Fun with Character: Control

For this game, you can use anything to make noise. It can be a New Year’s Eve noisemaker, recorded music, or even just clapping your hands. Give the class a bodily motion to do – waving their hands, shaking a leg, or whatever you choose. Instruct the class that they are to do that motion only when you are making the chosen noise. When the noise stops, they must also stop. Begin making the noise and make sure everyone is doing the motion. Then stop the noise. Watch as everyone stops. Praise their success. Start and stop the noise several more times, observing reactions. When you have finished, ask them who controlled when they did the motion and when they stopped. The answer is that they did. They were reacting to the noise by controlling their behavior. They were the ones who decided to play by the rules and control their responses based on the instructions they had been given. Self-control ​is the ability to recognize the right responses and control our behavior accordingly.

To process this activity, ask these or similar questions:

• Did you think that was a silly exercise when I explained it?

• Was it difficult to do?

• Were you surprised that you were the one in control?

• Does that give you confidence that you can control other responses, like when you are mad?