Lesson 4: No One Eats Alone

Objectives Student leaders will learn to slow down and be more aware when they see social isolation; they will practice combating social isolation by leading No One Eats Alone Day. Student leaders will plan No One Eats Alone Day. Student leaders will spread the word about No One Eats Alone Day to the entire school community. Student leaders will prepare materials for No One Eats Alone Day.

Free-Write and Discuss When you have been personally hurt or excluded or have seen this happen to someone else, how do you usually react? We often want to move away when we feel attacked or isolated, or when we see someone else being attacked or isolated. If we can practice slowing down and standing up, we can positively advocate for ourselves and others and combat social isolation on our school campus. Today we are going to play a game in which we practice slowing down.

Slow Motion Warrior Objective: be the last warrior standing! Rules: Your right forearm, from your finger tips to your elbow, is your sword. This sword is poisonous! The only way to fend off someone else’s sword is to block it with your sword. If another warrior’s sword touches any part of your body during the fight you die. You must slow down! This will all be in slow motion (model slow motion), if you speed up to get away or to attack someone, I will tap you on your shoulder and you will be out. If you are poisoned, you must die a slow motion, gruesome death, and then slowly move to the outside of the circle."

Reflection: Slow Motion Warrior What did you learn when you slowed down? How did your body feel? Was it hard to move slowly? Why or why not? Why do you think when we feel attacked that we want to flee? How can we be advocates against social isolation and combat it rather than flee?

No One Eats Alone Day- Lead the Movement! Slowing down to recognize when social isolation is happening is crucial. Once we recognize social isolation, the next step is to combat it through inclusion! A great act of inclusion is to participate in Beyond Differences’ No One Eats Alone Day. No One Eats Alone Day is a lunchtime event which seeks to combat social isolation by asking students to engage in simple acts of kindness and connection at lunch and to make sure that no one is eating alone.

Plan No One Eats Alone at Your School! Use the materials in the backpack your school received. Check out our tips for planning, and use this graphic organizer to get ready. Remember it should be student led, with adult support!

Join us online! Why should no one eat alone? Join Beyond Differences online movement #NoOneEatsAlone Continue the conversation about what actions you can take to end social isolation by sharing a sign on social media. Students and teachers can upload their signs to the Beyond Differences’ Facebook Page, or tag Beyond Differences on Instagram, or Twitter with a caption that includes the hash tag #NoOneEatsAlone. Students can use the sentence frame; “No one should eat alone because…."

No One Eats Alone!