In this workshop, participants work together to reframe negative comments in order to learn how to redirect negative online interactions and conversations into positive ones, while respecting one another. This resource forms part of the “Cyber Heros” learning programme designed for 8 to 14 year olds.

Target group
School drop outs, Students (primary school), Students (secondary school)
Age group
Children, Teenagers
Proficiency level i
Level 1
Format
Activity sheet
Copyright i
Creative Commons (BY-SA)
Language
English, French , Français

General Objective

Skillset building

Preparation time for facilitator

less than 1 hour

Competence area

2 - Communication & collaboration

Time needed to complete activity (for learner)

0 - 1 hour

Resource originally created in

French
Workshop directions

Goals for students

  • Express feelings and opinions in positive, effective ways.
  • Respond to negativity in constructive and civil ways.

Let's talk

Turning negative to positive

Kids your age are exposed to all kinds of online content, some of it with negative messages that promote bad behavior.
• Have you (or anyone you know) seen someone be negative on the web? How did that make you feel?
• Have you (or anyone you know) ever experienced a random act of  kindness on the web? How did it make you feel?
• What simple actions can we take to turn negative interactions into positive ones?

We can respond to negative emotions in constructive ways by rephrasing or reframing unfriendly comments and becoming more aware of tone in our online communication.

Activity

1. Read the comments

Weʼre all looking at the negative comments.

2. Write revisions Now letʼs separate into teams of three and work on two kinds of responses to these comments:

• How could you have made the same or similar points in more positive and constructive ways?

• If one of your classmates made comments like these, how could you respond in a way that would make the conversation more positive?

Note to facilitator:

Younger students may need some modeling on how to revise comments. Completing one example as a class together could be a good way to ensure students’ success when thinking independently.

3. Present responses

Now each team will perform their responses for both situations.

Takeaway

Reacting to something negative with something positive can lead to a more fun and interesting conversation – which is a lot better than working to clean up a mess created by an unkind comment.