Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Conflict Resolution Vokis

In guidance classes, students have been learning about effective conflict resolution skills.  They have learned to use "I" Messages when someone is doing something they don't like.  "I" messages allow students to express their feelings and to be assertive with students who are not treating them positively. 

I recently came across this awesome website: www.voki.com.  Using free trials, students can search through many different characters including animals, political icons, randoms, and other people and add accessories, backgrounds, and speech.  I let my 5th grade classes play around on this website and create a character for their conflict resolution project. Using a "text to talk" function online, each voki gives advice to a hypothetical student who is a concerned bystander to bullying.  Students were asked to created a "voki" character that answered this prompt....

"Hello, This new kid moved into our neighborhood.  He's from a different country, and he doesn't speak English very well.  Some other kids are calling him names and making fun of his clothes.  I wish they'd stop it.  What can I do?" (from Treat Me Right, Kids Talk About Respect by Nancy Loewen)

Click the links to view a couple Vokis the students created: 

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