writing a sentence about it. For example, "On Monday, I felt ________. On Tuesday, I felt ________." Do one page each day, with children drawing pictures about the previous day. This activity supports children in identifying how they feel about events in their lives.
Who Helps?
Have students learn about people who help (for example, firefighters, nurses, lunch servers, and custodians). Invite representatives from these groups to talk to the children about their jobs. This activity introduces children to people in their community who are dedicated to helping others as part of their jobs.
Feelings Portraits
As a class, generate a list of feelings words. Have the class illustrate the list with appropriate self-portraits. Have each artist talk about his or her drawing, describing how it illustrates the particular feeling it expresses.
How Does Lilly Feel?
Read Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. As you read it aloud, ask students how Lilly is feeling at different points. Have students state how they know. Also, ask students to predict what will happen in the story and how Lilly will be affected if different events happen.
Feelings Clues
Have students make a box and decorate it with drawings of faces or faces cut out of magazines. Have them create "feelings cards" depicting different feelings with words and/or pictures and put them into the box. Have each child draw out a card and act out the feeling while the other children guess what it is. This activity supports the concept of using clues to find out how others are feeling.
Same and Different
Reinforce the same-different language concept by dismissing students who are wearing the same color as you or different shoes from you (you're wearing boots and they're wearing tennis shoes) for recess first.
Skill: Problem Solving
Who Is the Beast?
Read Who Is the Beast? by Keith Baker. Have the children draw tigers. Discuss what is similar about humans and tigers and what is different. This activity supports the concept that people can have the same or different feelings about a situation.
Grandparent Portraits
Read Now One Foot, Now the Other by Tomie dePaola. Lead a discussion about grandparents. Have the children tell stories about being helped by their grandparents or helping them (for example, by finding their glasses or carrying things for them). Have the children draw a picture of their grandparents or of themselves with their grandparents and dictate or write a caption for their picture. This activity helps children explore the importance of showing concern for others and lending a helping hand.
Tall Towers
Divide the class into groups of two to four, and have each group build the tallest structure they can using materials such as blocks, boxes, and toys. Before you start the activity, brainstorm with the children potential problems they might face and solutions they could use. Afterward, have them talk about how they worked together to solve problems encountered during the building process. This activity gives children practice in solving problems in a group.
Who's Got the Blue?
Divide the class into groups of two or three. Give each group four different-colored crayons or markers with the following instruction: Each child has to draw a picture, and all of the group's four colors must appear in every picture. Before you start the activity, brainstorm with the children ways they might share or take turns with the crayons. Afterward, discuss how the groups solved the problem of sharing the crayons or markers while making their drawings. This activity gives children practice in sharing and taking turns in a group.
Skill: Empathy, Anger/Emotion Management, and Problem Solving
SECOND STEP Concert
Choose two or three SECOND STEP songs. Have students practice them with musical instruments and perform them for parents and other students. These songs promote key concepts and skills in empathy, emotion management, and problem solving.
Skill: Anger/Emotion Management
When I Feel Angry
Read When I Feel Angry by Cornelia Maude Spelman. Discuss how the rabbit in the story deals with being angry. Have children identify different ways they can calm down when they're angry. Ask the children, "Which of the ways that the rabbit used would work for you?" This activity helps children focus on their own unique ways of managing anger.
Ways to Wait
Make a list of waiting situations that children often experience during the day. Ask the children to think of ways to help themselves wait. Put all their ideas on a large chart, and let the children draw pictures on separate pieces of paper to illustrate their different strategies. This activity helps children identify ways to manage their emotions when they are waiting.
Quiet Time
Have children sit in silence for as long as they can. Time them. At another time, see if they can beat their previous record. Discuss strategies (for example, thinking calming thoughts) that the children used to keep still and quiet. Discuss how they could use these same strategies at other times of the day to remain calm and quiet. This activity helps children learn to identify and use calming-down techniques.
Learning Something New
Read Cleversticks by Bernard Ashley. Discuss how hard it is to learn new things. Talk about all the things the children have already learned (for example, to walk, talk, dress themselves, brush their teeth, and feed themselves). Talk about all the hard things they're learning in school right now. Discuss how to manage frustration and deal with mistakes when learning new things.