Activity 1: (15 minutes) WHAT IS FEEDBACK? 

Review the Pyramid of Happiness anchor chart from the slides and practice the actions associated with each level of the pyramid:

• Basic Needs: rub tummy and pretend to drink (food and water)
• Safety: pretend to put on a helmet, touch both elbows (physical safety)
• Connection: wrap arms around oneself in a hug (connection)
• Believe in Yourself: make a muscle with both arms (being strong, capable)
• Superstar Self: strike a superhero pose (being one’s best, superstar self)

Highlight the fourth level of the pyramid (Believe in Yourself) and its action (make a muscle with both arms). When others tell us how well we are doing or teach us how to get better, we will believe in ourselves more and more. Have a discussion:

• Who is someone that has taught you to do something hard?
• How did they help you believe in yourself?

Explain to students you have been trying to learn how to do a jumping jack. Tell them you would like their help to make sure you are doing it correctly. Do a jumping jack incorrectly. (Teacher Tip: Be silly and have fun with this. Give your students the opportunity to see your human side.) Call on students to give you advice. Repeat a few times until you can perform a jumping jack correctly, based on their tips. Explain that you just learned from their feedback.

Explain that feedback is information that helps us do better. We can get feedback from teachers, coaches, parents, and even our friends.

Highlight the fifth level of the pyramid (Superstar Self) and its action (strike a superhero pose). Explain that when we feel good about ourselves, we learn new things or improve. Receiving feedback helps us become our best (superstar) selves. Have a discussion:

• When has someone helped you to get better at something?
• What did they say to you?

While it may be hard to hear about mistakes, feedback can help us see how we can grow and improve.

Activity 2: (15 minutes) EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES

Share a simple definition of the word “mistake.” Ask students to raise their hands if they have ever made a mistake. Call on a few students to share a mistake that they have made, if they feel comfortable doing so. (Teacher Tip: Begin the discussion by sharing a kid-friendly example of a time that you made a mistake.)

Explain that an important thing to remember about feedback is that everyone makes mistakes and needs feedback. Sometimes we feel bad when we make mistakes, but we should remember that feedback helps us grow if we are willing to listen.

Watch the video “Muppet Songs: Big Bird – Everyone Makes Mistakes” by Muppet Songs. Encourage the children to dance and sing along. Have a discussion: 

• Why is it okay to make mistakes? Explain. (EQ)

Read the book Everybody Makes Mistakes by Kayla Chalko or watch the read-aloud video “Everybody Makes Mistakes,” by Walkie Talkie Speech Therapy Inc. from 0:12–2:12. Have a discussion: 

• What does it feel like when you make a mistake? (EQ)
• Is it okay to feel sad or angry when you mess up?
• What is something you have learned from one of your mistakes?

Activity 3: (15 minutes) AUSTIN’S BUTTERFLY 

Explain that sometimes feedback can be hard to hear. Imagine that you worked really hard on drawing a picture of a butterfly, but then your teacher told you it was not quite right. Ask students to think about the following:

• How do you think you would react? 
• Would it make you sad? 
• Would you want to quit and never draw pictures again?

Watch the video “Critique and Feedback – The Story of Austin’s Butterfly” by Tali Lerner from 0:15–6:15. Encourage students to pay attention to how Austin used feedback to improve. (Teacher Tip: Pause the video after each draft is shown and invite 1–2 students to offer their feedback about what needs to be changed before listening to the kid’s responses in the video.) After the video, have a discussion:

• How did feedback help Austin draw a better butterfly? (EQ)
• Do you think that Austin was sad that he had to redraw his butterfly?
• What do you think Austin learned about feedback from this experience?

Activity 4: (20 minutes) RECEIVING FEEDBACK

Share a simple definition of the word “receive” from the slides.

Remind students that people almost never get things just the way they want them on the first try.

Define the word “draft” and explain how drafts work when making art.

Pass out a blank paper to each student. Select an object in the classroom for students to draw and place it where everyone can see it up close. (Teacher Tip: A document camera may work best. If you do not have a document camera, project a picture of an object from your computer.)

Give students 3–5 minutes to draw a picture of the object. Encourage them to make the drawing just like the object, including as many details as they can. (Teacher Tip: Explain what details are using the information on the slides.)

(Teacher Tip: As students work, draw your own picture on the whiteboard, making obvious flaws that students will correct later.)

After sufficient time, invite the class to practice giving you a helpful correction about your drawing on the whiteboard. Remind students to be specific and kind. Use the following sentence frames to get them started:

• I really like how you…
• Maybe you could try…

Pair students together and give them a few minutes to offer feedback to each other using the same sentence frames. Remind them to be kind and helpful.

Have students return to their papers and, using the other side of the paper, give them 3–5 minutes to draw a second draft. Invite students to compare their first and second attempts. Have a discussion:

• What feedback did you receive about your drawing?
• What did you try to do in your second drawing?
• Did you improve after receiving feedback? (EQ)

Activity 5: (15 minutes) FEEDBACK HATS

Prior to this activity, print a pair of red and green hats using the Feedback Hats quarter sheets. Print red hats on red printer paper and green hats on green printer paper. Cut apart the quarter sheets, making enough for each student to have 1 red hat and 1 green hat.

Explain what the green and red hats mean using the definitions of a “compliment” and “correction” from the slides. Pass out a red and green hat to each student. Students will practice identifying compliments and corrections using examples on the slides. Read each phrase aloud and have students vote by raising either their red or green card. (Adapted from Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats,” by Katrina Schwartz.)

Pass out a red and green hat to each student.

Have students practice holding up either hat and giving red and green feedback while observing the images on the slides. Teach students to give feedback that is specific and helpful (e.g., “Next time, they should start with the top button and slow down,” “Next time, they should hold the cup with both hands,” “Next time, they should take a deep breath before responding”).

Keep the class together, but assign each student a partner who they will pair-share with. For each scenario on the slide, invite students to discuss compliments and corrections they could give. Remind students about the sentence starters they can use. Following partner discussion, discuss as a whole class and invite a few students to share ideas that they came up with. As they listen to different ideas, have the rest of the students raise their cards when they hear a compliment (green) or correction (red).

For the rest of the day, provide students the opportunity to give each other feedback. For example, during clean-up time you could assign 1–3 students to be the clean-up monitors. They could roam the room, offering compliments and constructive corrections about things that still need fixing.

Extension: Ask students if they have ever played a sport where their coach told them what to do. Explain that a coach gives feedback to help their players be better.

Divide the class into small groups. Designate 1 student in each group to be the coach. Have the coach demonstrate how to throw or kick a ball for their group. Then the coach should have each group member practice kicking or throwing the ball, offering them feedback, using compliments and corrections. (Teacher Tip: Model this process before setting students to work.) Gather back together and have students debrief, sharing what they observed and learned.

Activity 6: (15 minutes) ATTITUDE FOR SUCCESS

Remind students that we may feel all kinds of feelings when we are receiving feedback and that all of those feelings are okay. If we listen to feedback, even if we are not sure about it, we are choosing to have a good attitude. Define the word “attitude” from the slides. (Teacher Tip: Share a few more examples of good and bad attitudes that you have observed in your classroom, without naming names. Use this as an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the good that you see in your students.)

Watch the video “How to Respond to Feedback,” by YourClassical MPR. As they watch, encourage students to pay attention to how Tesfa, the singer, responds to feedback from his teacher. Have a discussion:

• Did Tesfa have a good or bad attitude about his teacher’s feedback?  (EQ)
• What did Tesfa do when his teacher asked him to stand up straight? 
• Did his teacher’s feedback help Tesfa sing better? Explain.

Pose the scenarios from the slides and discuss each corresponding question, emphasizing whether the characters had good or bad attitudes about feedback. In scenarios that include bad attitudes, have the class explain what a good attitude could look like.