Lesson Plan
Respectful Repair Crew
Students will be able to identify what disrespect looks and feels like, understand its impact, and learn ways to use respectful communication to repair harm in the classroom.
Learning to repair harm and communicate respectfully helps create a safe, positive, and inclusive classroom environment where everyone feels heard and valued. It builds empathy and strengthens relationships between students and their teacher.
Audience
1st Grade Students
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Through discussion, activities, and role-playing, students will explore respect and repair.
Materials
Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck, Respectful Repair Crew Script, Feelings Faces Activity Cards, Repairing Our Classroom Worksheet, and Repair-It Race Game
Prep
Prepare Materials
10 minutes
- Review the Respectful Repair Crew Lesson Plan and all generated materials.
- Print and cut out the Feelings Faces Activity Cards.
- Make copies of the Repairing Our Classroom Worksheet, one per student.
- Print and prepare the cards for the Repair-It Race Game.
- Ensure the projector/screen is ready to display the Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck.
Step 1
Introduction: What is Respect?
5 minutes
- Begin with a warm greeting and introduce the topic of respect using the Respectful Repair Crew Script.
- Display the first few slides of the Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck to guide the discussion on what respect looks and sounds like.
- Ask students to share examples of respectful actions and words they've seen or used.
Step 2
Understanding Disrespect and Its Impact
10 minutes
- Transition to discussing disrespect and its effects using the Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck and Respectful Repair Crew Script.
- Lead the Feelings Faces Activity to help students identify emotions associated with disrespectful actions.
- Facilitate a brief discussion on how disrespectful words or actions make people feel and why it's important to think about others' feelings.
Step 3
Game: Repair-It Race!
5 minutes
- Introduce the Repair-It Race Game as a fun way to practice identifying disrespectful actions and brainstorming respectful ways to repair harm.
- Divide students into two teams and lead the game following the instructions on the Repair-It Race Game material.
- Encourage students to think carefully about their answers and discuss different repair strategies.
Step 4
Repairing Harm: Individual Reflection
5 minutes
- After the game, reinforce the concept of repairing harm when disrespect happens, emphasizing that mistakes are opportunities to learn.
- Distribute the Repairing Our Classroom Worksheet and guide students to individually brainstorm ways to repair hypothetical situations.
- Encourage students to share some of their ideas for repairing harm, connecting back to the game.
Step 5
Wrap-up and Reflection
5 minutes
- Conclude the lesson with a quick review of key takeaways: what respect means and how to repair harm.
- Use the Cool Down: My Respectful Reflection to have students reflect on one thing they learned or one way they can be more respectful.
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Slide Deck
Welcome, Repair Crew!
Our Classroom Team
What makes a team great? Respect!
Welcome students and introduce the idea of our classroom as a team. Explain that today we'll talk about how to keep our team strong and happy by being respectful. Ask: "What does 'respect' mean to you?"
What is Respect?
Looking and Sounding Respectful
- Listening ears
- Kind words
- Sharing and taking turns
- Being polite
Show this slide and discuss. Ask students to share examples of what respectful behavior looks and sounds like in the classroom, at home, or with friends. Prompt with: "What does respect look like when you're talking? What does it sound like when you're playing?"
When Things Go Wrong...
Disrespect
Sometimes our words or actions can make others feel sad, mad, or hurt.
- Not listening
- Mean words
- Interrupting
- Not sharing
Now, introduce the idea that sometimes things go wrong. Ask: "What happens when we aren't respectful? How does that feel for others?" Explain that disrespect can hurt feelings or break trust. Introduce the Feelings Faces Activity here.
Being a Repair Crew!
How to Repair Harm
When we make a mistake, we can fix it!
- Say "I'm sorry."
- Ask: "What can I do to make it better?"
- Listen to others.
- Make a plan to do better next time.
Explain that when harm happens, we can fix it. We can be a "Repair Crew!" Emphasize that making mistakes is okay, and learning to repair them makes us stronger. Introduce the idea of an apology and making things better. This leads into the Repairing Our Classroom Worksheet.
You are the Repair Crew!
Keep Our Classroom Strong!
Let's use our respectful words and actions every day.
We can always choose to be kind and repair what's broken.
Conclude by reminding students that they are all part of the Respectful Repair Crew. Encourage them to practice respectful words and actions every day. End with the Cool Down: My Respectful Reflection.
Script
Respectful Repair Crew Script
Introduction: What is Respect? (5 minutes)
"Good morning, everyone! Today, we're going to talk about something super important that helps our classroom be the best place to learn and play: Respect! Think about our classroom like a team. What makes a team strong and happy? Yes, working together, being kind, and showing respect!
(Display Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck - Slide 1: Welcome, Repair Crew!)
What does the word 'respect' mean to you? When someone is respectful, what do they do or say? Let's brainstorm some ideas."
"That's right! Respect means treating others, and ourselves, with kindness and care. It means valuing everyone's feelings and ideas.
(Display Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck - Slide 2: What is Respect?)
Look at this slide. It shows some ways we can be respectful. We use our listening ears when others are talking, we use kind words, we share and take turns, and we're polite. Can anyone give me an example of when you've seen someone being really respectful? Or maybe when you've been respectful yourself?"
Understanding Disrespect and Its Impact (10 minutes)
"Now, sometimes, even though we try our best, things can go wrong. Sometimes, without meaning to, our words or actions might not be respectful. This is called disrespect.
(Display Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck - Slide 3: When Things Go Wrong...)
Look at the slide. When someone isn't listening, or uses mean words, or interrupts, how might that make another person feel? Thumbs up if you've ever felt sad or mad when someone was disrespectful to you.
Today, we're going to do a quick activity to help us understand how disrespect can make people feel. We're going to use these Feelings Faces Activity Cards. I'll show you a situation, and I want you to pick the face that shows how someone might feel.
(Lead the Feelings Faces Activity as described in its instructions. After the activity, bring the class back together.)
"Wow, you all did a great job thinking about those feelings! It's clear that disrespectful words or actions can make people feel not-so-great, right? That's why it's so important to think about how our actions affect others."
Game: Repair-It Race! (5 minutes)
"Great job, everyone! Now that we've talked about how disrespect feels, let's practice how to fix it! We're going to play a game called Repair-It Race! This game will help us think quickly about how to be a Respectful Repair Crew.
(Lead the Repair-It Race Game as described in its instructions. Encourage students to explain their reasoning for both identifying feelings and suggesting repairs.)
"Fantastic teamwork, Repair Crew! You showed great ideas for how to make things better when mistakes happen!"
Repairing Harm: Individual Reflection (5 minutes)
"You all did a wonderful job being a Repair Crew in our game! Now, let's take some time to think on our own. Even when mistakes happen, we can always choose to fix them. We have the power to make it better. It's like if a toy breaks, we try to put it back together, right? We can do the same with feelings and friendships.
(Display Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck - Slide 4: Being a Repair Crew!)
This slide shows us some ways we can be a Repair Crew. We can say 'I'm sorry.' We can also ask, 'What can I do to make it better?' And it's super important to listen to what the other person says. Then, we can make a plan to do better next time.
Now, I have a special Repairing Our Classroom Worksheet for you. It has some pretend situations where things went a little wrong. Your job, as the Respectful Repair Crew, is to think about how you would fix these situations and make things right again. What would you say or do?
(Distribute the Repairing Our Classroom Worksheet and give students time to work. Circulate and assist as needed. After a few minutes, ask for volunteers to share some of their ideas.)
"Fantastic ideas, everyone! You've shown that you know how to be a great Repair Crew. It takes courage to say 'I'm sorry' and to try and make things better, and I know you all have that courage!"
Wrap-up and Reflection (5 minutes)
(Display Respectful Repair Crew Slide Deck - Slide 5: You are the Repair Crew!)
"Today, we learned about what respect looks and sounds like, how disrespect can make people feel, and how we can be a Respectful Repair Crew to fix things when they go wrong. Remember, we all want our classroom to be a happy and safe place, and we can all help make that happen by being respectful and knowing how to repair harm.
For our cool-down today, I'd like you to think about one thing you learned about respect or repairing harm today, or one way you can be more respectful in our classroom. You can write or draw your idea on your Cool Down: My Respectful Reflection sheet. This will help you remember how you can be an amazing part of our Respectful Repair Crew!"
*(Distribute the Cool Down: My Respectful Reflection and allow students to complete it.)
Activity
Feelings Faces Activity Cards
Instructions for Teacher: Print and cut out these cards. During the 'Understanding Disrespect and Its Impact' section of the lesson, present each scenario and have students hold up the card that best represents how a person in the scenario might feel. Facilitate a brief discussion after each scenario.
Card 1: Happy Face
😊
Card 2: Sad Face
☹️
Card 3: Mad Face
😡
Card 4: Hurt Face
🤕
Scenario 1
When a friend shares their favorite toy with you without you even asking.
Scenario 2
When someone calls you a name that makes you feel bad.
Scenario 3
When a classmate keeps interrupting you while you are trying to tell a story.
Scenario 4
When your teacher says, "I really appreciate how hard you are working!"
Scenario 5
When someone takes your crayons without asking.
Worksheet
Repairing Our Classroom Worksheet: Be a Repair Crew!
Name: _____________________________
Instructions: Read each situation. Think about what happened and how you can be a Respectful Repair Crew member to make things better. Write or draw your ideas in the space below!
Situation 1:
You accidentally bump into a classmate and they drop all their papers on the floor. You didn't mean to, but they look sad.
What would you say or do to be a Respectful Repair Crew member?
Situation 2:
You were really excited to share an idea, and you accidentally interrupted your teacher while they were talking. Now you feel a little bad.
What would you say or do to be a Respectful Repair Crew member?
Situation 3:
You and your friend both want to use the same art supplies, but there's only one. You grabbed it first, and your friend looks disappointed.
What would you say or do to be a Respectful Repair Crew member?
Situation 4:
Someone in your group project is not doing their part, and it makes you feel frustrated because you want to finish the project well.
What would you say or do to be a Respectful Repair Crew member?
Game
Repair-It Race! Game
Instructions for Teacher:
- Preparation: Create two teams. Have a designated "start" line and "finish" line at the front of the classroom. Prepare a stack of "Disrespectful Action" cards (examples below) and "Repair It!" prompt cards (for teacher guidance).
- How to Play:
- One student from each team comes to the start line.
- Show a "Disrespectful Action" card (e.g., "Someone took your crayon without asking").
- The first student to correctly identify how that action might make someone feel (e.g., "sad," "mad") AND suggest a respectful way to repair the harm (e.g., "say sorry and offer to share another crayon") gets to take a step forward.
- The teacher can guide and prompt students for appropriate responses using the "Repair It!" prompt cards.
- The team whose player reaches the "finish" line first wins that round.
- Play several rounds, focusing on encouraging thoughtful responses rather than just speed.
Disrespectful Action Card Examples:
- You accidentally knock over a friend's block tower.
- Someone laughs at your drawing.
- You talk over your teacher when they are giving instructions.
- A classmate doesn't let you join their game.
Repair It! Prompt Card Examples (for teacher guidance):
- "I'm sorry. What can I do to help?"
- "I didn't mean to. Are you okay?"
- "Next time, I will ask before I take something."
- "Can we find a way to share?"
Cool Down
Cool Down: My Respectful Reflection
Name: _____________________________
Instructions: What is one important thing you learned today about being respectful or repairing harm? Write or draw your answer in the box below.
Bonus: How can you use what you learned today to make our classroom an even better place tomorrow?