Activate knowledge and engage interest.

Explain to students that part of creating a

positive classroom community is being able to resolve the conflicts that inevitably
arise.

Introduce everyday conflicts. Ask the class for examples of conflicts they have seen in
their daily lives, and write a couple of them on the board.

Ex.: arguing with a sibling over sharing clothes at home, not wanting a friend to
borrow an item, getting upset if someone talks behind my back, disagreeing about
where the ball landed when playing Four Square, arguing with my parents because
they won’t let me sleep at a friend’s house, arguing with others at school because they
have been bullying my best friend.

Based on the examples you provided, there are multiple types of conflict and conflict
can arise for multiple reasons. For example, conflict can occur because two people
have different ideas on how to do something, different opinions, someone being
treated unfairly, not cooperating or collaborating effectively, among others.

Discuss how conflict is a big part of life. Conflict is fairly common, necessary, and
can even be positive.

Discuss the positive opportunities and outcomes that can come from conflict.

Conflict helps us realize something needs to change or that someone isn’t happy with
a particular situation; it can bring people closer together when resolved; it gives
people the opportunity to share their feelings.

Discuss how resolving conflicts can actually have many benefits and create
opportunities to form relationships and change and why it is important to learn how to
resolve conflicts effectively.

TIP: Teachers may need to first address with students what types of conflicts to
discuss now with everyone and what other types of conflicts should still be discussed,
but may need longer conversations. Teachers may also advise students that they may
need to see a teacher or counselor at some later time. Some conflicts may also be
discussed during Meet Up.
Vocabulary

Concept Vocabulary Term(s): resolve

For full descriptions of related terms go to the Harmony SEL Glossary.

To provide students with the language they need to explore the lesson concepts, first
give the definition of resolve and an example sentence:

resolve come to a final decision; finish something

Elaina and I will resolve our conflict by talking things over and respecting each
other’s opinions and ideas.

Read aloud the example sentence. Ask students to give other examples or descriptions
of the word resolve.

Place the word in the Word Jar and post where students can see.
Lesson Purpose

Post or display and read aloud the lesson’s purpose statement.

We will learn to identify common conflicts that occur at school and discuss different
approaches to resolve them.
Display the Lesson’s Success Criteria
Explain to students that they will know what they have learned from the lesson by
being able to say, I can:

 Recognize that conflict is a necessary part of life.

 Identify different approaches to resolving conflict.
 Recognize that conflict can lead to positive outcomes
Describe the activity. Form mixed groups of approximately two to three students.
Display the Animals of Conflict Reference Guide. Tell students that in this activity
they will be learning more about conflicts and will practice using the three conflict
resolution styles.

Model the activity. Hand a strip of paper to each student. Instruct everyone to think
of conflicts they have seen at school and write one on their strip of paper.

Conflicts can happen anywhere. Pick one you’ve seen occur between students in the
classroom, the hallway, the lunchroom, or on the playground, and write it on your
paper.

Collect the strips of paper and put them in a container. Select one, read it aloud, and
instruct students to brainstorm solutions to the conflict. Tell students to think of all
different types of strategies—both helpful and unhelpful—so they can practice
effective approaches to resolving conflicts.

Ex.: Sample conflict: What might you do if one of your classmates made fun of your
new haircut? Possible responses: I would ignore the classmate, tell the classmate to
stop making fun of me, make fun of the person’s outfit, tell him or her privately that
my feelings are hurt, pretend to laugh, or pretend to think it’s funny.

Engage in the activity. Have each group randomly select another strip of paper. In
their same groups, have students discuss possible solutions to the conflict. Give
students 4-5 minutes for discussion and brainstorming time. Have one person in the
group write down the ideas so they can be shared with the class.

Use the brainstormed solutions to discuss the three conflict resolution styles. Draw
three columns on the board that will represent passive, assertive, and aggressive
conflict resolution styles. Do not label the columns yet. Use the Animals of Conflict
Reference Guide to help you categorize the responses.

Invite students from each group to share their conflict resolution ideas. Record each
idea in the appropriate column on the board.

Discuss how the student solutions all represent different ways in which people handle
conflict. Let students know it’s important to understand the perspective of others on
how they handle conflict as it helps you respond more helpfully.
 Debrief the activity. Provide each student with the Animals of Conflict Reference
Guide. Discuss each conflict style in order of the columns. Ask students what they
notice about each column and why the animal is a good animal to represent them.

 The first column—the Conflict Avoider is a passive or ‘Turtle Response’ (Ex.:

Individuals don’t express their feelings; they may let others take advantage of
them; they are uncomfortable handling conflict). Reinforce that a turtle is a
good animal to represent this approach because the person is hiding from the
conflict—retreating inside his or her shell.
 The middle column—the Solution Finder or Owl Response. (Ex.: The person is
trying to compromise, show respect for the other person, express his or her
feelings and ideas, come up with a solution, expresses ideas clearly). Reinforce
that An Owl is a good animal to represent this type of approach because Owls
are careful and wise.
 The last column—the Conflict Controller strategy or Shark Response. (Ex.:
The person is trying to control the situation, be aggressive, say hurtful things,
blame the other person.) Reinforce that a shark is a good animal to represent
this type of approach because sharks attack and are fierce.

Ask the class when each approach might be helpful and when each would not be
helpful. Ask why they think it is important to take others’ perspectives in how they
resolve conflict. Remind students that the Owl’s approach usually helps find solutions
that benefit ourselves and others.
Differentiation Options

 Additional Support: Give students the Animals of Conflict Reference Guide before
explaining the conflict types, so they can read and follow along as each type is being introduced.
 Challenge: Have students think of multiple helpful solutions to the conflicts written in the strips
and determine which solution would work best and why.

Ask students to recall the lesson and discuss each of these questions. Provide wait time, and then
share out in a class discussion.

 What did you learn about conflict, why conflicts occur, and different approaches to resolving them?
 Why might conflicts be difficult to resolve? How do they create opportunities for learning?
 What challenges might a person face if using an Owl approach to resolving conflict?

Review the Success Criteria with students

Read each “Can I” question, and give students wait time to reflect and gauge their
success with the lesson. Ask students to answer, “How do I know?” by recalling their
learning experiences from the lesson. Can I:
  Recognize that conflict is a necessary part of life?
 Identify different approaches to resolving conflict?
 Recognize that conflict can lead to positive outcomes?

Everyday Moments

 When conflicts are shown in academic materials or occur at school, discuss the
three problem-solving approaches—Turtle, Owl, and Shark—using language
from this lesson.
 Encourage students to identify conflict strategies that are present in their
environment or the media.
 Keep the remaining conflict strips of paper and select a “conflict of the day” to
discuss. Have students brainstorm responses that correspond to the three
approaches to solving conflicts.
 Invite students to add conflicts to the container if they would like to discuss
those situations with the class.

SEL In Action

Depending on time, you can use one or more of the following journal or conversation
prompts to help students connect the Success Criteria to their lives and goals and to
help you gauge students’ level of understanding.

Option 1: What conflict approach(es) have you used in the past? Did the approach(es)
work? What happened?

Option 2: Think of a conflict you witnessed or were part of. How might the conflict
have been resolved better or more successfully with the Owl approach to conflict
resolution?

Option 3: How can skills you learned in this lesson help you make progress toward
reaching your Personal Harmony Goals and learning from each other?