Students will participate in 'Directed play' and reflect on roles imposed on their peer groups. They will examine the 'rules' that govern groups such as a family or a classroom.

Learning intentions

We are learning how to:

• explore the interaction of people within groups
• describe rights and responsibilities of members of groups
• explain rules and roles that operate in groups.

How will we know we have done these things?

We will be able to:

• participate in 'directed play' and discuss the roles people in our group had and the rules that developed
• reflect on the 'directed play' and compare it to our regular peer group
• consider examples of rights and responsibilities in groups by completing a retrieval chart
• describe rules and roles that operate in groups by completing a retrieval chart.

Key social studies concepts

• groups
• inter-relationships
• roles
• rules
• rights
• responsibilities

Gathering and processing information

• record
• describe
• explain

Reflecting on knowledge

• plan/predict
• imagine
• evaluate

What you need

• cut up copies of the Roles for Directed Play
• feedback / feed forward questions to answer on individual sheets of paper or flipchart/poster for a group
• roles and rules retrieval chart (optional - enlarged for Levels 1-2; copies Levels 3-4)
• copies of the Red, Green and Blue texts for class groups
• plastic hoops (optional) for Venn diagram

Background reading

Every group member plays 'roles' in a group whether is it explicit or implicit.  Many students will not realise this and the first activity (directed play) is designed to help them see that even their peer groups have roles and rules.  Some roles in a group relate to getting a task done, others relate to keeping a group flowing smoothly (social roles), and a final set of roles relate to fulfilling personal goals.  These are elaborated upon below:

• Task-oriented roles are familiar to many teachers. Students are often designated these roles to make sure their group works well together. Such as a note taker, a reporter, a time-keeper, a leader etc.
• Social roles such as an encourager, an observer or a negotiator are less easy to teach.
• Individualistic roles describe personal goals and agendas - such as wanting to run the group, achieving recognition, wanting to be liked or trying to put down other members.
• In an attempt to complete a task, fulfill smooth group dynamics and minimise destructive group behaviours, a group will design rules. You may find students with very elaborate sets of rules for the games they play with their peers to 'keep things fair'. Societies develop complex rules and laws for exactly the same purposes.

Prior knowledge check

Ask the students:

Do you have rules and roles in your groups with your friends?

How do you create the rules?

Do the rules change in different places? With different people there?

Participate in the following to help you all find out.

1 - Directed play

All levels

Give the students roles to play during their interval or lunch time (allocate roles to students that they may find 'surprising'). Over this time, they are to follow the role as described on the card (cut these out and give to student). They are to keep their role a secret from others. Allow them to form their own peer groups.  Groups of more or less than 5 receive the roles in the order given, twice for some if necessary. Try to give students roles that will be 'surprising' for them.

2 - Feedback / feed forward

Levels 3-4

After completion of the Directed Play, put the students with similar roles into Jigsaw groups. i.e. Put all the 'Followers' together etc. In these groups, complete the Feedback/Feed forward sheet. Remind the students they are now out of role!

Feedback  

- What was playing this role like for me?

Circle a face of how you felt:

J K L

(smiley, neutral and sad faces, and possibly laughing and mad ones as well)

I felt like this because...

Playing this role was easy/difficult because...

Feed forward

If I could do this activity (directed play) again I would...

3 - Reflection

All levels

Bring the original groups back together and ask each group the same set of questions.

Note: You could do this as a fish-bowl - the class sits round the group in the centre and observes their discussion. Use teacher facilitation for these questions or alternatively cut them up and appoint a student to facilitate the group.

1. What roles were your friends playing in your group - try and guess?

2. How did the actions of others in your group make you feel?

3. Did any problems arise?

4. How did you solve them?

5. In your regular friendship groups, do people have 'roles'?

6. In your regular friendship groups, do you have rules? If so, what are they?

4 - Me at play in a group

All levels

Ask the students to draw a sketch of your group at play in the playground. Work with the children to complete speech bubbles that describe what the child or others were saying/thinking and paste them on to the sketch.

Cut out the following speech bubbles if needed:

5 - Red, Green and Blue text

Level 1-2

a) Enlarge the Roles and Rules Retrieval chart and read one text to the children. Complete the chart together by asking questions and getting answers. Read the next text and repeat the above.

Levels 3-4

a) Divide the class into groups - the red group and the blue group. In further smaller groups (e.g. four), read the red or blue text. Use reciprocal reading techniques to read the text as a group. Complete the Retrieval Chart (below) and report back your findings to the class. 

Roles and rules retrieval chart

Red:

'Right, 'said Mrs Jolly, 'you've had enough time cutting and pasting into your books. You need to start packing up now.'

The children looked at the glue and paper all over the place. Ben grabbed a glue brush and threw it in the bin. 'No Ben, that's not how we pack up. Take that brush and wash it at the sink,' said Mrs Jolly.

Ben picked up the brush and walked to the sink, managing to get glue in Sam's hair on the way.

Just then the bell rung for Interval. Paper, scissors and glue were lying everywhere. 'I'm sorry everyone, bit you won't be going to Interval until you finish tidying up, ' said Mrs Jolly. 'Remember out classroom contract we all signed. We all work to keep our classroom a tidy and pleasant place.'

The children groaned and got to work quickly.

Green:

Emily and Trina were best of friends and spent most of the day texting each other and their other friends. Their parents had both given them a $20 per-paid card to use each month and once that was gone they had to pay for more themselves. They both were friends with Dwayne who went to the neighbouring school.

One day Emily had to stay and help her teacher so she gave Trina her bag to take out to lunch. When she returned she got her phone out and tried to send a text.

"Insufficient funds" was the sign that popped up on her cell phone screen.

'Hey, Trina! Did you use my phone? I had more than $6 left.'

'I just called Dwayne to arrange for us all to go to a movie', said Trina.

'But you didn't ask me, said Emily. 'You've got to ask first you know...'

Blue:

Mike and his sister Georgia were both keen on playing tennis. They had started playing at the age of five and were both in the top grade at their Tennis Club. They played twice a week and had matches every Saturday.

Their Mum and Dad had made a deal with Mike and Georgia that if they wanted to continue playing tennis, they would have to help more round the house. Mike had to set the table every night and Georgia had to make the lunches for the next day.

After a long training at the Tennis Club, Mike and Georgia came home and threw themselves in front of the TV. 'Come on' said Dad, 'you guys need to help out with dinner and lunches for tomorrow.'

'I can't be bothered tonight' said Mike. 'I'm too tired'.

'Me too,' said Georgia. 'Anyway, no other kids have to help out at home.'

'Well I'm sorry, but you kids won't be playing in your matches this Saturday unless you do,' said Dad...

b) Ask students to compare the groups - what did they have in common and what was different? Complete a triple venn diagram to show your thoughts. This could also be a whole class activity using hoops, with students' answers written on card OR individually. This could be made into a wall display.

6 - If...then... statements.

As a class, or still in groups, complete the following 'if...then...' statements. Try to make up some of your own about decision making. Remember no one answer is correct - encourage a number of contributions.

• If a group had no rules, then...
• If everyone in a group tried to be the leader, then...
• If only some members of a group know what the rules are, then...
• If New Zealand had no rules, then...
• If all group members make rules and then some break them, then...

Write three more 'if' comments together as a class and complete the 'then' comments individually in books.

• If...then...
• If...then...
• If...then...

It's your move!

Look at issues of leadership in more depth - how people become leaders and the impact leading has on the leader, etc.