- Try a twist on the classic game of telephone in order to teach your kids about positive speech. Ask the children to sit in a circle; tell them they are to whisper the sentence they hear whispered into their own ear, to the person on their left. Inform them that all whispered words must be nice, not mean. Start the game off by whispering a sentence such as, "I like your shoes," or, "You have a nice smile," to the first student. By the time word travels to the last child in the circle, you will have a very different sentence than what you started with, which will likely make everyone laugh. In addition to entertaining the children, you will be giving them a first-hand example of how nice it feels to hear and say positive things to their peers.
- This game teaches children how good it feels to be praised by their peers. Have children sit in a circle. Go around the circle, complimenting each child individually. Focus on concrete compliments, such as, "Your necklace is pretty," or, "I like your hair color." Ask the children how it feels to hear nice things said about them. Tell children that it is their turn to say nice things about each other. Go around the circle, having children give one compliment to the student on their right. If the children are enjoying the activity, reverse the circle for another round of compliments, having students give the person on their left one nice compliment.
- Pass out bingo cards and bingo markers to each child in your class. Compliment some of the nice things children say while they settle down to play the game. "Suzie said excuse me to Dashon when she accidentally bumped into him," or, "Kiana said thank you to me when I handed her a bingo card." Explain to the children that the nice things they just said are a big part of having good manners. Tell the group that you are going to play a game to help them learn more nice things they can say when they want to have good manners. Read a series of nice sentences from your bingo calling cards; have the children cover the space on their bingo boards that corresponds to each calling card. The first student to cover the board completely, or to complete a full vertical, diagonal or horizontal row on his board, wins the game.
- This exercise is a great way to teach children how to use different volume levels for their voices at different times. Have children sit in a circle. Ask them if they are loud or quiet at a baseball game. Now ask them if they are loud or quiet in a library. Tell the students that it takes practice to know when it is time to speak, and how loudly to speak in different settings. Instruct children that you are going to play a game. When you say, "Ball game" they can talk, yell or laugh as loudly as they want. Tell them that as soon as they hear you say, "Library" they are to talk to each other only in whispers. Lastly, instruct them that when you say, "Teacher's turn" they are to be completely silent. Call out the different phrases every 10 to 20 seconds. The children will likely get very engaged in this game, which will help them to work out their giggles and energy, while at the same time learn polite talking habits.
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