Resources by Life Skills Topic - 6th Grade Families

Each of our class discussion topics are important for parents to reinforce at home. Below are additional resources for parents on each topic followed by a fun/interactive activity to try with your child."

Self-image

Setting and reaching goals can help increase a child's confidence and improve their self-image.

Parent's Guide to a Growth Mindset

Family activity: Help your child set a personal goal. On a piece of paper have them write down 3-5 small things they can do to reach their goal. Once finished, discuss a time line for their goal. Post the list in a visible place. Don’t forget to recognize their efforts as they make steps toward completion.

Decision making

Family activity: Play "Would you rather?" with your child. Ask your child one of the five questions below and them to think through their decision using the "Clarify, Consider, Choose" decision-making process learned in Life Skills. Your child should 1) Clarify the choices (what are they deciding between) 2) Consider their options -- what are the consequences or outcomes of each decision? and 3) Choose: your child should make the decision that is best for them. Once they have make their decisions discuss the decision making process with your child. Bonus: you can also answer the question, talking through your options and reasons for making your decision with your child. Did you both make the same decision?

Would you rather…

Live in a place that only has summer or a place that only has winter?
Only be able to crawl on all fours or only be able to walk backwards?
Be the worst player on a team that always wins or the best player on a team that always loses?
Be the funniest person alive or the smartest person alive?
Be able to fly or be invisible?

Smoking & Vaping

Family activity: Smoking cigarettes is not only harmful to one's health. It also drains the wallet. Complete this worksheet with your child to find out more: Tobacco: Calculating the Costs. Or, Try this interactive vaping activity from Scholastic with your child.

Alcohol

Answering Your Child's Tough Questions: Alcohol & Marijuana

Family activity: Develop a Family Alcohol Contract. Use the contract from SAMHSA “Talk, they hear you” campaign. Share with your child your expectations for them around alcohol. Together, discuss consequences for breaking those expectations.

Marijuana

Family activity: How much does your family know about marijuana? Try taking the SAMHSA Marijuana ID Quiz together.

Advertising

Drinking It In: The Impact of Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising

Family activity: Have your child check out this ad from TikTok

Can they identify the target audience, what values the ad emphasizes, and why they think the message was directed to its specific audience? Bonus: can they identify one advertising technique used in the ad and explain why they think the advertiser choose to use that technique (Scientific evidence, comparison tests and opinion polls, demonstrations, bandwagon appeal, romance/sex appeal, maturity/sophistication appeal, fun/relaxation appeal, popularity appeal, the deal appeal).

Stress

Family activity: Print out 20 Coping Skills for Teens and have your child circle the coping techniques that work well for them when they are experiencing stress. If they have one that isn’t on the list, they can draw it! If they don’t yet have a coping technique that works for them, have them pick one to try.

Communication

Family activity: Have fun practicing your communication skills at the dinner table. The next time you eat dinner together as a family; try using only non-verbal communication during the first part of your dinner. Afterwards, discuss some of the challenges of effectively communicating when you can’t talk. Did any misunderstandings happen as a result of not being able to use both types of communication?

Social Skills

The Family Dinner Project Conversation Starters

Family activity: Create more time for social interactions. As a family, plan to unplug from electronic devices (for a set time period) every evening for a week. Before your unplugged week, make a list of things your family would like to do with that extra time. Check out the resource below for some suggestions!

Assertiveness

Family activity: Encourage your child to be assertive by initiating a conversation in which they will ask for a favor from someone else or express their opinion or feeling. Make a list of social challenges (be sure to consider your child’s age). Challenges can be listed or written on separate cards. Have your child pick a random task. Their job is to do what is required of the challenge in the next 24 hours or over several days.

Sample challenges:

Give an honest compliment to someone.
Learn two new things about somebody from your class.
Share with a friend what’s been on your mind lately.
Call customer service at your favorite store and ask for information about some product you like.
Tell your best friend what you like about him/her.
Ask a teacher (or a coach) for clarification of a task you didn’t understand completely.

After the challenge is complete discuss how it made them feel. What went well, what didn’t, anything they would have done differently?

Family activity:

Instruct students to draw a wheel with 8 equal pie pieces, on a blank piece of paper.
Ask your child to fill out half of the wheel with strategies/ways to “say no” or refuse any tobacco product.
Once completed, discuss the strategies your child came up with and help your child think through other responses to fill out the remainder of the wheel.

Problem Gambling

Bullying and Cyberbullying

Family activity: Make a Kindness Catcher -- a fun way to inspire ideas for being kind to others.

Family activity: Try the Wrinkled Heart Activity with your family. It provides children with a powerful visual that shows the effects hurtful words or behaviors have on someone.