Learning Skills of Peace through Every Day Conflicts

Practical Activities and Resources for Families, Teachers and Other Caregivers. Noting that the conflicts arising daily for young children provide an opportunity for adults to model and teach skills for handling conflict peacefully, this guide provides tips for preventing unnecessary conflict, offers “first aid” for conflict moments, and provides resources for addressing common situations that can cause conflict. Developed cooperatively by Ohio’s Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, Head Start Association, and Department of Education Division of Early Childhood, with implementation facilitated by many Ohio public libraries, the guide is comprised of 40 thematic units of instruction for the early childhood setting, with most units accompanied by home cards providing tips for preventing conflict and suggested activities. Each unit contains information on the importance of the topic for conflict management and its link to peace, suggested books, activities, and copies of home cards. The 40 units cover: (1) anger and aggression; (2) art; (3) bad day; (4) bad language; (5) bathtime; (6) bedtime; (7) behavior; (8) big and little; (9) big brother, big sister; (10) biting; (11) conflict; (12) cultural diversity; (13) death; (14) disabilities; (15) divorce; (16) dressing; (17) family; (18) fears; (19) feelings and emotions; (20) free choice; (21) lying; (22) mealtime at school; (23) mistakes; (24) nap time at school; (25) new baby; (26) teaching the problem-solving process; (27) safety; (28) school; (29) security objects; (30) self-esteem; (31) sharing; (32) siblings; (33) sickness; (34) stealing; (35) stress; (36) tantrums; (37) time out; (38) transitions; (39) whining and nagging; and (40) work. Also included in the guide are additional resources, such as a list of books for each unit, information on child development and child needs from birth to five years, and suggested readings for teachers and parents.

Inside Contexts – Encountering Conflict

This guide for educators explores the concept of conflict as a way to teach English in an interesting way. It was developed by the Victoria Association for the Teaching of English. It uses four texts that explore different types and levels of conflict against a variety of settings, modern and historical. The texts are The Secret River by Kate Grenville, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Paradise Road by Bruce Beresford, and The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif by R Hillman and N Mazari.

Juliette Hampton Morgan – “A White Woman Who Understood”

The lessons in this guide build upon the life of Juliette Hampton Morgan, a white woman who lived in Montgomery, Alabama, during segregation. At a time when our nation’s laws sanctioned, and in many ways mandated, white supremacy, Morgan challenged racism among her white peers. She was an ally — someone who supports and stands up for the rights and dignity of others — and her story provides a powerful roadmap for today’s students. This guide contains three lesson plans appropriate for grades 9-12 that meet academic content standards for U.S. history, language arts and visual arts. These lessons can be easily incorporated into typical classroom content units. A special lesson for teachers, also included in the guide, is designed as a professional development activity and supports core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Storytelling For Peace

In this 4-part series of web articles, Caren Neile outlines a case for the use of stories and storytelling in preventing conflict, reconciling differences and building peace. Included are 7 sample stories from different parts of the world, a select bibliography, and a directory of storytellers and story-educators for peace.

Pennies for peace toolkit materials

Website presented by “Pennies for Peace is a program of Central Asia Institute (CAI), founded by Greg Mortenson – author of the #1 New York Times best seller, Three Cups of Tea. The heart of the Pennies for Peace program is the penny raising campaign. The campaigns raise money to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but they also serve a more important purpose. A Pennies for Peace campaign teaches young people at all levels the importance of taking action and engaging their communities. It shows them that no matter how big or small you are, you can make a difference for others – often a profound one – by choosing to commit yourself to service and to a cause that matters to you. If you’re a classroom teacher, the Pennies for Peace toolkit encourages you to think differently about your program. The Pennies for Peace toolkit offers deep classroom activities at all grade levels; but to create effective campaigns you’ll need to do more outside of the classroom to get your community involved. For this reason, the Pennies for Peace toolkit is designed with classroom resources as well as campaign tools.” Includes curriculum resource guides for grades K-4, 4-8 and 9-12 as well as videos, maps, photos, etc.