LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Read about one teen’s advocacy work with kids of essential workers; identify ways to make a positive impact as a mentor; describe the health benefits of helping others.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 8: Advocate for personal, family, or community health. 

CASEL COMPETENCY: Social awareness; responsible decision-making 

KEY VOCAB

mentees, terminal

Lesson Plan: He’s Keeping Kids Connected 

This month’s Changemaker started a mentoring service to help kids of essential workers stay active, engaged and connected. Read on to find out how! 

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How can mentorship have a positive impact in the lives of others as well as in my own life?

 CLOSE-READING QUESTIONS

  1. Why were Amruth’s uncles worried about his younger cousins at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic? His uncles are health-care workers, and since they were working long hours away from home, they worried that their children were not interacting enough with other kids.
  2. Why was Amruth so motivated to keep his cousins from becoming bored and lonely at home during the pandemic? Amruth went through a similar experience when his mother was working overtime to open her dental practice. 

 CRITICAL-THINKING QUESTIONS

  1. What challenges other than boredom and loneliness do you think younger children whose parents are essential workers have faced since the start of the pandemic? How might these concerns differ from older kids? Possible answer: Younger kids might struggle more with difficult schoolwork without a parent there to help them with it, while older kids might be quicker to reach out immediately to a classmate or a teacher for help.
  2. What positive benefits do you think Amruth has experienced as a result of his work mentoring other kids? Possible answer: Amruth may have also struggled with boredom since the pandemic started. Since he already knew what it was like to be bored and lonely, helping others in this way probably gave him a fulfilling project to focus his extra time and energy on.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

DIGGING DEEPER

NHES 2

CASEL Competency: Social awareness; responsible decision-making 

WHY MENTORSHIP? Have students watch a short video and consider facts and statistics about mentorship in the U.S. Then, have them consider a specific action they could take to become a positive role model for a younger child. (Click here to find this Skill Builder.)

EXTENSION ACTIVITY

NHES 8

CASEL Competency: Social awareness; responsible decision-making 

HELP OTHERS, HELP YOURSELF: In this activity, have students dig a bit deeper to research the mental health benefits of helping others. Then, have them create a poster that will inspire others to get involved in mentorship! (Click here to find this Skill Builder.)

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