Activity 1: (20 minutes) FIND YOUR ZONE

Prior to this activity, label each corner of the room (measurements are optional):

1. Close Zone (0–1.5 ft)
2. Personal Zone (1.5–4 ft)
3. Social Zone (4–10 ft)
4. Public Zone (10+ ft)

Introduce the space joke from the slides. Have students try to guess the answer before revealing the punch line. Share the definitions of personal space, respect, and a boundary from the slides.

Introduce the 4 Proximity Zones from the slides (Close Zone, Personal Zone, Social Zone, and Public Zone). Invite student volunteers to come up and demonstrate the distance for each zone. As a class, identify examples of individuals who belong in each zone.

Explain to the class that they will be playing a game of 4 Corners. Point out the 4 labeled corners of the room and explain that you will read a scenario out loud and students will move to the corner that shows how much personal space they would want in that scenario. After each round, choose a few students to explain why they picked their preferred zone. (Teacher Tip: Feel free to add to or amend the scenarios based on the needs of your students.)

After the game, have students return to their seats and have a discussion:

• Did everyone choose the same zones for each scenario? Why or why not?
• How do situations or relationships change how much space we need?
• Why is it important to respect other people’s personal space? (EQ)

Activity 2: (20–30 minutes) BOUNDARY BUILDER

Ask the students to define “boundary” in their own words, then ask for a few students to share their answers. Revisit the definition for the term “boundary” and emphasize that a boundary can be set to protect your body, personal space, or feelings. Explain that sometimes we need to speak to let people know about our personal space boundaries.

Display and read aloud the boundary-setting sentence starters and examples from the slides. Invite students to add to the list if they have more ideas.

Divide the class into groups of 3–4 and go over the instructions for the boundary skits:

• Create a situation where a boundary might need to be set. (Teacher Tip: Approve each situation before groups can continue.)
• Write a short skit where:
  • One person crosses a boundary
  • One person uses respectful language to set a boundary
  • All actors respond respectfully and resolve the situation

Provide groups a set amount of time to plan and rehearse. Then have each group perform their skit. After each performance, call on someone from the audience to answer 1 or more of the following questions about the skit:

• What was the boundary illustrated in this scene?
• How was the boundary set respectfully?
• What might have happened if the boundary was ignored?

Send students back to their seats and have a discussion:

• What felt easy or hard about setting a boundary?
• How can we support each other when someone is setting a boundary?
• Why is it helpful to know what to say if something makes you uncomfortable? (EQ)

Activity 3: (15 minutes) SPACE DETECTIVES

Explain to the class that sometimes, people do not use words to show they are uncomfortable, they use their body language instead. Ask the following question and brainstorm answers on the whiteboard:

• What are some signs someone might give if they want more space?

Share and model a few more physical sign examples from the slides.

Introduce the game Space Detectives. In this game, students will practice spotting these nonverbal clues in action. (Teacher Tip: Feel free to swap out scenarios with situations that would resonate most with your class.)

• Choose 2 volunteers (Person A and Person B) to act out a short scene silently. Pass them each a Space Detective Scenario card, corresponding with their assigned character and scenario number.
• The rest of the class will watch carefully and act as “detectives,” looking for clues in each scene.
• After each scene, have a discussion:
  • Does it look like Person A felt okay with their space?
  • What clues did you notice?
  • What could Person B do differently to show respect for their space?
• Ask the actors to share how they were feeling during the scene, and invite classmates to offer respectful responses or solutions.

Have a discussion:

• What was easy to notice about the actors’ body language? What felt tricky or confusing?
• Why is it important to have your body language match how you feel?
• How can noticing someone else’s body language help you respect their space? (EQ)

Activity 4: (15–30 minutes) RESPECT IT TO WIN IT!

This activity includes 3 game-style rounds designed to challenge and reinforce students’ understanding of personal space and respectful behavior. Play all 3 rounds in sequence or choose the one(s) that best fits your time and class needs. Each round will require the students to be in teams of 4–5 students. Teams can remain the same throughout each round or you can switch them up. Keep score and offer small prizes for winning.

Round 1: True or False Showdown

• Read a behavior scenario aloud from the slides.
• Give teams 30–60 seconds to discuss whether the behavior does or does not show respect for personal space.
• Teams will respond by holding up 1 finger for TRUE and 2 fingers for FALSE.
• Award 1 point per correct answer for each team.
• To earn a bonus point, use a name stick, spinner, or number draw to choose a student for the bonus question. Their team will get the chance to answer:
  • Why do you think that was respectful/not respectful?
  • What could make it better?

Round 2: Respect Relay

• Label opposite sides of the classroom as “Space Protector” and “Space Invader,” using the posters from the Respect Relay cards. Have an area in the middle designated as the “Gray Area,” which is used for scenarios when it is hard to tell whether someone is being respectful of personal space or not.
• Shuffle all 3 types of Respect Relay cards together into 1 stack and place in a central location in the classroom.
• Teams of 4–5 will line up in relay-style. On “go,” the first runner will:
  • Pick a card from the center
  • Bring the card to their team to read and discuss
  • Decide together whether the behavior is respectful or not
  • Place the card under the correct sign: Space Protector (respectful), Space Invader (not respectful), or Gray Area (could go both ways)
  • Tag the next teammate
• Continue until every card is sorted.
• Review the card placements as a class, using the Respect Relay cards PDF document as an answer sheet. (Teacher Tip: Notice that the cards can easily be categorized using the colors blue, yellow, and gray, then compared to the PDF answer sheet.)
  • Award 1 point per correct placement.
  • Award bonus points if the team can justify a “gray area” card with clear reasoning.

Round 3: Fix-It Challenge

• Choose 2–3 scenarios from the “Space Invader” pile from the Respect Relay cards.
• Each team will work together to plan a respectful way to fix the situation, using the sentence starters from the slides.
• Each team will share their “fix-it” responses with the class.
• Award 1–2 points for respectful, realistic responses that show that they understand how to honor personal boundaries.

Have a discussion:

• How can you use what you learned about respecting personal space at school? (EQ) (Teacher Tip: Encourage students to think about how this question applies to situations at recess, during group work, during lunchtime, etc.)

Activity 5: (20 minutes) MY BODY HAS A BUBBLE

Prior to this activity, make a copy of the Book Response Shared Slides (Spanish link) and give your students access to the document. Additionally, watch the video and see if it is the best fit for your students.

Read the book My Body Has a Bubble by Nell Harris or watch the read-aloud video from 0:23–4:55. As students listen, invite them to listen for ways to protect their personal space and respect the personal space of others. (Teacher Tip: Let students know that while this book was written for a younger audience, there are still great lessons to be learned from the story.)

After reading the book, open the shared slides and read the instructions together as a class and clarify any questions that students have. Then set students to work reading and  responding to the quotes. (Teacher Tip: Remind students to be careful and not delete any other responses as they add theirs to each slide. You can duplicate slides so each quote has enough room for student responses. Monitor student responses as they work to see if more room is needed.)

After sufficient time, display the shared slideshow and discuss the responses together.

Activity 6: (15 minutes) PERSONAL SPACE REMINDERS

Pass out a sticky note to each student and invite them to think about what advice or suggestions they would give to teach someone about personal space. Display the questions on the slides to get students thinking. Have students write a 1-sentence suggestion on their sticky note.

Collect and read through the sticky notes. Have students vote on the top 10 suggestions and use them to create a class anchor chart titled “Ways to Respect Personal Space” that can be displayed in the classroom.

Have a discussion:

• What is one space skill you have learned that will help you with friends or classmates?
• How does respecting personal space help us feel safer and happier at school? (EQ)