Summary of Story
Sofie tells us about the strangers who are community helpers that belong in the Red Stranger Circle. She uses the mail carrier, grocery store clerk, doctor, and nurse as examples. When the community helpers interact with Sofie, she limits it to a business relationship. Sofie explains that some strangers, like mail carriers and doctors, may know her name, but they don’t know anything about her beyond what they need to know to do their job. Sofie relies on their uniforms or name badges for clues as to the nature of their business relationship. Sofie also says that she never ever touches strangers but that some strangers may need to touch her to perform a service. For example, a doctor or nurse may touch her to provide medical care, or a store clerk may touch her hand when giving change.
Teacher’s Note
The Red Stranger Circle uses an icon shaped like an ID badge to distinguish strangers who are community helpers from strangers who are not community helpers. Generally, community helpers can be recognized by their uniforms (e.g., badges, clothing, caps, equipment) or location, such as standing behind the counter in an established business. Business with a community helper is usually carried out through conversation. Typically, students are familiar with the term “stranger” and believe they know what a stranger is. With further inquiry, it has been revealed that they often define a stranger as “a bad or scary person who will hurt you.” Take this opportunity to correct this misconception by explaining that a stranger is an unknown person and, consequently, it is impossible to know if the stranger is good or bad, nice, or nasty, helpful, or hurtful. Wariness of strangers is certainly called for, but the risk of abuse from strangers is significantly less than the risk of abuse from individuals in closer relationships.
Program Aims
To establish the degree of intimacy associated with community helpers who are strangers in the Red Stranger Circle, using business interactions, as examples of times when it is appropriate to talk to strangers.
Methods
Step 1: Review the Orange Wave Circle Video and review the following:
- Who is the most important person in your world of CIRCLES?
- What kind of touch, talk, and trust is acceptable with a person in your Orange Wave Circle?
- Who are some of the people that might be in their Orange Wave Circle?
Step 2: Inform students that today they will learn about another circle: the Red Stranger Circle. Strangers are people that you do not know.
Step 3: Play the Red Stranger Circle video. Elicit the Deciding Factors from students, either from their memory, by replaying the video vignette, or helping younger students name them. Refer to the large CIRCLES graph, point to the red circle and present the factors below. Discuss as needed.
- Sofie does not know strangers
- Community Helper strangers may know Sofie’s name if they need to, for their job.
- Sofie can recognize community helper strangers by their uniform or badge
- Sofie doesn’t know personal information about strangers, and she does not share personal information with them.
- Sofie only talks to strangers to perform a transaction, like accepting a package or answering questions at the doctor’s office.
Step 4: The Teacher uses the laminated - figural icons (or photos provided by students) on the wall-mounted CIRCLES graph to demonstrate the placement of the new characters on the CIRCLES graph. Reinforce the distance between the Purple Private “me” space and those individuals in whichever circle relationship is being exemplified. In this example, red. Place an icon of a community helper (notice the icon shape of a badge) on the graph.
Step 5: Remind students that they should only talk to or touch a community helper stranger if necessary to complete the transaction. Ask students to name some situations where a community helper might need to touch them. Examples: Doctor or dentist, accepting change for a purchase, a sales clerk helping them try on shoes, etc.
Step 6: Distribute personal CIRCLES graphs. The children will already have colored in the orange circle. Review the distance between the Purple Private Circle and the Red Stranger Circle and review the sign for each. Next, teachers should assist students in personalizing their Red Stranger Circle by using the Peel n’ Stick icons that best represent the community helpers they know as belonging in their Red Stranger Circle.
Step 7: Tell students, or elicit from them, if they are able, the following information about touch, talk, and trust with community helpers in their Red Stranger Circle:
- Touch - Sofie can touch or be touched by health workers or community helpers if it relates to their business together (i.e., a medical touch)
- Talk - Sofie can talk to health workers and some community helpers about their business (i.e., her health, a store transaction)
- Trust - Sofie can trust community helpers about the business they have together.
For Greater Depth (Optional)
- Roleplay everyday interactions between the children and community helpers:
- Answering a nurse’s questions about your health, accepting a package from a postal worker, asking the store clerk where to find something, asking a police officer for help if they are lost.
- Or make community helper puppets to illustrate the above.
- Set up the dramatic play area of your classroom as a doctor’s office or post office for students to play and practice interactions with community helpers.
- Develop a specific list of healthcare professionals, students will likely encounter, such as eye doctor, dentist, doctor, nurse, physical therapist, etc. Have students list what parts of their bodies would be appropriate areas for examination by these professionals.
Summary
Replay the video vignette as needed to reinforce students’ comprehension and skill development. Tell students that community helpers who are in their Red Stranger Circle are people that they know only by the jobs they do. They are recognizable by the uniforms and badges they wear and their equipment.
Support Activity
- Use magazines to find pictures of community helpers and make a collage of different people the children may place in their Red Stranger circle:
- Some kids may be able to cut out pictures, others may only be able to point to pictures they want cut out, or they can help glue pictures
Consider This
Strangers may be very friendly, smile, or be polite as they interact with your students, but friendliness does not equal friendship or familiarity. This can confuse students with cognitive challenges during interactions with friendly individuals in their everyday lives. Help them learn that a friend is someone you build a relationship with guided by the Deciding Factors described in each circle. Friendliness suggests only the possibility of friendship, following CIRCLES rules support relationship-building, leading to actual friendship.