TEACHER’S GUIDE:
SELF-ESTEEM LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Students will explore how self-esteem impacts self-perception and achievement. • Students will understand how to build their self-esteem.
Estimated Viewing Time: Completing the entire episode will take approximately 12-16 minutes. A breakdown of time by segment follows: • WATCH: • TRY: • APPLY:
5 minutes 4-6 minutes 3-5 minutes
SYNOPSIS OF THE WATCH SEGMENT Willard and Lorenzo show a picture to Nermal that Willard drew. It shows Nermal as an ugly and very short cat. They make fun of Nermal, who runs inside to tell Garfield and Arlene what happened. Arlene points out that the jokes are hurting Nermal’s self-esteem. Garfield goes to check on his monster meatball-and-pizza sub and turns into Professor G. Dr. Nova and Professor G contact Nermal to explain that self-esteem means feeling good about yourself, no matter what others think. Self-esteem is important because it gives you power to make decisions, to meet new people, and to feel good no matter what happens. To build your selfesteem, you need to be positive and believe in yourself. If a small voice inside your head sometimes tells you that you’re not any good, you can fight these negative thoughts by visualizing positive things about yourself. Professor G shows pictures of a droopy tree and a tall, straight tree to demonstrate that your body language can tell people how you feel about yourself and show that you have confidence. Dr. Nova adds that you should also surround yourself with friends who believe in you.
BUILD BACKGROUND Ask the students to stand slumped over and with frowns on their faces. Then, ask them to stand up straight and tall, and smile. Encourage a discussion about how they felt in each pose.
SAY: Sometimes, the way we stand affects how we feel. And sometimes, how we feel affects the way we stand! When you are happy and confident with yourself, you stand tall and proud. Being confident means that you know yourself pretty well and that you respect yourself. Who would you rather hang out with— people who slump over and who never feel good about themselves or people who stand tall and always know they are doing their best, no matter what anyone else thinks?
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INTRODUCE VOCABULARY Write and discuss the definition of each keyword. Pause after each definition to answer questions and provide examples. Use each keyword in a sample sentence to show students how each is used in context. self-esteem esteem
feeling respect for yourself
positive
the ability to do something well
body language
to be able to see something in your mind
respect
skill
negative
visualize
to honor or respect to think of someone with feelings of honor and admiration something that is good and right something that is wrong or not helpful movements your body makes when you feel certain feelings
SAY: Now, we’re going to complete an interactive lesson containing characters from Garfield and Friends. The lesson will help us learn more about self-esteem.
GUIDE THE VIEWING OF SELF-ESTEEM
After students complete the interactive lesson, have them join the rest of the class in a circle or another seating arrangement conducive to an informal class discussion.
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TRY Answer Key Drag and drop the correct answer in the blank windows of this Web page about self-esteem. 1. If you start feeling bad about yourself and a little voice inside your head starts to tell you that you’re no good, what should you do? Stand tall and imagine yourself doing something good! 2. If you just moved to a new neighborhood and feel strange because you might not look or dress like the people you see around you, what should you do? Enjoy the fact that you’re different and know that this makes people want to know you. 3. What if you get a bad grade on a test? Study harder next time and try for a higher grade. 4. Now let’s add some pictures. Which one do you think has better self-esteem? Cat 2 5. What if your friend started to have low self-esteem? What could you do to help him or her build it up? Tell them all the good things you like about them. 6. Choose three positive things about yourself. Answers will vary.
APPLY Answer Key Click on the thought cloud that can help build Nermal’s self-esteem. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
You’re the World’s Cutest Kitten. Think of all the good things people say about you. Always believe in yourself! Your friends love your dancing. Stop listening to the negative voices in your head.
© 2011 Virginia Department of Education © PAWS all rights reserved
MONITOR COMPREHENSION Begin a class discussion by asking students what they thought about the story on Self-Esteem.
ASK: How did Willard’s picture of Nermal and jokes about his height make Nermal feel? (not very good about himself) How did Professor G and Dr. Nova explain self-esteem to Nermal? (it’s feeling good about yourself, no matter what others think) Why is self-esteem important? (it gives you the power to make tough decisions for yourself, to meet new people, and to feel good about yourself no matter what happens) Does everyone have self-esteem? (no, it’s a skill you need to develop and work on) How can you keep up your self-esteem if you are feeling bad about yourself because you can’t do something or because someone says negative things about you? (you can visualize the good things about yourself to fight negative thoughts, you can stand tall to make yourself look and feel confident in yourself, and you can make friends with people who believe in you, too)
SAY: Having self-esteem means that you will be a happier person and that you will have enough confidence in yourself to keep trying even when you’re having a bad day. People who don’t have self-esteem are often miserable all the time. If you often catch yourself thinking negative things about yourself, make sure you practice fighting those negative thoughts by remembering good things about yourself.
CONSOLIDATE LEARNING In your journal, draw a picture of your head. On the left side, draw a thought-bubble with something negative that you have thought about yourself recently or that someone else said to you. On the right side, draw a thought bubble with a positive thought about yourself that you can use to fight the negative thought. Do this two more times.
EVALUATE Conclude the activity by asking students to share any of their questions or comments. Encourage students to continue the conversation about self-esteem at home with their parents or caregivers. Administer the Self-Esteem Quiz to assess whether students have met the learning objectives for the lesson. After evaluating the results of the assessment, you may wish to go over any learning objectives that students did not grasp.
© 2011 Virginia Department of Education © PAWS all rights reserved
QUIZ ANSWER KEY 1. false 2. true 3. true 4. false 5. true 6. open 7. open 8. open 9. open 10. open
© 2011 Virginia Department of Education © PAWS all rights reserved
QUIZ:
SELF-ESTEEM NAME
DATE
TRUE OR FALSE Read each sentence carefully. In the space provided, mark a T for true or an F for false next to each statement. _______ 1. You should worry most about what other people think about you. _______ 2. Good self-esteem gives you the power to make tough decisions. _______ 3. Standing straight and tall shows people you have confidence. _______ 4. Negative thoughts boost your self-esteem. _______ 5. You have to work hard to build your self-esteem. Answer each question the best you can. There is no right or wrong answer. 6. Who is someone you believe in?
7. Why do you believe in that person?
8. How do you think you are like that person?
© 2011 Virginia Department of Education © PAWS all rights reserved
NAME
DATE
Now it’s time to help build a friend’s self-esteem! Look at one of the classmates near you: in front of you, behind you, to your left, or to your right. Fill in the blanks with something you can say about him or her. 9. I think you are really good at . 10. You are a good friend to others because .
© 2011 Virginia Department of Education © PAWS all rights reserved
