In order to teach a child to care for his fellow peers, he needs to know what feelings are and what it means to feel different ways. This project is meant for fourth or fifth grade students. Take index cards and write on each one a different feeling, such as sick, furious, angry, etc. Hand one out to each student in the class, and have the student write down a true story about a time that he felt this way and what it felt like. After the students, are finished have each student share his story with the class.
Some students need to be taught how to care for their friends and fellow classmates. Through this project, the student will investigate how other students in the class want to be treated when they feel a certain way. Hand every student a paper that has a feeling word at the top, such as happy, bored, scared, etc. Have every student go around the room asking five people to tell him what he would like others to do when he has this feeling. Every student should have five answers on his paper at the end. Then the teacher can compile the list together and make copies to go over with the class.
Social skills are taught as early as preschool. The paper plate faces project teaches children what it means to feel a certain way so that he can care for his friend properly. Help the child make paper plates with cut-out shapes for the eyes, nose and mouth, so that every face expresses a different feeling. During circle time, have each child share his paper plate feeling with the class by telling a story about a time he felt like this and what others did for him that he liked.
Once the students understand what feelings are, it is important for them to see it in action. The best way for students to see everyday examples of how to care for others is by watching others role play or act out a scene. Split the students into pairs. Give each pair a feeling written on paper. The pair of students should decide who will have the feeling and who will respond to the one with the feeling. Each pair of students should brainstorm a time when such a feeling occurred and how they felt about it, then act it out for the class.