Helping You Make a Meaningful Mark on Today’s Youth
Social Emotional Learning | Character Education | Social Skills
Your job as an elementary teacher is important.I know because my mother taught second grade for over 36 years.
She worked all the time.I even remember going to the store for teachers to buy supplies.
A great deal falls on your shoulders.
Test scores, parent conferences, not to mention your own family.
That is why today, we would like to share tips on how to teach eye contact and empathy in your classroom.
Yes, the two lesson plans can be combined.
Here is how to teach both eye contact and empathy in your classroom.
I was working in the classroom with elementary teachers.One specifically asked for a lesson plan on saying “Excuse me”.She went on to tell me that her students will say it and keep moving.She pointed out the importance of having the student make eye contact while saying “excuse me”.
I have been teaching it this way ever since.It was a teachable moment for me.
Whether you are saying “excuse me” because you need to interrupt or because you have stepped on a toe or need someone to move, it is so important to look them in the eye…..make eye contact.Here is why:so the other person knows you mean it.Yes, it is that simple.It is a gesture that makes a difference.
Tip: Teacher to Teacher
Teaching eye contact and empathy at the same time is easy to set up as a role-playing activity. Eye contact and empathy are everyday gestures. It needs to be pointed out to your students when they do it….naturally during their daily activities and interaction with other students. You can also point this out when you make the gesture of eye contact and express empathy.
As an educator, you know how important social skills are for a child’s success.
Children who are polite, well-spoken, and attentive to others find it easier to get along with their peers and make a positive impression on the adults in their lives. As a result, more opportunities come their way, laying the foundation for future success in life.
Yet too many children are not being taught proper manners or other valuable social skills at home. This means it’s up to us as educators to equip them with these important life tools – and help them grow up to be responsible, caring, successful global citizens.
We want to help you. It takes time to research. Our lesson plans are accurate and comprehensive, provide scripted dialogue, and of course, include all the handouts needed. 21st Century Skills are on each lesson plan.
Manners To Go™ is a full-service company for those choosing to teach manners to children. You can make a difference. All children and teenagers deserve to feel what it is like to be confident and use good manners out in the world.
Manners To Go™ is taught in public, private, and charter schools around the world. The New York Times, Parents Magazine and Fox News have all featured Manners To Go and the many benefits of teaching social skills to children.
Whether you are an educator who wants to teach it in the classroom or someone who is looking to become trained and certified, we provide all the solutions.
My name is Lisa Richey, and I am the founder of Manners To Go™. This brand has given me the honor of teaching manners to thousands of people around the world. The journey has taken me from Portland, Oregon to the Middle East. I believe that manners are not about judgment or rules. Manners are about self-interest. It really is about how using good manners makes you feel on the inside.
Manners Curriculum: Available for All Grade Levels
Ideas and Lesson Plans To Teach Manners in Your Classroom
Ideas and lesson plans to teach manners in your classroom: Self-confidence can be a learned social skill and it starts with awareness. At Manners To Go, time and time again we receive phone calls from teachers and parents asking for help with shyness and low self-esteem issues with their students. We want our children and teenagers to move through life with ease, boundless opportunities, good friends, and adventure.
Eye contact is the basis of a self-confident child. There are many things you can do to assure a child has endless amounts of self-confidence. Let’s start with eye contact. Here is how you can incorporate this in your classroom or after-school program.
When you have the time, be fully present with your student. What a gift it is when you give a child (or anyone) your undivided attention.
Make eye contact. Explain eye contact and how to make it.This sounds so simple, but it works. Look at your student and point out what you are doing and why. Of all the topics and modules in our curriculum, teaching eye contact is the most gratifying experience because you can see a child light up and understand what it feels like to be confident. The child gets it….immediately. As a teacher, you see a marked difference by the end of class. Parents also notice the change. I remember the first time a parent called our office to let us know their child’s teacher mentioned the change in the student. The teacher asked what the parent was doing. Of course, the parent said they were intentionally teaching eye contact. It works! We promise.
Over the years we have noticed when you bring awareness to what confidence is and how it feels inside to have eye contact, the child makes a radical change, instantaneously. Remember, your students are watching you.
Our curriculum is available to use in your classroom. The lesson plans are easy to use and may be customized to fit into your timeframe. Teachers use this in 10-minute segments or some devote an entire semester. Of course, there are enough modules for an extended after-school program. Role-playing actives are included. In fact, that is what we are known for….our curriculum is modern and relevant. Children and teens love attending a Manners To Go program.
Would you like your children or students to have better manners in public?
Have you ever gone to the movies and someone near you kept talking during the film? How about the annoyance of having someone kicking your seat from behind on an airplane?
1.Say “good morning” or “thank you”. Greetings are always nice to give and receive. Teach your students or children to make eye contact and say “hello” when meeting someone. When you are out and about during your daily activities, make it a practice to say “thank you” often. When someone holds the door or elevator for you, say ‘thank you”. As a parent or teacher you can show children what to to do by being the example. Remember, children are watching you. You can also point out why you expressed gratitude and how it feels to offer appreciation.
2. Excuse me: If you bump into someone, say “excuse me or I’m sorry”. Make eye contact so the other person know you are sincere.
3.Talk to your friends about the movie after its over, not during the film. When at the movies, throw away your snack containers as you leave the theater. Do not leave them behind. Don’t kick the chair in front of you.
4.Don’t cut in front of others while standing in line. Wait for your turn.
5.Don’t chew gum with your mouth open, and don’t make the popping noise. Only blow bubbles in private. Practicing proper etiquette in public places shows others that you are considerate. It also reinforces your own integrity for choosing to use the good manners you were taught.
6. When out for a day of shopping, put things back the way they were found. Refold the t-shirt you picked up. If you drop a pair of jeans, refold them and put the item back where you found it.
Children learn from the actions of others. Make it common practice in your home or classroom to show consideration for each family member, so that when they’re in public, it will seem natural.
Teaching children to be kind is key to being healthy, happy, and having good manners. Doesn’t it warm your heart when you hear a child has been involved in helping out the community in some significant way? How about the moment when you observe a child talking to the newest student at school? Point these moments out to your students. Kindness lifts our spirits. This can be felt on both sides of the act. As you witness a child demonstrating kindness, point out the act to them and discuss it.
When you discuss the action of performing random acts of kindness there is a chance this will become “standard operating procedure”.
Let your students know this is not about being kind just to receive a gesture of kindness. It is about the feeling it leaves inside when you perform an act of kindness.
Random acts of kindness can make our lives better and easier. Have your student’s friendships improved? How about their relationships with other teachers or educators at your school? Maybe just maybe they feel more confident and happier. I promise this will make for an interesting and positive conversation in your classroom.
If you are looking to start immediately and save money on travel and time, then this is your best option.You choose the dates of our trainings. Most choose to have their sessions once a week, others twice. This is a “live” and private training. It is NOTself-guided.
PRIVATE Training. That’s right, we meet in person, the two of us and our focus is completely on your business. Click the image above or follow the button below to learn more and to see a list of cities available for your training.
Manners To Go is happy to announce we have licensed and certified another teacher to start an etiquette business.
I have a very special place in my heart for teachers. My mother was a teacher for nearly 36 years. My sister was a school administrator. All of my aunts and uncles were teachers.
A Teacher Starts an Etiquette Business
My lineage runs deep. I remember helping my mother set-up her classroom at the beginning of the year.
If you are looking to start immediately and save money on travel and time, then this is your best option.You choose the dates of our trainings. Most choose to have their sessions once a week, others twice. This is a “live” and private training. It is NOTself-guided.
PRIVATE Training. That’s right, we meet in person, the two of us and our focus is completely on your business. Click the image above or follow the button below to learn more and to see a list of cities available for your training.
This book will help you teach social skills in your classroom.
Last weekend I was in our local bookstore. This title, Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang, jumped off the shelf. I walked right to it.
Yes, the cover is bright and inviting but once I opened the book and read a few pages, I knew I had to add to my resources for Preschool children.
Use This Book to Make a Human Connection
And this is why: this book speaks to the many cultures that make up the classrooms across the world. This book also addresses how to make the human connection.
If you have been following us, you know I am a big believer in this topic. Why not start them young – in Preschool?
“The playroom was quiet. Luli couldn’t speak English. Neither could the others. All around the room, children played alone.”
The story goes on to tell about Luli’s plan. She has a fat-bellied (don’t you love this description) teapot with matching cups.
Luli passes around the tea cups to all the children in her class. And everyone speaks a different language- however, they all speak the language of TEA!
This story is heartwarming! I encourage you to get your own copy and share it with your students.
Luli uses a “fat-bellied” teapot to connect with her classmates. This type of teapot is easy to find. You can use paper cups to pass around lemonade or water. Let your students practice pouring tea for each other.
During this time, have them engage in conversation with their classmates. You can read them the story of Luli while they are having “tea”.
Lisa Richey provides etiquette programs to businesses, schools, and individuals.
