The Importance of Respect

Year 0-1 | One Family, Many Faces

Subject: Religious Education
Duration: 30 minutes
Class size: 20 students

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WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Understand what respect means.
• Recognise how respect helps us live happily with others in our diverse family and community.
• Talk about ways to show respect to family members who are different from us.

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Success Criteria

• I can say what respect means in my own words.
• I can give examples of respectful behaviour at home and school.
• I can show respect by listening and being kind to others.
• I can identify ways my family is special and different.

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Curriculum Links

New Zealand Curriculum Refresh:

• Vision and Principles: Supporting diversity and inclusion, building respectful and caring relationships, reflecting New Zealand’s cultural heritage including te ao Māori values.
• Values: Respect, diversity, community and participation for the common good.
• Key Competencies: Relating to others, Participating and contributing.
• Learning Area: Health and Physical Education (relationships and social identity focus) and Social Sciences (understanding identity and culture).
• Phase: Years 0-3, Phase 1 (foundation for learning about self and others).

The lesson aligns with the objectives to grow an understanding of values, especially respect for people’s differences within families and communities, supporting social and emotional wellbeing which Foundation Phase curricula emphasise .

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Lesson Outline

Time	Activity	Description	Teaching Notes
5 min	Intro & WALT	Gather students on the mat, introduce the topic: “Today we are learning about respect and why it is important for our big, loving family that has many faces!” Show WALT and success criteria visually.	Use simple language and pictorial cues. Connect to students’ real experiences.
7 min	Storytime: Respect in Families	Read a short, culturally diverse and inclusive storybook about families showing respect and acceptance. For example, a story showing different family cultures and kindness.	Choose a relatable picture book (either real or teacher-created) with simple text focusing on respect and acceptance. Use expressive reading and pause to ask questions about how the characters show respect.
8 min	Class Discussion & Role Play	Discuss together: What does respect look like? How do we show respect at home and school? Invite students to share examples. Then role play simple scenarios (e.g., listening when someone is speaking, helping a family member, saying please and thank you).	Model respectful behaviours and encourage turn-taking. Use sentence starters like “I show respect by…” to scaffold young learners’ language. Keep role plays brief and engaging.
7 min	Creative Activity: Respect Collage	Provide magazines/pictures or drawings representing different family members, children cut and paste images and words that show respect (e.g., listening, sharing, helping). Hang up as a class display “Our Respectful Family.”	Use large colourful images, scissors, glue sticks easily manipulated by young children. Discuss while working to reinforce concepts.
3 min	Summary and Reflection	Gather students and revisit WALT. Ask a few children to share one thing they learned about respect today. Reinforce by praising respectful behaviour seen during class.	Use positive reinforcement and encourage reflection with simple questions: “What will you do to show respect at home or school?”

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Resources

• Picture book about diverse families and respect (teacher-selected or created).
• Visual WALT and success criteria chart with images.
• Paper, magazines, scissors, glue sticks for collage.
• Story props and role-play cards.

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Assessment & Feedback

• Observe students’ ability to articulate what respect means during discussion and reflection.
• Check participation and understanding during role play activities.
• Evaluate the respect collage for demonstration of key concepts.
• Provide immediate positive feedback highlighting respectful behaviours and language.

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Teacher Reflection

• How engaged were students with the story and discussion?
• Did students understand and use the word “respect” and related behaviours?
• Were the role plays effective in modelling respectful interactions?
• How can later lessons build on this understanding with deeper respect topics like empathy and acceptance?

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This lesson fosters a respectful classroom culture from the earliest age, embedding key New Zealand Curriculum values and competencies, and supporting children to appreciate diversity within families and their wider communities in line with the “One Family, Many Faces” unit .