Overview
Key
Understanding:
Love is related both to
feelings and to actions. We can feel love for
ourselves, for other people, for animals, for nature, for
the Earth, and for things. We can also give love,
show love, and receive love. We all have the
gift of love within us to give away; we all deserve to
receive love ourselves. It is healthy and important to love
ourselves and take good care of ourselves. There are times
when we may feel unloving or unlovable. There are many
things we can do to help us feel loving and lovable again.
The heart is a well-known and universal symbol of love.
Objectives:
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To
recognize that each of us is born with this gift.
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To
identify ways we use this gift.
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To
understand at least a small aspect of this gift
experientially.
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To see
how applying this gift can enrich our lives.
Supplies:
Pre-K – Grade 1:
A copy of The Twelve
Gifts of Birth
Treasure Chests and Treasure Cards from
Lesson 1, crayons
Paper and scissors
Grades 2 – 3:
A copy of The Twelve
Gifts of Birth
Treasure Chests and Treasure Cards from
Lesson 1, crayons or colored pencils
Paper, paper drinking straws and glue
Love Activity Sheet 1
Grades 4 – 6:
A copy of The Twelve
Gifts of Birth
Student journals from Lesson 1
Paper, paper drinking straws and glue
Love Activity Sheet 1
A clear, smooth plastic bottle (without
ridges), mineral oil, water, blue food coloring
Love Activity Sheet 2
OPEN LESSON
Set stage
for respect, trust, and discovery. Use cue.
ENGAGE THE LEARNER
Have students look at the
4-page section on love in The Twelve Gifts of
Birth. Read the text, “The eleventh gift is
Love. It will grow each time you give it away.”
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Pre K – Grade 1
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Grades 2 – 3
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Grades 4 – 6
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Explain that today we
are learning about love and that we all have the
gift of love inside us. Focus on the photo of the
family, the man and two boys. Explain to children
that the family members in the picture are each
giving and receiving love. Acknowledge that we all
want to give and receive love. Feeling love and
showing love for ourselves and for others helps us
to be happy and healthy. |
Ask students how the
people in the photo might feel. How are they giving
love to one another? Draw a large heart on the
board. Ask students to describe how love feels,
e.g., soft, warm, nice, gentle, etc. Record
responses inside the heart. Ask students to name
ways they give love to parents, siblings, friends,
grandparents, pets, and so on. Then ask how they
receive love. Outside the heart, record suggestions
of the ways love is demonstrated. |
Invite students to
comment on the photos and text. Begin discussion of
the important balance of loving oneself and others.
Stress we all deserve love. Explain that it
is hard to give love to others and receive it back
if we do not first love ourselves. Ask: “What are
ways we care for ourselves?” Guide students to
understand that proper sleep; exercise; eating well;
spending time alone, in nature, and with friends;
and developing our abilities are some ways we love
ourselves. |
DEVELOP
THE IDEAS
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Pre K – Grade 1
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Grades 2 – 3
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Grades 4 – 6
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Gather in a circle.
Ask children to name ways we show love. Use prompts
such as: hugs, smiles, singing a song, making a
picture, taking our dog for a walk, visiting a
grandparent, helping with chores, and so on.
Continue discussion by asking children if love:
Feels like a feather or a rock? Is warm or cold?
Tastes sweet or sour? Is like a smile or a frown?
Wants to scream or sing? Wants to stomp or dance?
Then
have everyone hold hands. Pass around a gentle hand
squeeze. Start with one child and have each pass it
on until they get it back. |
Point out the
important balance of loving self and others. Discuss
ways we love ourselves, e.g., eating well, getting
enough sleep, exercising, playing games we like,
being with friends, etc.
Acknowledge that there are times when we don’t feel
loving. When we feel angry, sad, hurt, or
frustrated, we might not feel loving. Ask: “What
might we do to feel loving again?” Help children see
some ways that might help, such as talking to a
parent or friend, reading a book, playing music,
dancing, singing, walking, running.
Compare love with water. Demonstrate with a cup of
water and a straw. The flow of water can be blocked
if the straw becomes bent or kinked. But the water
is still in the cup and we can get to it. We can
unbend the straw or drink from the cup. Stress
love is always within us. |
Discuss how sometimes love comes easily. Other times
it does not. It is easy to act in loving ways when
we love ourselves and feel happy. Invite students to
think about the times they feel sad, depressed, or
angry. List things that might help one feel loving
again: talking with a friend, walking, running,
writing in a journal, painting, listening to music,
dancing, using one of our special abilities to help
someone else. Compare love with water. Demonstrate
with a cup of water and a straw. The flow of water
can be blocked if the straw becomes bent or kinked.
But the water is still in the cup and we can get to
it. We can unbend the straw or drink from the cup.
You
may also compare love with the rising and falling
tides of the ocean. Feelings rise and fall but love
is always powerfully present within us.
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EXPERIENCE AND APPLY THE
LEARNING
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Pre K – Grade 1
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Grades 2 – 3
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Grades 4 – 6
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Have
children make paper heart chains. On both sides of
each heart, have them write the name or draw a
picture of someone or something they love. Remind
them to include themselves. When completed, have
each child close, then open, their chains as you
remind them “It will grow each time you give
it away.” Connect all the chains in one big
chain. Display completed work for all to see.
Have students find the love card in their treasure
chest and, using the color that best represents
love, make the love symbol over the word. If time
allows, have children draw a depiction of love on
the back. Have them replace cards in chest. |
Have
students form pairs. Have each student make a Straw
Message Gram,
Love Activity Sheet 1. When completed, have
each student give their Straw Message Gram to their
project partner.
Have students make the love symbol on the love card,
write “I have,” draw a picture of themselves feeling
love or acting in a loving way, and decorate it. |
Have
students form pairs. Have each student make a Straw
Message Gram,
Love Activity Sheet 1.
When completed, have
each student give their Straw Message Gram to their
project partner.
You may wish to make an Ocean Wave in a Bottle,
Love Activity Sheet 2. instead of or in addition
to the Straw Message Gram Activity.
Have students write thoughts, feelings, and insights
about love in their journals. |
SUMMARY
AND EVALUATION
Review
what was learned about
love.
If times allows, have students share understandings.
Acknowledge that they have already been using love and that
they will use it in many ways in the future. Remind them
they will continue to explore the use of their gifts in two
more lessons.
CLOSE LESSON
Create a
ceremonial sense of having completed an important discovery.
Use cue to end the lesson.
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Love Activity Sheet 1
Straw Message Gram
Supplies:
One piece of construction paper
for each student
Scissors
A box of paper drinking straws
which have been pre-cut to various lengths
Glue
Writing tools and crayons or
markers
Instructions:
Sitting in pairs,
but working individually, have students:
Fold paper in
half to form a greeting card. Tell them the
inside will contain a special message, like a
telegram.
Have each student
decorate the front of their card
three-dimensionally. First decorate with
color. Then glue on pieces of the straws to
create interesting patterns.
In the inside of
the card, have students write a short
telegram-like note that conveys one positive
message to their partner for this exercise, such
as You have a nice smile. You are often
helpful. You are good at sports. You are
thoughtful of others.
Have students
exchange their Straw Message Grams. |
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Love Activity Sheet 2
Ocean Wave in a Bottle
Supplies:
1 empty, clear plastic, 1 pint
bottle (preferably without ridges)
1.5 cups clear mineral oil (One
standard, pint sized bottle will provide more
than enough needed)
.5 cup water
1 drop blue food color
Pour .5 cup water
into the bottle.
Add 1 drop of
blue food color.
Carefully pour in
mineral oil to the very tip of the bottle (about
1.5 cups…neither the water nor the oil
measurements need to be exact)
Replace cap
tightly.
Now, simply turn bottle on its
side and gently rock it to see a simulated ocean
wave.
Pass bottle
around the classroom for all students to get a
chance to create the wave.
This Ocean
Wave in a Bottle can, of course, be done
with a 1 liter or any size bottle. Just keep
the same proportion of water to oil.
Additional ideas:
Keep the Ocean
Wave in a Bottle on display as a reminder
that emotions change, rise and fall, but that
love is constantly present within us.
If time and funds
permit, have each student make their own
Ocean Wave in a Bottle.
Use the
re-creation of this activity in a different
sized bottle as a math lesson opportunity.
Have fun!
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