Healthy Helpers Rights

Overview

In this second lesson of “Healthy Helpers: Growing Together”, students explore that their bodies belong to them and they have personal rights. They practise personal space and begin to understand consent through short stories, simple discussion, and role-play.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify that their body belongs to them and they can say “no” or “stop”
• explain how personal space helps keep us safe and comfortable
• practise asking permission and respecting “no” during pretend play
• describe how rights and respectful choices help people feel safe

Success criteria

Students can:

• show “my space” with their body (stand at an arm’s length and move back when needed)
• use polite consent words such as “Can I?”, “Please”, “No thank you”, or “Stop”
• role-play safely by keeping hands and body movements gentle and respectful
• explain that saying “no” or “stop” is important when something doesn’t feel right

Curriculum links

• Health: personal rights and safety behaviours through respectful relationships and safe body boundaries
• Health: communication skills for expressing feelings and preferences (e.g., “no”, “stop”, “please ask”)
• Creative Arts link (optional support): embody characters and ideas through role-play to communicate meaning - English link (optional support): build oral language for social and learning interactions ## Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Welcome and agreements. Teacher greets students, revises class safety rules (safe hands, respectful voices, listening), and shows a “body belongs to me” picture prompt; students share one safety rule and one body-safety feeling (e.g., “safe”, “not sure”).

2. 8–15 min · Story time: “That’s My Space”. Teacher reads a short teacher-created story about a character who keeps their space, asks permission, and uses “no thank you/stop”; students listen for moments when consent is asked or not respected and answer a simple teacher question (“What could the character say?”).

3. 15–25 min · Teach: personal space and consent basics. Teacher models “personal space” with two students standing one arm’s length apart, then demonstrates what “stop” looks and sounds like (calm voice, hands still); students practise as a class:

• Step back to “my space”
• Use a rehearsed phrase: “No thank you, stop” Teacher checks and corrects gently.

4. 25–40 min · Role-play stations (small groups). Teacher sets up 3 stations with picture cards (e.g., asking to join a game, someone reaches for a toy, someone hugs without asking) and models each scenario once; students rotate in groups of 4:

• Station A: Ask permission to join (“Can I play?”)
• Station B: Respect “no” (“No thank you” → friend steps back)
• Station C: Use “stop” safely (“Stop, I don’t like that” → safe distance) Teacher circulates, noting safe role-play language and respectful body boundaries.

5. 40–48 min · Whole-class debrief: rights in action. Teacher holds up scenario cards one at a time and asks students to choose the safest response; students give answers using sentence starters:

• “I can say…”
• “Personal space means…”
• “When someone says no, we…”

6. 48–55 min · Drama quick check (freeze + hot-seat). Teacher selects one group’s best role-play and leads “freeze”: students hold their positions while the teacher asks the character-in-role one question (“How do you feel?” “What did you say?”); other students identify which consent/right choice was used.

7. 55–60 min · Exit ticket: show or say. Teacher gives each student a small card with one prompt: “My body is mine” or “Personal space is…” and students:

• draw a simple space symbol (circle/line) OR
• complete a sentence by dictation to an adult (support provided)

Resources

• Teacher-created short story: “That’s My Space” (no text heavy; picture support)
• Personal space visual (arm’s length) and “Stop/No thank you” gesture cards
• Scenario picture cards for stations (3–6 cards per station)
• Name cards for group rotations
• Small exit ticket cards with two prompts
• Timer and clean play area markings on the floor (tape circles/lines)
• Teacher observation checklist (language + safety)
• Optional: puppets or soft toys for modelling respectful requests

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observation during role-play stations (right language used, respectful distance kept)
• Formative: student responses during story debrief (“What should the character say?”)
• Exit ticket: shows understanding of personal rights and personal space (draw/say option)

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide sentence starters and phrase cards (“Can I?”, “Please”, “No thank you”, “Stop”)
• Offer teacher modelling and practise before stations
• Allow non-verbal options in role-play (step back + hold up “stop” card) for students needing extra time
• Extension:
• Ask advanced students to add a reason (“Because I feel uncomfortable” / “I need space to be safe”)
• Invite students to suggest an alternative respectful action (“We can take turns” / “Let’s ask first”)
• EAL/SEN:
• Use clear visuals, gestures, and repeated key phrases
• Keep scenarios concrete and consistent; rehearse responses
• Pair students thoughtfully for language support