You Matter Project
I found this idea on Facebook (I’ll be totally honest, I can’t remember where from & I didn’t save it — so this is me acknowledging that I did NOT come up with this activity on my own) & used it for one of my classroom guidance activities. It’s kind of two separate lessons that I combined into one. The first one teaches about baggage & how we all have something hard going on in our lives. The second one teaches us how meaningful it can be to tell others how much we care about them.
The Baggage Activity
I started off by asking the students what it means to have “baggage”. Most of them agreed that baggage can be heavy & hurtful things that we carry around with us. I then asked each of them to get out a piece of scratch paper & write down what’s been bothering them lately, what’s been weighing heavily on their heart, what’s been hurting them, etc. No names or identifiable information was to be written on the piece of paper.
After everyone was done writing, we stood up & made a giant circle around the room. Each student crumpled up their piece of paper, closed their eyes, & on the count of three, chucked their wad of paper across the room. (This might have been their favorite part of the whole activity lol). Students opened their eyes & grabbed the wad of paper closest to where they were standing — this SHOULD NOT be their own piece of paper, because if done correctly, would be all the way across the room from where they were standing. Everyone went back to their seat & we took turns reading the pieces of paper out loud.
Covid & quarantine burdens were by far the #1 most commonly written down problem. Some other examples that stood out to me are:
“my dog is dying”
“I don’t feel like I’m fitting in very well”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to afford college in the future”
“it’s been bothering me that my dad never wants to see me or talk to me but he comes to town & acts like he’s always here & that nothing ever happened”
“my grades”
“my little sister is in a mental hospital”
“my mom has a new “guy friend” & I don’t like him”
“feeling like I’m never enough”
“my looks are bothering me”
“about four weeks ago I learned that my dad adopted me so he isn’t my birth dad… I feel so confused”
“my uncle just died & nobody at school knows”
“the Chiefs keep losing”
“how Biden is the president #Trump2024”
“my dad wouldn’t let me play football because I have to get a job instead”
“I have a cough & I’m scared”
“my baby brother keeps having seizures”
“the fact that my dad’s side of the family blames us & doesn’t talk to us even though it was my dad’s fault”
“my siblings”
“my parents fight every night & it stresses me out to have to listen to it… that’s why I never can do my homework at home”
The activity is designed for the “baggage” to be completely anonymous which helps some kids to feel more comfortable sharing what’s actually on their hearts. Having kids read each other’s struggles out loud can be incredibly eye-opening. It helps us all learn to judge a little less, love a little more, & forgive a little faster.
After the students were done sharing, each one got to throw away their “baggage” in a plastic sack that I held in the doorway (you can make it fun by having a “slam dunk” contest, which is what I did with 6th grade & they LOVED it). As they threw away their wads of paper containing their classmates’ struggles, I told them they are not alone, they are loved, & we have each other’s backs.
You Matter Project
Next, we talked about how reassuring it is to know that people care about you. To spread some of that positivity around, each student picked out two sticky notes (their choice of color because we’re all about making independent choices over here at the middle school). The students were instructed to write “you matter” on each sticky note. They could decorate it & use whatever colors they wanted to. They could also write a short message, sign their name or leave it completely anonymous. I the took the students on a “silent field trip” & they got to deliver their sticky notes to two separate staff members in the building — teachers, paras, janitors, lunch ladies, office staff, etc.
When the students all got back, a few of them volunteered to share a person’s reaction when they gave them the sticky note, or how they felt handing the sticky notes out. The smiles plastered on their faces represented just how good it feels to tell people that they matter!!
This was one of my favorite activities that we’ve done during classroom guidance this year. The kids seemed to really enjoy it as well & I heard from a lot of my coworkers what an impact their simple sticky notes meant. I was given some & I hung them up on my mini fridge for an encouraging reminder on hard days!
Disclaimer — I did not write this lesson, it is one that was shared with me. I cannot currently find the information to give credit where it is due, but I certainly will if I come across it!
