Blennerhassett Middle School

Developed by: Kristen Kisner, Tyler Hanson, Cameron Keenen

Unit: Leadership
Unit Title:
Leadership Skill Building
Grade Levels:
6-8
Number of Lessons in Unit
4
Time required for each lesson
30-45 minutes
Best time of year to implement this unit
First nine weeks
Lesson Titles
Empathy for Others
Rumors are like Feathers
Bystander Affect to Bullying
Building Others Up vs. Tearing Others Down
Unit Goal
To learn developmentally appropriate leaderships skills students can use in everyday
situations
Grade Level Expectation(s)
Dont just a book by its cover
Recognize appropriate times to use leadership skills
Recognize appropriate instances to tell an adult (such as safety concerns)
Recognize the importance of stopping wrongful behavior such as gossip and bullying
American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Standard(s)
After completion of unit, students will be able to:
PS:A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior
PS:A1.7 Recognize personal boundaries, rights and privacy needs
PS:A2.3 Recognize, accept, respect and appreciate individual differences
PS:B1.8 Know when peer pressure is influencing a decision
PS:C1.5 Differentiate between situations requiring peer support and situations requiring
adult professional help

Leadership Guidance Lesson: Week 1

Materials needed: 5-6 pairs of shoes of different sizes and type (i.e. dirty, fancy, shiny,
muddy, adult size, child size), white board, and 5-6 pieces of paper with descriptions of
people
1 min

Introduction
Leadership skills geared toward your age group
Topics such as
Gossip/cliques
Building each other up instead of tearing each other down
Bring different doesnt mean someone is wrong or bad

15-17 min

Large Group Activity

Small discussion using white board- What is empathy?
o Empathy- the ability to understand and share the feelings of
another
Shoe Boxes- In a shoe box, there is a short paragraph on the inside. Each
paragraph describes the person who owns the shoes. Examples are:
o The person wearing these shoes is a 12-year old boy who walks
up to his friends at lunch and they tell him that they dont like him
anymore and that he cant sit with them.
o The person wearing these shoes is a 13-year old girl whose
boyfriend has just broken up with her.
o The person wearing these shoes is an 11-year old girl who tried
out for the cheerleading squad and didnt make the team. All of her
friends made the squad and are celebrating by having a sleepover.
o The person wearing these shoes is a 10-year old girl who has
started today at a new school and doesnt know anyone there.

5-7 min

Processing Questions
o How did it feel to step into another persons situation?
o How would you like to be treated?
o How do you think they felt in those situations?
o What would you say or do to make them feel better?
o How can this be related to being a good leader?

4-5 min

Using White board: Summarize how we should treat others

1 min

Closing: Word or phrase, what did you learn today?

Leadership Guidance Lesson: Week 2

Materials needed: small pieces of paper with sentence completion prompt, glitter, sink
nearby to wash off glitter
1 min
Round: In the last week, did anyone find themselves using empathy since we
talked about it?
2 min

Introduction: Gossip
Sentence Completion: Rumors are_______________________.

2-5 min

Glitter Competition Activity (best to be done outside)

Each student passes glitter to the next person in line.
Rules:
o No glitter on floor or hands
o Cant use water to clean hands
Prize will be determined (The task is impossible to do so no prize
needed)

3-4 min

Short Proverb
An old proverb relates the story of a person who repeated gossipsome
rumor about a neighbor. Soon, the whole community had heard the rumor.
Later, the person who spread the gossip learned that the rumor was untrue.
The person was very sorry and went to an elder in the community who had
a reputation for great wisdom to seek advice. The elder told the person,
Go to your home and take a feather pillow outside. Rip it open and scatter
the feathers, then return to me tomorrow. The person did as the elder had
instructed. The next day, the person visited the elder. The elder said, Go
and collect the feathers you scattered yesterday and bring them back to
me. The person went home and searched for the feathers, but the wind
had carried them all away. The person returned to the elder and said, I
could find none of the feathers I scattered yesterday. You see, said the
elder, its easy to scatter the feathers but impossible to get them back. So
it is with gossip; it doesnt take much to spread hurtful words, but once
you do, you can never completely undo the damage.

5-7 min

Processing Questions:
Describe glitter (Common responses: It sticks to you., Its hard to get
off., and It makes a mess.)
What do glitter and gossip have in common?
How does the proverb about feathers relate to the glitter?

1 min

Heads down: Hand raise for anyone who has been told gossip, helped spread
gossip.

1-2 min

Closing Round: How can you be a good leader when it comes to gossip?

Leadership Guidance Lesson: Week 3

No materials needed
1 min

Round: Did anyone hear rumors this week? What did you do when you heard
it?

3-5 min

Introduction: Bystander affect in bullying situations

Bystander- when people do not offer any help to a victim when other
people are around
Why do people do this?
o Dont want to get into trouble too
o Dont want to be called a tattle tale
o Dont want to be next victim
o Dont want to get hurt in the process

10-15 min

Role Play- (Bully, Bystander, Victim, Leader, Teacher if appropriate)

Opportunity for students to bring scenarios theyve witnessed at recess
Examples include:
o Two students yelling and getting physically aggressive at each
other on the playground
o One student starting a rumor about another classmates parents
divorce
o One student tells her classmate that her outfit is ugly and continues
insulting her

3-4 min

Process Questions
What did it feel like to be the bully? The bystander? The victim? The
leader?
Would you feel comfortable being the leader to the meanest kid in your
class? If not, what could you do instead?

2-3 min

Round: How do the last 3 topics of empathy, gossip, and bystander affect relate
to one another?

Leadership Guidance Lesson: Week 4

Materials needed: enough pens and pencils for each student, tape, white board
5-6 min

Asset Building Activity

Need pens and pieces of paper
Each person writes on peers paper (taped to back), something they admire
about her
Can keep and put in locker or binder to remind them of their good
qualities when they are having a bad day

3-4 min

Activity Questions
How does it feel to read the compliments about you?
Does anything you read surprise you?
What was the purpose of this activity?
How does this activity relate to being a good leader?

10-15 min

Review of topics discussed during each group session

Using white board, have kids shout out A leader does and A leader
does not.
Discussion of what other characteristics not covered would make a good
leader
Open the floor to any member who has a situation where they are having
trouble being the leader (providing group support and cohesion)

3-4 min

Closing Round: Word or phrase: How will you be a good leader for the rest of
the 9 weeks?