Don't be a space invader!

Personal space....it can be a difficult topic, but it's very important.  I can hug my mom, but I need to ask if it's okay to hug my friend, and the cashier at Kroger....I shouldn't hug her.  Many people understand how to respect people's personal space through their body language.  However, body language can be difficult to read and understand.  Our Wacky Wednesday lesson for today was about personal space and not being a space invader.  A few teachers performed a skit about respecting personal space.  It is not okay to walk up to someone and start touching them, playing with their hair, hang all over them, etc.  We went over the different types of body language people display when you are invading their personal space.  We discussed keeping people an arms length away, especially when you are at school or in public.  As high schoolers, having a boyfriend/girlfriend is a big deal for our students.  It is more natural for boyfriends/girlfriends to be in each others personal space.  We discussed with the students that hugging on your boyfriend is not only invading his personal space, but at school it is a form of PDA (Public Display of Affection) and could result in a DM.

Following our skit we broke into three groups and discussed different personal space scenarios.  Some examples are:

What should I do?
One of your friends keeps tickling you.  She thinks its funny but you don't like it.

Role Play
Act out what it should look like when you are standing behind someone in line.

Are you a personal space invader?
You walk up to the lunch table to sit down but notice that there is no more room.  You decide to sit at another lunch table.

Look for clues (stay or back away)
You see one of your classmates on a bench by themselves.  You decide to sit next to him.  He turns his body towards you and starts a conversation.

I found all of these scenarios and much more on the "School Counseling is Magical" teacherspayteachers store.  :)

At the end of the lesson, we watched a video from Despicable Me!

We completed an exit ticket determining whether or not we thought Vector is a space invader.  I encourage you to watch this again with your student and talk about personal space.  Next week's Wacky Wednesday topic will be over hygiene/showering!