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Mason's friend Jamal is coming over to play. The last 3 times Jamal has come over, he has agreed to play Uno, Mason's favorite game. Today, Jamal asks if they can play Sorry instead. What's a fair solution?
Mason should agree to play Sorry, as a way to be a good friend to Jamal.
Casey has been asked to work with Taylor on a poster project. Casey wants to color the poster's background blue, but Taylor wants to make it green. What's a fair solution?
Rock-paper-scissors to decide what color to make the background.
OR
Agree to make the background one person's color, but then the other person gets to choose the next idea for the poster.
Annie sees Porter being left out of a recess game by some kids. What should Annie do?
Annie could ask Porter if he wants to play with her.
OR
Annie could go up to Porter and ask if he's okay.
OR
Annie could stand up for Porter and tell the kids "You can't say you can't play. You should let him join the game."
During P.E., Brittany sees Casey fall down, and Casey's having trouble getting back up. Everyone else is running around, and the P.E. teacher is in the middle of talking to some other students, so no one else has seen that Casey fell. Brittany doesn't really like Casey. What should Brittany do next?
Go right away and tell the P.E. teacher that Casey fell down. Brittany doesn't like Casey, but Casey could be really hurt, so getting help is the right thing to do.
Kevin is sitting next to Micah in the cafeteria. Micah just opened up his sandwich, and Kevin thinks it smells disgusting. What should Kevin do?
Try to ignore the smell. Commenting might hurt Micah's feelings.
OR
Take a break and go to the bathroom, or get a drink from the water fountain. Maybe when Kevin comes back, the smell won't be so strong.
There's only one piece of pizza left, and both Micah and his brother Joe want it. What's a fair solution?
Cut the pizza in half so each brother can have half.
OR
Rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets it.
During a math project, Sandy notices Brian getting upset and scribbling out an answer he got wrong. What is something Sandy can say to Brian to be a good friend?
"Can I help you?"
OR
"I'm sorry you're frustrated."
Lana and her 4 friends want to go on the swings, but there are only 4 swings available. What should the 5 of them do?
Use an elimination game (e.g., Bubblegum-Bubblegum, Eenie Meenie Mynie Mo, Rock-Paper-Scissors) to decide which person will sit out this time.
OR
Decide all together to go do something else that everyone can participate in.
OR
Rotate out 1 person from the swings every few minutes, so that everyone gets a chance to swing.
Ethan and Sasha are looking together for books to check out from the library. They both come upon the latest book in the CatKid series: CatKid and the Hidden Gumball Machine. They both REALLY want to check out the book. What should they do?
Rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets the book.
OR
One of the kids can check out the book, but they agree to read it together during free times during the day (recess, lunch, snack, etc.).
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One of them can let the other take it, knowing they'll get a turn with it later. This would be a really kind thing that helps them stay friends.
Lizzie and David are hurrying into the cafeteria line. Lizzie is sure she got there before David, but David is arguing he got there first. What should Lizzie do?
Take a deep breath, remind herself that it's not a big deal, and be the bigger person by letting David go first.
OR
Suggest they do rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to be first.
OR
Make a deal! Offer to let David get in front of her in line later today, if he lets her go first now.
Danielle and Jason both want to ride the bike outside their house, but there's only one bike. What's a fair solution?
Rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to ride the bike.
OR
Agree that one person will ride it today, and the other can ride it the next day.
OR
Agree to take turns riding it for 5 minutes at a time.
Calvin and Sam both want to use the same color marker. Sam knows he has gotten to use the marker multiple times over the last few days, and Calvin hasn't had a turn in a while. What should they do?
Sam should let Calvin use the marker.
A large group of kids wants to get a game of tag going, but they keep arguing about what version of tag to play, and who will be "It" first. Andrew is watching his friends argue, and he's starting to get annoyed at all the time being wasted. What can Andrew do?
Go find a teacher to help the kids solve their disagreements and get the game going.
During Art, Kayla and Emma start talking about their favorite pizza toppings. Kayla loves pepperoni, but Emma prefers plain cheese. They start arguing about which one is really the best. What should they do?
Say, "Let's agree to disagree."
OR
Say, "Hey this isn't worth arguing about. Let's talk about something else."
John sees his two friends, Kate and Andy, sitting at different spots in the cafeteria. Both Kate and Andy are waving him over to come sit down with them, but because they're not sitting together, he can't sit with both. What should John do?
Choose one friend to sit with today, and reassure the other friend that he'll sit with them tomorrow.
OR
See if one of the friends is willing to switch seats and come sit by John and the other friend, so that all 3 can sit together.
Annie's friend Rocco comes over to play. Rocco wants to play Clue, but Annie wants to play basketball outside. What is a fair/ cooperative solution?
Play a game of Clue, then go outside and play basketball afterward.
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Figure out a different game/activity that they BOTH want to play.
OR
Play Clue THIS time, then play basketball NEXT time Rocco comes over.
Emma notices Sal taking an eraser from her pencil box without asking. What can Emma do to solve the problem in a way that doesn't make the problem bigger?
Say to Sal (calmly but firmly), "I don't like it when you take something of mine without asking. Please give it back. And next time, ask me first."
...and if that doesn't work...
Tell the teacher.
At recess, Jon wants to join the game of tag that Seth and Tyrone are playing, but Seth and Tyrone tell Jon they only want to play by themselves today. Is this fair? Why or why not?
No, it's not fair. At school, you can't say "You can't play." (Unless a teacher has told certain kids they can't play together.)
Liam, Jerome, and Calvin are good friends. During Music, their class is told to find a partner. They all want to work together, but there can be only 2 kids per team. What should they do?
Ask the teacher to help them decide partners.
OR
Rock-paper-scissors to decide partners.
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All 3 can agree to find different partners from the class, so no one's feelings are hurt.
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One person can volunteer to go find a different partner from class, knowing he'll get a chance to be with his best friends later.
At lunch, Ian's friends begin teasing him about the way his mom cuts his sandwich. He thinks they're just trying to be funny, but it's starting to hurt his feelings and make him feel embarrassed. What should Ian do?
Ian can let his friends know "I know you're just trying to be funny, but it's starting to bug me. Can we talk about something else?"
OR
Find something to distract the group. Point out something funny going on at another table, or say, "Whoa, did you see that?" (and then find something interesting to point out). This might make the group forget about the joking and move on.
AND/OR
Calmly tell them to stop. ("Cut it out, guys, it's not funny to me.") If they don't stop, tell a teacher what's going on.
Ryan's friend Andrew comes over to play. Andrew wants to go to the playground, but Ryan wants to go swimming at the pool. They only have time for one activity. What's a fair solution?
Rock-paper-scissors to decide which activity to do.
OR
Agree to do one friend's idea today, and the other friend's idea the next time they play together.
Shane and Drew are working together on a group project. Shane has good ideas to share, but the other group members keep talking over each other and interrupting him when he tries to talk. What should Shane do?
Talk to the teacher privately about how the group isn't sharing talk-time very well, and ask if he/she can help.
OR
Try to get the group's attention calmly, and then say "I'm frustrated because people are interrupting each other. Can we come up with a way to take turns talking?"
Karla was playing kickball outside at recess with her classmates. After she kicked the ball, she was running to 1st base. She made it onto base JUST before the baseman tagged her. The baseman is yelling she's out. Other kids are starting to gather around. Some agree with Karla (that she's safe), some agree with the baseman. What should Karla do?
Rock-paper-scissors to decide whether Karla is safe or out.
OR
Find a teacher to help solve the problem.
A.J. is friends with both Shawn and Chance, but Shawn and Chance don't get along. During Art, Shawn and Chance both start trying to make A.J. choose which one of them he'll play with at recess. What should A.J. do?
Tell them: "I don't like feeling forced to choose between you two. I like you both, and I want to be friends with both of you."
AND/OR
Talk to an adult about the problem. The adult can help A.J. figure out what to do.
Ashley and Leah are sitting at lunch, making plans to play at recess together. Ashley wants to play on the swings, but Leah wants to join their other friends who will be playing tag. What should they do?
Rock-paper-scissors to decide what to play.
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Decide to do one thing today (or for half of recess), and the other thing tomorrow (or for the last half of recess).
OR
Decide on something totally different that they're both willing to play.
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Ashley can play on the swings, and Leah can go play tag. Maybe they can play together tomorrow.