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Ask for Help

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Lesson Plan

The Help-Seeking Handbook

Students will understand why asking for help is important and identify trusted adults they can ask for help. They will also practice different ways to ask for help when facing a problem.

Learning to ask for help builds resilience, problem-solving skills, and ensures students feel supported in school and life.

Audience

2nd Grade Group

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Interactive discussion, scenario-based practice, and reflection.

Materials

Your Help Superpower Slides, Help-Seeking Scenario Cards, and My Help-Seeking Prompts

Prep

Review Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: What is a "Superpower"?

5 minutes

Display the first slide of Your Help Superpower Slides. Engage students in a brief discussion about what a superpower is and how it helps people. Transition by saying, "Today, we're going to discover a very important superpower: asking for help!"

Step 2

Why Ask for Help?

10 minutes

Use slides 2-4 of Your Help Superpower Slides to explain why asking for help is a superpower. Discuss different situations where students might need help (e.g., schoolwork, feeling sad, a friend conflict). Emphasize that asking for help is brave and smart.

Step 3

Who Can Help Me?

5 minutes

Use slide 5 of Your Help Superpower Slides to discuss trusted adults. Brainstorm a list of people at school and home they can ask for help (teacher, parent, counselor, librarian).

Step 4

Help-Seeking Scenarios

10 minutes

Distribute the Help-Seeking Scenario Cards. In small groups, have students read a scenario and discuss who they would ask for help and what they would say. Encourage role-playing. Facilitate a brief group share-out.

Step 5

Reflect and Respond

5 minutes

Hand out My Help-Seeking Prompts. Have students choose one prompt to respond to independently in their journal. Explain that this is a personal reflection on their new superpower.

Step 6

Cool-Down: My Help Superpower

5 minutes

Ask students to share one thing they learned about asking for help. Reiterate that asking for help is a strength and helps them grow.

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Slide Deck

Your Help Superpower

What makes a superhero super?
Their special powers!
Today, we're discovering your special power!

Greet students warmly. Ask them to share what they think a superpower is and what some superheroes can do. Connect this to the idea of having a special ability to make things better.

Why is Asking for Help a Superpower?

It's brave!
It helps you learn!
It makes problems smaller!

Explain that asking for help isn't just for big problems. It's for anything that feels tricky or confusing. Give simple examples like understanding a math problem or finding a lost crayon.

When Do We Need Our Superpower?

Feeling sad or worried?
Stuck on schoolwork?
Problems with a friend?
Something feels unsafe?

Ask students to share (if comfortable) some times they might have felt like they needed help. Reassure them that everyone needs help sometimes.

Asking for Help Makes You Strong!

When you ask for help, you show:
Bravery (it's not always easy!)
Smartness (you know how to get unstuck!)
Growth (you learn new things!)

Emphasize that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. It means they are actively trying to solve a problem or understand something new.

Who Are Your Help Superheroes?

Grown-ups you trust!
At school: Teacher, Counselor, Principal, Librarian
At home: Parent, Grandparent, Older Sibling, Neighbor

Brainstorm with students specific names of people they trust at school and at home. Write them on the board if appropriate, or have students draw a picture of their "help superheroes."

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Activity

Help-Seeking Scenario Cards

Instructions: Read each scenario. Discuss with your group:

  • Who would you ask for help?
  • What would you say to them?
  • Why is this a good person to ask?

Scenario 1: You are trying to build a tall tower with blocks, but it keeps falling over. You feel frustrated.



Scenario 2: During reading time, you don't understand what a word means, and it's making the story confusing.



Scenario 3: Your friend is telling a story that makes you feel a little sad, and you're not sure what to do.



Scenario 4: You accidentally spilled your water bottle on your desk, and your papers are getting wet.



Scenario 5: You see someone in the hallway looking very sad and alone, and you want to help them but don't know how.



Scenario 6: You are trying to tie your shoe, but the laces keep getting tangled, and you are running out of time before recess.



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Journal

My Help-Seeking Prompts

Instructions: Choose one of the prompts below and write about it in your journal. Think about what you learned today about your help superpower!

Prompt 1: Think of a time when you needed help but didn't ask. What happened? What could you have done differently?











Prompt 2: Imagine you have a friend who is struggling but isn't asking for help. What advice would you give them about using their "help superpower"?











Prompt 3: Write about a time someone helped you. How did it make you feel? What did you learn from their help?











Prompt 4: Who are two

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