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Unit 1: Synthesis Activity

  1. Ask students to imagine that they are living with a group. (Younger students might be told that this group is in a summer camp or that it is a nuclear family; older students might be told that it is a group of adults who share a home.)
  2. Explain that the "family" has regular group meetings at which house members air grievances and that one of these meetings will be held today.
  3. Divide the class into groups of four, each representing a different family. Give each student a card that lists one of the following grievances:
    • People are forgetting when it's their turn to clean.
    • People are snacking on food needed for meals.
    • People are playing music or the TV too late at night
    • People are leaving the lights, oven, and iron on, causing high electricity bills.
  4. Explain that each student should air his or her grievance, but at the same time, all family members should try to demonstrate the following attitudes and behaviors throughout the meeting:
    • Enthusiasm
    • Helpfulness
    • Interest
    • Alertness
    • Encouragement
    • Supportiveness
  5. Ask some observing students to list solutions that family members suggest; ask other observing students to note ways specific family members demonstrate behaviors listedin no. 4 above. The teacher should rate family members' performances using behaviors listed in no. 4 above as criteria.
  6. Have groups take turns having meetings so that each student has an opportunity to act as a family member; specific grievances might vary from family to family.
  7. After all, groups have met, have the class:
    • Identify any grievances that were not under someone's control. (Students should identify all grievances listed in no. 3 above as controllable, i.e., as things people can choose to do or not to do.)
    • Label solutions the families proposed for their problems as either controllable or uncontrollable.
    • Describe what would happen if family members used behaviors that were the opposites of those listed in no. 4 above. (The family would get nothing done, and people would feel hurt and angry).