Magic of the Body
Objective
Increase awareness about the hard work our bodies do.
Show gratitude to our bodies.
Identify ways to care for our bodies.
Express gratitude to those who help us to care for our bodies (service extension).
SEL Competencies
Self-Awareness, Social-Awareness
Benefits
Increasing awareness about how our bodies work widens our perspective, so we can discover and appreciate good things about ourselves, especially the smallest, often overlooked parts, such as eyelashes or fingernails. Building positive regard for our bodies improves our mental and physical health.
Core Concept
Widening our perspectives by discovering and expressing gratitude to often overlooked, yet important parts of our bodies.
Student Extension
Write a peace and kindness poem to an adult in your school who helps you care for your body.
- Self-Reflect & Brainstorm: Remind students that one way to show appreciation for the magic of the human body is by taking care of it. Ask the class to give a couple examples of adults in the school who help them to take care of their bodies, brains, and minds and how they help them. Next, ask students to form small groups and create a list of people in the school who help them to take care of their bodies, brains, and minds and how they help them. Finally, invite one person from each group to share their list with the whole class. Be creative – you could have them do this verbally, via a Jamboard, writing them on the classroom board, or another way you create.
- Engage in service: Show students the example of a haiku poem about a school nurse. Ask students to write their own Haiku poem to the school helper of their choice by doing the following:
- Think of kind or encouraging words or phrases about the person.
- Turn these kind and encouraging words or phrases into a Haiku poem, which is composed of 3 lines: Line 1 has 5 syllables, Line 2 has 7 syllables, Line 3 has 5 syllables
- After students write their poems, have them deliver the poems to the person who they chose to write about.
- Reflect on Service: After students share their poems, guide students to pause, breathe, and notice their feelings as they think about what it was like to write and deliver the poem. Invite students to journal for a few moments and then engage in pair-share or small group discussions using these prompts:
- How did it feel to deliver the poem
- How did the caring adult feel?
- Why is it important to show gratitude for our school helpers?
Optional Reflection
Why is it important to have community helpers? Why is it important to show them gratitude?