Lesson 10.2: Anger, Aggression, and Conflict

Overview

This lesson focuses on understanding the differences between anger, aggression, and assertiveness.

Learning Targets

  • LO6: Compare and contrast aggression and assertiveness.
  • LO7: Illustrate each common cause of conflict using a realistic example.
  • LO8: Compare and contrast two styles of managing conflict.
  • LO9: Practice the steps of conflict resolution.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 10.2 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 10.2 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 10.2 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Resolving Conflicts.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: When you experience a conflict, how does it make you feel? How do you usually handle conflict?
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 10.2 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 10.2 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Resolving Conflicts

  1. Give each student a copy of the Lesson 10.2 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Resolving Conflicts. Have students work individually or in pairs.
  2. Have students review the instructions on the worksheet. They will read through two scenarios and identify the best decision to resolve the conflict.
  3. Go over each scenario and ask several students to explain their decisions. Make sure students use a good decision making process and that they successfully resolve the conflict.
  4. As time permits, have students write a third scenario of their own.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Conflict can lead to positive outcomes. Write a paragraph about a situation in which a conflict, if handled well, might lead to a positive outcome for the people involved. Explain the situation and why the outcome might be positive.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Compare and contrast aggression and assertiveness?

    Assertiveness is a nonviolent and confident way of expressing your needs and point of view. It is characterized by being self-confident, being respectful of others, making eye contact, remaining calm, valuing yourself, and trying not to hurt others. Aggression is forceful or violent communication. It is characterized by attacking others, forcing opinions on others, not listening, focusing only on what you want, valuing yourself as more important than others, and seeking to hurt others.

  • Illustrate each common cause of conflict using a realistic example?

    Values: when my friend thinks it’s okay to steal from the teacher because the teacher can get more supplies from the office

    Relationships: when my partner lies to me about where they went after school

    • Interests: when I want to go to an action movie and my friends want to go to a rom-com

    Resources: when we are working on a group project and two of the people aren’t doing anything on the project, leaving it up to me and another person to do all the work

  • Compare and contrast two styles of managing conflict?

    Accommodating approach: This is when you cooperate to a high degree, even letting go of your own goals, objectives, and desired outcomes, to reach a solution.

    Avoiding approach: This is when you simply avoid the thing that is causing the conflict.

    • Collaborating approach: This is when you work together to try to achieve everyone’s goals.

    Competing approach: This is the win-lose approach.

    Compromising approach: In this approach, neither party really achieves all of what they want.

  • Practice the steps of conflict resolution?

    This was done in the Skill-Building Challenge. Have students talk about how well they did in resolving the conflicts in the scenarios.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Share the conflict management strategies with someone in your family or community, and ask them which approach they think they use the most. Ask questions and try to get an example of a time they used the approach and what happened as a result.