A Lesson Plan from Life Planning Education: A Youth Development Program

Purpose: To identify causes of violence, the link between anger and violence, and the motivation to manage anger nonviolently

Materials: Newsprint and markers or board and chalk, paper; pens/pencils

Time: 30-40 minutes

Procedure:

1. Point out (citing the previous activity, “Introduction to Violence," if you conducted it) that violence is not generally caused by:
• A biological instinct
• A desire for money
• An attack of temporary insanity
2. Ask the group to brainstorm factors that cause the most violence among teenagers. List responses on newsprint. Encourage discussion of each possible cause. Ask for examples of factors in the community, in the U S. and the world. If the following causes do not emerge, add them:
• A desire to feel powerful
• Peer pressure to gain a “reputation” as a gangster
• A desire to “hang” and do what the group is doing
• Uncontrolled anger
• Lack of conflict resolution skills
• Alcohol and other drug use
• Lack of employment and job opportunities
• Violence in the media
• The stress of living in poverty
3. Focus on anger as a common cause of violence, one teens can do something about. Remind the teens of the sentence from the previous activity, "Anger is only one letter away from danger.” If you did not conduct that activity, introduce the sentence at this time.
4. Have participants close their eyes for a few minutes and recall recent incidents that made them angry. The incident might be related to money; to an argument with a parent, sibling, friend or romantic partner; to a situation at school; to feeling disrespected and so on. Tell teens to recall what made them angry and concentrate on remembering how they felt.
5. After a couple of minutes, ask volunteers to describe how they felt when they became frustrated or angry during the incident. What were the sensations, thoughts and feelings when they were angry? Probe for physical sensations (breathing hard, rapid heart beat or tension in stomach or back) as well as psychological experiences (feeling out of control, feeling like striking out at someone). List their responses on newsprint and title the list, “How I feel when I'm angry.”
6. Now ask the group to think of things they do when they become very angry. What are their behaviors? List these responses on newsprint and title the list, “What I do when I'm angry.”
7. Ask the group to reflect on the lists for several minutes and to write their conclusions.
8. After five minutes, ask volunteers to read their conclusions about the two lists. Solicit several different responses, then if no one has noted it, point out that feelings do not hurt anyone but actions do. Draw a line between the two lists, clearly separating them, and emphasize that feelings and actions do not have to be linked.
9. Conclude the activity using the Discussion Points. 

Discussion Points:

1. Which feelings on the list are okay and which are bad? (Answer: Feelings are always okay, even negative feelings like anger, jealousy, disgust and so on. Having negative feelings is normal, but it is important to express negative feelings so they do not build up and cause stress or illness. Negative feelings must be expressed, however, in ways that do not risk any danger to oneself or others. Feelings can become a problem if they are expressed by hurting someone or something, using drugs or alcohol to numb the feelings, denying that the feelings exist and so on.)
2. Which behaviors on the list are safe ways to deal with angry feelings? (Circle those with a colored marker.) Which behaviors are unsafe and could lead to violence? (Put a line through those, using a different colored marker.)
3. Is it easy to always respond with a safe behavior when you have angry feelings? What makes it easier? What makes it more difficult?
4. What is a safe way to let off anger? Would you try this the next time you are angry?
   
5. What could you do to reduce some of the potential for violent behavior in your life?