Speech Bubbles
Practice:
Students are divided into groups of two. One of them draws a stick kid on a paper, alongside a speech balloon. The student writes something that expresses upset. Examples: “Our house got destroyed.”, “No one likes me”, “I sometimes forget what I am asked to do.”
And the other student draws another stick kid and a speech bubble. S/he writes something comforting and encouraging in it. Examples: “Don’t be sad, because…”, “Sometimes we all feel this way, but…”, “That must feel sad; however…”
If they would like, the students can continue with the encouraging dialogue by drawing other bubbles on the stick kids. The same exercise can be made with several students. When one of them writes something sad in the bubble, the others can write encouraging words one by one or when they want to.
This exercise can be performed verbally, as well.
When to Use
Anytime around the year.
Age Level
Middle School, High School
Duration
40 mins
Materials
A pen and paper
Related Areas of Social-Emotional Learning
Empathy, problem-solving, expressing feelings
Purpose
Supporting the relaxation skills of children, while enhancing their ability to encourage and comfort each other.