# Lesson 224: Doing the right thing

❤️ SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (40 Lessons) • 🟡 C. Making Good Choices

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## Objective

I can talk about what it means to do the right thing. I can give simple examples of right choices at home, at school, and on the playground, even when they are not the easiest choices.

## Materials

- Plain paper or a notebook page
- Crayons or colored pencils
- Optional: stickers or small stars to mark right choices

## Mini-lesson — What is “doing the right thing”?

We make choices every day. Some choices are right, kind, and safe. Other choices may hurt someone or break a rule.

Doing the right thing means…

- Making choices that are kind, fair, and safe.
- Following important rules, even when no one is watching.
- Being honest, even when telling the truth feels hard.
- Thinking about how other people will feel before we act.

Your inner helper voice

- Inside, we have a small voice that helps us know what is right.
- It might say, "Give it back," "Tell the truth," or "Include them."
- We can pause and listen to this inner helper voice before we choose.

Examples — Doing the right thing

- You find a toy that is not yours. The right thing is to return it or tell an adult.
- Friends are laughing at someone. The right thing is to not join in and to be kind.
- You knock something over. The right thing is to tell the truth and help tidy up.

Sometimes the right thing is hard

- Friends might say, "It is just a joke," or "Do it, it is funny."
- You might worry about getting in trouble.
- Doing the right thing can still help you feel proud and build trust with adults.

Adults can say: "Let us listen to your inner helper voice. What does it tell you is the right thing to do?"

Picture strip: "Right thing vs. easy thing"

## Guided Practice — Right choice or not?

You and an adult read short choice stories together. The child decides if the choice is the right thing or not the right thing.

1. On a notebook page, draw a simple table with two columns. Label one column "Right thing" and the other "Not the right thing".
2. Read a short story, such as: "Sam finds a coin on the floor. Sam puts it in their pocket and says nothing." Ask the child: "Is this the right thing? Why or why not?"
3. If it is the right thing, write a quick note or draw a picture in that column. If it is not the right thing, talk about what the right choice would be and draw that.
4. Use simple stories from home, school, and the playground, such as:
   - Returning a lost jumper.
   - Admitting when you broke a pencil.
   - Including someone who is sitting alone.
5. After each story, ask: "How might the other person feel?" and "How might you feel inside if you do the right thing?"
6. Finish by choosing one story and act it out the "right way" together. Celebrate the child for choosing kind, fair, and safe ideas.

Tracing Pad
Lines
Trace
Pen

## Practice — My “right thing” stars

Use this practice to help your child notice and remember their own right choices during the day.

1. On a clean page, draw three big stars. Label them "At home", "At school", and "With friends".
2. Talk with your child and remember a time in the last few days when they did the right thing in each place (for example, telling the truth, returning something, including someone).
3. Inside each star, draw the moment. Add a short label such as "I told the truth" or "I gave it back".
4. Ask: "How did you feel inside when you did the right thing?" and "How do you think the other person felt?"
5. Choose one new right thing to try this week (for example, "I will return things that are not mine"). Draw a small star next to that promise.
6. Keep the page somewhere safe and look at it again after a few days. Add new stars when you notice more right choices.

## Quick Check — Doing the right thing

Answer each question about right choices, honesty, and kind behaviour.

1) What does it mean to do the right thing?

Do whatever you want, even if it hurts someone. Make choices that are kind, fair, and safe. Only follow rules when adults are watching.
Doing the right thing means choosing what is kind, fair, and safe.

2) Which is an example of doing the right thing?

Laughing when someone drops their books. Keeping a toy you found in the playground. Helping pick up the books and asking if they are okay.
Helping someone who needs it is doing the right thing.

3) You accidentally bump a friend and they fall. What is the right thing to do?

Say "I am sorry" and help them up. Walk away and pretend nothing happened. Laugh and run off.
Saying sorry and helping shows care and responsibility.

4) Your friend says, "Do it, the teacher will not see." What is a right choice?

Join in and break the rule with them. Remember the rule and choose not to break it. Tell others to break the rule too.
Doing the right thing means following rules, even when no one is watching.

5) Which choice shows honesty?

Hiding that you broke a crayon. Saying someone else did it. Telling the adult what really happened.
Honesty means telling the truth about what happened.

6) Your "inner helper voice" is the small voice that…

helps you know what the right choice is. tells you to ignore everyone. always tells you to do the easy thing.
Your inner helper voice reminds you about kind, fair, and safe choices.

7) How might you feel inside after doing the right thing?

Always sad and upset. Proud and calm. Exactly the same as if you were unkind.
Doing the right thing can bring a feeling of pride and calm.

8) When is it a good idea to ask an adult for help with a choice?

Never. You must decide everything alone. Only when you want to play longer. When you feel unsure or worried about what is right.
Adults can help you think about safe and kind choices.

9) Which choice is not doing the right thing?

Taking someone's snack without asking. Asking, "May I share your snack?" Saying, "No, thank you" if you do not want any.
Taking things without asking is not kind or fair.

10) What is one big goal of this lesson?

To teach children how to win every game. To help children notice and choose the right thing in simple, everyday moments. To make sure children never make mistakes.
Everyone makes mistakes; this lesson helps children practise choosing the right thing next time.

## Assessment (parent/teacher)

Student can say in simple words what it means to do the right thing. Student can give at least one example of a kind, fair, and safe choice at home, at school, or with friends. Student can explain that doing the right thing may feel hard but can help them feel proud. Student can use or describe their inner helper voice when thinking about a choice. Student knows they can ask a trusted adult for help when they are unsure what is right.

## Exit ticket (student)

😀 I can do the right thing, even when it is hard. 🙂 I know some right choices, but I still need practice. 😅 Doing the right thing still feels tricky for me.

#### Next time I will practise…

Returning things that are not mine Telling the truth when I make a mistake Including someone who feels left out
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