June 22nd

to

July 3rd

Year 7 English Language and

English Literature

• Complete one lesson each day.

Tip:

If you struggle to read, or if you do not

like to read, you can use this website to

read the text for you: https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/

Year 7

Week: June 22nd

Lesson 1

Can I use context clues effectively when reading?

Learning Objective: Can I read and understand a year 6 text?

• For this lesson we will practice our comprehension

skills. The short story selected is a year 6 reading level.

As year 7’s, we should work towards making sure we

can understand books at this reading level.

• This task will help you practise important reading

skills. Through reading, you can encourage your brain

to be active and skilled. Reading is great exercise for

your brain.

https://twitter.com/DaPoopycakes

• If you are struggling, try your best to read the short

story. This task will help you to measure where you are

at with your reading skills.

• Try not to feel bad if you find that this story is too

difficult. Read with the goal of making it to the end.

• If you can read and understand this short story easily,

then you are in line with your reading age! If not, you

just need to read more stories!

https://quicktalkonline.com/train-your-brain/

Task 1:

Hook: The power of dreams!

Have you ever had a dream that felt real? Describe a dream you had using as many words as you can. If you want a challenge, time yourself for 5 minutes.

Next,

Answer these:

1. Do you think dreams can tell us something important about the future? The keyword for this idea is “premonition.”

Premonition: a strong feeling that something

good, or something bad, will happen soon.

Ex. Joe had a premonition dream. They dreamed

that the sky would turn red next month. This dream worried them greatly.

2. Do you think dreams can tell us something important about ourselves? The keyword for this idea is “interpretation.”

Interpretation: the act of explaining your understanding of something.

Ex. Busra has an interpretation of Joe’s dream. She thinks that Joe must be feeling very worried about something in their life. Busra thinks the red sky must represent a struggle Joe is trying to overcome.

3. Do you have an interpretation of the dream you wrote about?

Task 2:

The short story is about the power of dreams and the

meaning they might have.

Read this:

Task 3:

Context Clues are a useful tool for reading.

Context Clues: is the act of using the other words in a

sentence or passage to understand an unknown word. An

author often includes hints, or clues, to help the reader

expand vocabulary and grasp the meaning of the passage.

Ex. Mae used her context clues to figure out the meaning of

the word “premonition.” By reading the sentences before

and after the word, she figured out what the word meant.

Answer this:

1. Using Context Clues to figure out the meanings behind

these words taken from the short story:

Words What is the

meaning?

What clues did

you find to help

you understand?

Drizzling Raining lightly I used the words

“damp” and

“air” to figure it

out.

Veranda

Interlaced

Psalm

Dutiful

Immediately

Lesson 2

Do I understand the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing?

Learning Objective: Paraphrasing the short story “What I Have Been Doing Lately”

Hook: Summary Vs. Paraphrase

Answer this:

What is a Summary?

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiM0x0ApVL8

Answer this:

What are the 5 steps for paraphrasing?

Task 2:

So, we know what summaries and paraphrases are. But, when should we use paraphrasing? Let’s answer this question now. Take a look at the chart on the next page then answer these questions.

1. Is this a summary or a paraphrase?

In the book, A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Anna Quindlen writes that the only thing you have that nobody else has is control of your life. The hardest thing of all is to learn to love the journey, not the destination. Quindlen highlights the importance of striving to get a real life rather than frantically chasing the next level of success.

2. Is this a summary or a paraphrase?

In the final stanza of the poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a cloud”, it is revealed that the narrator is dreaming of clouds and daffodils while lying on his couch. The idea of dreaming of beautiful scenery while lying on ones couch is a common feeling that many readers can relate to. In fact, the narrator highlights how they were feeling upset, but then their mood was lifted by the dreams.

1. Is a summery

2. Is a paraphrase.

When we compare the two formats, we can see the differences. So, a summary is great for quickly retelling a story, while paraphrases are great for explaining the point of the story.

SummaryRetelling

Paraphrase

Explaining

What happened in the

story?

What is the meaning behind the

story?

Task 3:

Answer these:

1. Write a summary for the short story “What Have I Been Doing Lately.”

2. Write a paraphrase for the part of the story “What Have I Been Doing Lately” below. Remember that when you paraphrase you are picking a part of the story to explain.

Explain what

it means!

Hint:

Lesson 3

Do I comprehend the deeper meanings found in a year 6 story?

Learning Objective: Can I think critically using literary devices for the short story “What I Have

Been Doing Lately”?

Task 1:

Hook: Literary Devices

Have you heard of literary devices? These are tools that writers use to add deeper meaning to their works.

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN0dwIdqYmo

Answer this:

1. Pick 6 Literary Devices from the video and write them down. Fill them in the bubbles below. Draw your own bubbles if you can’t print them off! This will help you remember some of those literary devices for later.

Task 2:

There is a way to find deeper meaning in literature. Let’s

take a look at this handy step by step guide. (This guide is borrowed

from a wiki how article. https://www.wikihow.com/Find-Deeper-Meaning-in-Literature)

1. Authors like to hide deeper meaning in their works.

They want their readers to stop and think about their

stories.

2. Before you read, look up the context. You will need to

know the time period it was written, as well as issues

involving race, gender, and ethnicity in your time

period.

3. Look up the author. Knowing a little bit about the

author can help you uncover what they wanted to

write about and why they wrote it.

4. Looking for deeper meaning takes time and practice.

You will only be able to understand deeper meaning

once you reach the age of 12. Some people may be

able to achieve this ability faster than others.

5. Exam the first sentence for clues. Think about a few

things when you are examining the first sentence:

How does this statement make me feel?

What sort of person must be saying this?

What kind of mood does this evoke?

6. Write down any strong emotions you might be feeling

while you read. Your emotional responses are clues

that reveal what the author is trying to tell you!

7. Look for descriptive words. Words like ugly, grim,

glamorous, and slimy. These words help you visualize

the authors intention.

8. Look for anything in the story that doesn’t make

sense. It might not make sense for a reason!

9. Look for Symbolism. Not everything in a story is a

symbol, but it could be! This is where your

imagination is key. You need to think about why

someone’s hair might be blue, or why there are so

many elephants in a mall. Does the colour blue give

us a clue about what the character is like? What do

elephants symbolize besides strength? These are all

things you get to decide when reading.

10. The names of characters might also be a clue!

11. Try to come up with some themes. Remember, themes

are the big ideas that an author is secretly trying to tell you

about life. As an example: themes can be about the effects of

toxic relationships on children, or how the truth the finding

happiness is inside ourselves. What could the author be

saying about life? Everything we discussed in this list can be

used as evidence to prove that you are right about your

theme!

Extra help:

Here are the definitions to some of the words I used in the list.

Literature: This is a word that describes any written work.

Example: poems, books, novels, songs etc.

Context: This word is used when we want to know more about

the history behind a thought or idea. For example, we may want

to learn more about the context happening at the time when a

short story was written.

Visualize: This is a fancy synonym for the word “imagine”.

You use this word when you want to some to think about

something.

Intention: This word is used when someone has planned for

something to happen. Example: The author’s intention was for

the reader to feel angry with the characters.

Symbolism: This is when a person place or thing has a secret

deeper meaning. Example: A red rose means love.

Fill in the web:

Use the list above to fill in the web.

How do you

find deeper

meaning in

literature?

Ex. Names of

characters.

Task 3:

Write a theme statement for the short story. As a reminder,

a theme statement is a sentence or two that describes the

theme of a piece of literature. We’ve made theme statements

before. Do you remember this?

In the book “Good Night Mr. Tom”, the author Michelle

Magorian shows that__________________________________.

As an example,

__________________________________________.

Write a theme statement for the short story “What I

Have Been up to Lately”. For your example you must find

evidence of symbolism to prove that your theme statement

is correct.

Lesson 4 Can I use transitional words and phrases when writing about a short story?

Learning Objective: using year 7-11 transitional words and phrases.

Task 1:

Hook: What are transitional words and phrases?

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCBuIYReXVw

Explain:

In your own words, explain what transitional words and phrases are.

Task 2:

Read this:

Go to the next

pages for a

zoomed in

version

Example:

Soon after, Nate saw what it

really meant to be a winner.

Example:

There could be one winner. In

this case, the winner had to

complete all 20 challenges.

On one hand Nate knew he could

complete the challenges. On the

other hand, Nate wasn’t sure how

his boyfriend would feel about how

long the competition would take.

Together, Nate and his boyfriend

could accomplish anything. Apart,

they were hopeless.

Furthermore, Nate didn’t know how

to do math. He left all the tough

calculations to his boyfriend.

The competition starts next month. Usually

the first challenge is a mud slide challenge.

Nate thinks he will be the best at the mud slide

challenge. Nate thinks his boyfriend will be

particularly impressed with his mud slide skills.

Other than breaking his legs, nothing else will

stop Nate from competing.

Nate’s boyfriend is worried because of how difficult

all the challenges are. Nate is annoyed at his

boyfriend for always worrying about him.

One-time Nate broke both his legs in a

tennis match. As a result, Nate’s

boyfriend can’t help but worry about

him.

In other words, Nate isn’t as strong as he

pretends to be. In short, Nate is very clumsy.

In the long run, Nate has a lot of confidence

in his athletic abilities. His boyfriend doesn’t

have a lot of confidence that Nate will win the

20 challenges.

Your Turn:

Pick one word from each section. Look up the definition for that word, then use the word in a sentence. If you get stuck, follow along with the examples I provided. Task 3:

Continue writing your theme statement for the story “What

Have I Been up to Lately.” Use at least 2 transitional words

in your theme statement. This time, provide an event from

the dream as evidence that your theme statement is right.

For example, you could mention the main character falling

into a black whole as evidence.

Let’s break it down:

1. Write a theme statement

2. Use 2 transitional words.

3. Use an event from the dream as evidence.

Lesson 5

Mental health and wellness.

Task 1:

Hook: Communication is key.

Communication is how we talk to the people in our lives. I’m sure you’ve noticed that how you talk to your friends is quite different to how you talk to your parents and teachers. Learning how to communicate in all situations is important, but what does good communication look like? Answer this:

1. What do you need to do to communicate your

thoughts and ideas properly?

2. What happens when we let our emotions control our communications? (hint: think about how each emotion you have changes your communication abilities.)

Task 2:

Read this:

One key to having better communication is honesty. For

most of us, we grow up becoming great liars. Although this

does not sound like a good thing, it’s a natural response.

What I mean by this is, we learn to protect ourselves at a

very young age through lies. If we make a mistake, we all

naturally find it easier to lie and blame the mistake on

someone else. For example, when I was 8 years old, I broke

my mom’s antique fish statue. To avoid getting in trouble I

tried to lie. At the time I had a cat named Smokey, so I

blamed the accident on him. Of course, my mom saw right

through my lie and I was grounded. I even got in more

trouble for lying than if I had just told the truth right away.

If I had been honest, I may have even avoided the

grounding. My mom was way angrier about the lie then she

was about the broken statue. Honesty is the key to this whole

thing. Honesty is easier in the long run, but sometimes it’s

hard to see that in the moment.

Answer this:

Have you ever lied to protect yourself? Tell your story using

as much detail as possible. (for an extra challenge, try timing

yourself for 5 minutes!)

Task 3:

Read this:

Honestly is essential for good communication, but there are

a few other key things we need to do. One of these is paying

attention to our non-verbal signals. Non-verbal signals are

the actions we take while speaking. For example, when

getting angry, we tend to clench our fists and make a frowny

face. As another example, if you are a sarcastic person, you

tend to give people mixed signals. Sarcastic people tend to

roll their eyes and smile when they apologise. Even if the

apology may be sincere, the person receiving the apology

won’t be able to take it seriously. Basically, when you

communicate, you need to control and express your

emotions. You can communicate better when you tell

someone how you’re feeling rather than showing it. As an

example, imagine that you’re having a bad day at school.

You could walk into the classroom and throw books around

while screaming. Or you could tell your teacher that you’re

angry and you need some time to cool down. As you might

imagine, the second choice gives you a better reaction from

the teacher.

Answer these:

1. What non-verbal signals do you make while being

happy?

2. What non-verbal signals do you make while being sad?

3. What non-verbal signals do you make while being

annoyed?

4. Are you a sarcastic person? Do you know someone who

is a sarcastic person?

5. Explain: Do you think sarcasm makes communication

more difficult?

6. Explain: Do you have difficulty controlling your

emotions?

7. Is there any benefit to learning how to control your non-

verbal signals?

Year 7

Week: June 29

Lesson 1

Can I use my context clues to understand a year 7 text?

Learning Objective: Can I read and understand a year 7 text?

• For this lesson we will practice our comprehension

skills. The short story selected is a year 7 reading level.

• If you’re struggling just do your best to make it to the

end.

• Let’s train your brain!

Task 1:

Hook: Aliens!

Answer these:

1. Do you believe there is life on other planets? 2. Explain: Do you think aliens would be just as

smart as we are? Or, do you think aliens would be smarter than we are? Or, do you think the aliens would be unable to think?

3. Do you think aliens look anything like us?

Task 2:

Read this:

They're Made out of Meat Terry Bisson, 1991

"They're made out of meat."

"Meat?"

"Meat. They're made out of meat."

"Meat?"

"There's no doubt about it. We picked several from different

parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels,

probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."

"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The

messages to the stars."

"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come

from them. The signals come from machines."

"So who made the machines? That's who we want to

contact."

"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell

you. Meat made the machines."

"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're

asking me to believe in sentient meat."

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the

only sentient race in the sector and they're made out of

meat."

"Maybe they're like the Orfolei. You know, a carbon-based

intelligence that goes through a meat stage."

"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied

them for several of their life spans, which didn't take too

long. Do you have any idea the life span of meat?"

"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You

know, like the Weddilei. A meat head with an electron

plasma brain inside."

"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads

like the Weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're

meat all the way through."

"No brain?"

"Oh, there is a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made

out of meat!"

"So... what does the thinking?"

"You're not understanding, are you? The brain does the

thinking. The meat."

"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking

meat!"

"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat.

Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you getting

the picture?"

"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."

"Finally, Yes. They are indeed made out meat. And they've

been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of

their years."

"So what does the meat have in mind."

"First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to

explore the universe, contact other sentients, swap ideas and

information. The usual."

"We're supposed to talk to meat?"

"That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by

radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there? Anyone home?' That sort of

thing."

"They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas,

concepts?"

"Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat."

"I thought you just told me they used radio."

"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat

sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat it makes

a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They

can even sing by squirting air through their meat."

"Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So

what do you advise?"

"Officially or unofficially?"

"Both."

"Officially, we are required to contact, welcome, and log in

any and all sentient races or multibeings in the quadrant,

without prejudice, fear, or favor. Unofficially, I advise that

we erase the records and forget the whole thing."

"I was hoping you would say that."

"It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to

make contact with meat?"

"I agree one hundred percent. What's there to say?"

`Hello, meat. How's it going?' But will this work? How many

planets are we dealing with here?"

"Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat

containers, but they can't live on them. And being meat, they

only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed

of light and makes the possibility of their ever making

contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact."

"So we just pretend there's no one home in the universe."

"That's it."

"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat?

And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones

you have probed? You're sure they won't remember?"

"They'll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into

their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a

dream to them."

"A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we

should be meat's dream."

"And we can marked this sector unoccupied."

"Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any

others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"

"Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster

intelligence in a class nine star in G445 zone. Was in contact

two galactic rotation ago, wants to be friendly again."

"They always come around."

"And why not? Imagine how unbearably, how unutterably

cold the universe would be if one were all alone."

Task 3:

Answer this:

2. Using Context Clues to figure out the meanings behind

these words taken from the short story:

Words What is the

meaning?

What clues did

you find to help

you understand?

Recon

Probed

Sentient

Sector

Intelligence

Plasma

Multibeings

Prejudice

Infinitesimal

Unutterably

1. Did you find the story difficult? If so, why?

2. Did you enjoy the story? Explain your answer with

evidence from the short story.

Lesson 2

Do I understand how to write using quotations?

Learning Objective: Can I think critically using quotations for the short story “They’re Made out

of Meat”?

Task 1:

Hook: Quotations? Why bother?

As we continue writing in school, we will be expected to use quotations. When we use a quotation, we are using it as a piece of evidence to prove our point. It’s another great writing tool that shows other’s we understand what we are talking about. Not only do quotations show our understanding, but when we explain why the quotation proves our point, we look even more impressive and believable. Quotations help us to act and look smart, so what’s not to like about them? Well…they can be a bit tricky to use. Let’s see why.

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fs536umh8M

Answer these:

1. What is the best way to shorten a long quotation?

2. What are square brackets for?

3. Why does Lisa want us to remember these 4 things?

Convoluted

means

confusing and

unorganized.

Task 2:

Read this:

Make a poster:

Use this rule guide and make your own poster. This will help

you remember the rules! Use your own words when you

write down the rules. Hang your poster up somewhere when

you’re done.

Interpretation is a

word for when you

give your thoughts

and ideas about

something. You give

your interpretation

on the topic.

Quotation mark rules

The first rule of using quotations is that once they’re opened, they have to be

closed. The person reading your work needs to know where the quote starts and

where it ends. But that’s an easy one. What about some trickier quotation mark

rules?

Quotations and capitalization

Sometimes, the text inside quotation marks is capitalized, other times it isn’t.

Capitalization of the quoted material depends on the material itself—if you’re

quoting a complete sentence, you should start the quote with a capital

letter, even if the quote is placed in the middle of a sentence:

The exact phrase she used was “There is no way we will get there in time.”

If you’re quoting a phrase or a part of a sentence, don’t start the quote with

a capital letter:

He called them “loud, smelly, and utterly annoying,” and he closed the door.

If you’re splitting a quote in half to interject a parenthetical, you should not

capitalize the second part of the quote:

“The problem with opinions,” Paula explained, “is that everyone has one.”

Quotation marks and other punctuation marks

Does punctuation go inside or outside quotation marks? This question mostly

refers to the sentence-ending punctuation marks—punctuation marks that

introduce a quote are never placed within quotation marks.

Sentence-ending punctuation is a whole different story. In the United States, the

rule of thumb is that commas and periods always go inside the quotation

marks, and colons and semicolons (dashes as well) go outside:

“There was a storm last night,” Paul said.

Peter, however, didn’t believe him. “I’m not sure that’s exactly what happened.”

Peter was aware of what he called “Paul’s weakness triangle”: he was half deaf,

slept like a log, and was prone to lying.

Paul saw an argument coming, so he muttered only “But I saw it”; this was going

to be a long night and he didn’t want to start it with a fight.

Question marks and exclamation points have their own rules.

If they apply to the quoted material, they go within the quotation marks. If

they apply to the whole sentence, they go outside it:

Sandy asked them, “Why do you guys always fight?”

Did the dog bark every time he heard Sandy say “I’m bringing dinner”?

Task 3:

There are many ways to use quotations, but we will just

focus on using ones of the “embedding” methods.

Here’s the instructions:

How do I embed a quotation into a sentence?

In general, avoid leaving quotes as sentences unto themselves. Even if you have provided some

context for the quote, a quote standing alone can disrupt your flow. Take a look at this example:

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression. “I could be

bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

Standing by itself, the quote’s connection to the preceding sentence is unclear. There are several

ways to incorporate a quote more smoothly:

Lead into the quote with a colon.

Hamlet denies Rosencrantz’s claim that thwarted ambition caused his depression: “I could be

bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space” (Hamlet 2.2).

The colon announces that a quote will follow to provide evidence for the sentence’s claim.

This is not the correct way to

embed a quotation!

This is how to do embed a quote!

Notice that the writer explains the

quotation before inserting it into the

sentence.

To embed means to insert.

You are placing a quotation

into your sentence.

Your Turn:

Write a theme statement for the short story “They’re Made

out of Meat”. Embed a quotation into sentences to act as

evidence. You must explain how and why the quotation is

evidence of your theme statement.

Let’s break it down:

1. Write a theme statement

2. Use one quotation as evidence.

4. Use a colon and quotation marks : “”

3. Explain how and why the quotation is evidence for

your theme statement.

Lesson 3

Do I comprehend the deeper meanings found in a year 7 story?

Learning Objective: Can I think critically using literary devices for the short story “They’re

Made out of Meat.”

Task 1:

Hook: The Literary Device Parallelism

Watch these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8pIidfrSG4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBfBg95GUqQ

Answer these:

1. What is Parallelism?

2. Why should we use parallelism in our writing?

Task 2:

Answer this:

1. Find evidence of Parallelism in the short story. 2. Explain how and why your evidence is an example

of Parallelism. Task 3:

Your Turn:

Continue writing your theme statement for the short story

“They’re Made out of Meat”. After your embedded

quotation and explanation, and after your parallelism

example, you should add 3 sentences. One sentence will use

there, one will use their, and one sentence will use there.

Let’s break it down:

Last lesson we did this:

1. Write a theme statement

2. Use one quotation as evidence.

4. Use a colon and quotation marks : “”

3. Explain how and why the quotation is evidence for

your theme statement.

Now we need to add this to it:

1. Add a sentence explaining how your parallelism

example is evidence of your theme statement.

Lesson 4 Can I use grammar correctly when writing about a short story?

Learning Objective: using They’re, Their and There while writing about a short story.

Task 1:

Hook: Tricky Grammar.

Do you know the difference between They’re, Their and There?

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D54pfccNUQ

If you already use these words correctly, than you should

consider yourself a grammar god. However, if you’re like me,

and you still get confused from time to time, these next few

exercises are sure to help.

Infographic:

Create your own infographic describing the difference between they’re, their, and there.

You can draw one or use this free website: https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/

This is a reminder of

what a good

infographic looks

like.

It has a mixture of

images and text.

Task 2:

Editing mode:

Do each of these sentences use they’re, their, and there

correctly? If not, fix them up!

1. Fida had there comic books stacked high on the top

shelf.

2. Danielle walked here, there, and everywhere.

3. Jack realized that they’re crush on Maria would be

troublesome.

4. Maria complained to the teacher that their classroom is

very messy.

5. Nate shared a smile with his boyfriend, they’re very

happy together.

Task 3:

Let’s break it down:

In the first lesson we did this:

1. Write a theme statement

2. Use one quotation as evidence.

4. Use a colon and quotation marks : “”

3. Explain how and why the quotation is evidence for

your theme statement.

Then we need added this to it:

1. Add a sentence explaining how your parallelism

example is evidence of your theme statement.

Now we are adding this to the theme statement:

1. One sentence using the word they’re.

2. One sentence using the word their.

3. One sentence using the word there.

Lesson 5

Mental health and wellness.

Task 1:

Hook: Positivity for a better life.

Do you consider yourself to be a positive person? Being positive means that you are always hopeful and caring. As a positive person, you like to help others and are a great listener. Not everyone is a positive person though. However, by training yourself to be positive, you can strengthen the friendship, family, and school relationships you have.

Have you heard of the term “toxic relationship?” A

toxic relationship is any relationship that is hurtful to both people involved. As an example, I had a toxic friendship once back in high school. This person who I considered a friend only used me for getting the answers to my homework. I valued this person, but they did not care about me. However, my idea of this person was very limited. What I mean by limited is, this person was popular, and I valued this person because they were popular. I didn’t have a real reason to like them. They also did not have a real reason to like me. Once I stopped giving them my homework, they stopped talking to me.

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPYmwiK4vhw

Answer these:

1. Explain: Have you ever been part of a toxic friendship? Tell your story!

2. What are the 7 signs of a toxic person?

3. Explain: Have you ever known someone who acts like one of those 7 types of toxic people?

4. Have you ever acted like one of those 7 types of

toxic people? Why or why not?

Task 2:

Let’s work on spreading positivity, not negativity!

Read this: Source: https://trainingmag.com/content/8-tips-developing-positive-relationships/

1. Accept and celebrate differences. We all come from

different backgrounds and have our own stories to tell. We

all view the world in different ways. A challenge to

becoming more positive is to change your mindset. You

should accept that not everyone will think like you do, and

you should practise being more open to ideas that might not

make sense to you at first glance. Life would be boring if

we all thought the same way. Similarly, we would struggle

to learn new things if all our thoughts were the same.

2. Listen effectively. You may think that we are born to

listen. However, I’m not referring to listening in the

traditional way. Even if I was, it’s important to remember

that not everyone is born with the ability to hear. At any

rate, I’m talking about the ability to pay attention and

understand what other people are saying. Everything is

very fast paced these days, and it can be hard to stop and

listen to what other’s are saying. But the skill in listening

for understanding is crucial to spreading positivity. When

we listen and comment on what other’s are saying, we

show those people that we care about them, and care about

their thoughts and feelings.

3. Give people your time. This one seems obvious, but life

can become some hectic and busy. Checking up on your

friends and family can become difficult to remember when

you have so much homework to do. We might even get

caught up in watching our favourite shows or gaming. It’s

important to take the time to check in with your favourite

people. Take the time to ask them how they are feeling, and

what they have been up to! You won’t regret it.

4. Manage mobile technology. Make more time for face to

face conversations. Even if those conversations happen

online with video chat. When we rely only on texting and

messaging, we begin to lose touch with our family and

friends.

5. Learn to give and take feedback. Feedback is the useful

advice you give to people when they ask for help. It’s

important to practice giving constructive feedback, as it

shows your favourite people that you care enough about

them to help them. Likewise, when you ask for help, it’s

important to listen to the feedback you receive. By using

the feedback other’s give you, you show them that you

value their opinions.

6. Learn to trust more. One way you can show that you trust

someone is by sharing your worries and fears with them.

But, not everyone finds it easy to trust. Because we all

come from different backgrounds, and have differn’t

stories, some of us have been hurt so much we find it hard

to trust others. Yet trust is super important for positive

relationships. Start with finding at least one person you

trust and practice this trust with them. Learning to trust

takes time, but it’s important to note that even when we do

trust someone, they can easily break that trust. An example

of breaking someone’s trust would be to share their secrets

with other people. This would be heart breaking. And yet,

if the person is worth it, you may be able to talk about what

happened. By talking things out, you might be able to build

up the lost trust.

7. Develop your communication skills. Again, this seems

like a skill we are taught at a young age. But, it actually

will take us our whole life time to really understand this

skill. Some people reach adulthood never having learned

what proper communication looks like. Therefore you see

some adults fighting with each other over silly things. For

some reason or another, those adults were never taught how

to properly communicate their thoughts and feelings. You

can start training yourself to communicate properly by

reading and writing. When we learn how to express our

thoughts and feelings through good word choices, we then

learn how to build lasting relationships.

8. Develop Empathy. What was empathy again? Well, it’s a

skill we must learn so we can encourage positivity in our

lives. Empathy is when you can understand someone’s

situation. You may not have experienced it yourself, but

you understand and care that the person is having a hard

time. For example, my dad died of cancer when I was 14. It

was a really difficult time. If you can understand how sad I

must have felt when I was 14, and you took the time to read

that sentence and take it in, then you have good empathy

skills. There’s another word that’s similar to empathy, but

it’s a trait that we should avoid when trying to spread

positivity. This trait is sympathy. Sympathy is different

from empathy because, with sympathy, you take on

someone else’s emotions, often making their story about

how it made you feel. You’ve put yourself in the spotlight,

and you begin to ignore the other person. Sympathy is a

negative trait to have because, when your trying to help

someone, you should listen to them and ask them about

their story. When you’re so focused on how sad you’re

suddenly feeling, you lose the ability to be empathetic.

Answer these:

1. Do you agree or disagree with this article? Use

evidence from the article to prove you’re right.

2. Explain: What’s one tip you will be sure to try?

Task 3:

Complete these challenges to bring more positivity into your

life!

1. Share something you like with someone. This could be

your favourite sweets, a song, a webcomic, or even a

game. Sharing is caring!

2. Smile at everyone you come across.

3. Give a genuine compliment to one of your favourite

people.

4. Say at least 3 nice things about someone to someone

else. It’s like a positive rumour. Why spread negative

things about people when you can spread positive things

instead?

5. Offer to help someone. Even if it’s a small gesture. Some

ideas would be to clean the house for your parents, or

maybe even help a friend with their homework.

6. Message a favourite person that you havn’t talked to in

a while and let the know that you miss them.