Trust Lesson Plan

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Standards Addressed

• Self-Awareness: the ability to recognize one's emotions and values and how they influence behavior
• Self-Management: the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations

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Objectives

• Students will be able to define trustworthiness.
• Students will be able to identify trustworthy and untrustworthy behaviors in fictional characters and people in their own lives.
• Students will be able to explain how their own actions demonstrate trustworthiness.

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Materials

• Trustworthiness video (link in Lesson Plan)
• Computer or tablet for video access
• Paper or student journals for independent reflection
• White board or chart paper for class list

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Assessment

Students can be assessed on:

• Communication during prior knowledge pair work
• Teamwork collaboration and understanding of trustworthiness
• Class discussion participation
• Generalization of concepts and reflection in independent work

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Activating Prior Knowledge

• Facilitate a discussion with the prompt: "How do you determine if someone is trustworthy?"
• Lead a brainstorming session to identify the qualities that make someone trustworthy. As an icebreaker, have students pair up and share two qualities they believe are most important in a trustworthy person.

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Lesson Steps

1) Present a definition of trustworthy behavior: "Trustworthy people are those who keep your confidences, are reliable, respectful, and honest."

2) Address the common misconception that if someone is nice, they are trustworthy and you can share anything with them. Explain how trust must be built over time and through consistent, respectful actions.

3) Play the trustworthiness video to introduce the concept visually.

4) Divide students into small teams to begin their investigation. Instruct them to identify 3 characters from TV, anime, or movies who are trustworthy and 3 who are not. For each character, they should provide two examples of trustworthy or untrustworthy behavior as evidence.

5) Circulate the room to monitor discussion and offer support, provide feedback, and encourage peer discussion.

6) Bring the class together and create a master list of trustworthy and untrustworthy characters on the board based on student findings.

7) Now have students apply their detective skills to their own lives. Allow them to work independently to analyze people in their personal lives and list evidence to demonstrate that those people are trustworthy or untrustworthy. Now have students apply their detective skills to their own lives.

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Reflection

Ask students to reflect on the lesson as they answer the following questions: Are you trustworthy? What qualities do you have that make you trustworthy? What evidence could you find in your actions and words to demonstrate your trustworthiness?

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Digging Deeper

Have students play the “Trust” module of Ava for 10-15 minutes. Discuss what they learned from interacting with characters in the game.

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Here is the printable version of the Trust Lesson Plan.

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Our online SEL video game Ava and its supplemental curriculum have already impacted students in 200+ schools and therapy centers throughout the world. Want to learn how Ava can enhance your SEL program? Let's talk.

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