9.
Mannerisms
Explain to your classmates that little habits done over and over can cloud messages,
irritate others, and cause problems. You and your partner will carry on a
conversation with each other while demonstrating the following mannerisms:
sniffing, biting fingernails, coughing, twirling hair, clearing throat, scratching and
playing with objects. Ask the class if the mannerisms made it hard to pay attention
to what was being said. Remind the class that most of us don’t have this many
distracting mannerisms at once, but most of us have some.
Ask the class if they see habits that they have. Are there sometimes medical reasons
that would make people unable to control some of their behaviors? The good news
is that most of us can change our behaviors by becoming aware of them and working
on them. Ask classmates to take a few minutes to think about behaviors that they
exhibit too often and encourage them to make up their minds that they can change
themselves.
10. Personal Space
Explain to your classmates that we all need a certain amount of space to feel
comfortable. Ask if they have ever felt uncomfortable because someone was
standing too close to them or when someone they didn’t know sat next to them even
though there were lots of other empty seats. Use the “Zone Game Instructions”
handout to play the Zone Game with your classmates. (Ask your teacher for a copy
of the handout.)
Play the zone game with the class. Have students volunteer to come up and show
how close you should be in relation to others for different situations.
Here is a chart that will provide guidelines for you. You or your partner can stand in
one spot and let the volunteers take turns standing at the appropriate distances. You
may need a yardstick or ruler to help measure appropriate distances.
11. Touch
Explain to your classmates that our culture has very strict rules about appropriate
touching that we all must observe. Otherwise we can get into serious trouble. When
we decide to touch someone, we have to think about where he/she will be touched
and how hard or soft.
Demonstrate for the class the acceptable areas for touching (outside of the bodyline:
outside the arms, outside the legs and the top of the shoulders). All other areas
should be off limits.
Demonstrate that how you touch someone also makes a difference. Examples:
A) Patting someone on the shoulder when he does well is appropriate. Poking him
is not.
B) Squeezing too hard or soft on a handshake or hug can bother the other person.
Remind students to watch adults they admire to get clues about when, where and
how to touch. Ask students if they agree with the statement, “The safest policy is to
keep your hands and feet to yourself.” Why or why not?
PROTEAM DREAMQUEST CURRICULUM
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