Manners Matter: Ages 9 to 12

Introduction

Manners Matter is an etiquette curriculum with consecutive products for three age groups. Youth use the series in cooperation with an adult helper. The series includes activity guides for ages 5 to 8, 9 to 12, and 13 to 19. The series also includes a Helper's Guide with tips and background information, along with several activities designed for group participation.

Helper's Instructions

As a helper to a young person, you will play the roles of coach, cheerleader, referee, and spectator. You will help the youth develop and refine social skills that will make him or her a better friend, student, and citizen. The activities you will oversee also teach other important life skills, including communication, empathy, personal safety, disease prevention, community service/volunteering, and marketable skills. Notice that you are called a "helper" instead of teacher. That's because the "teacher" in this curriculum is the experience itself. Each activity is patterned on the experiential learning model. This learning method encourages a young person to try to do something without being told or shown how. You can read more about it in this introductory section. For now, look over the list below to understand your responsibilities as helper.

• Make sure you have a copy of the entire curriculum. Read the Helper's Guide and the youth activity guides before starting.


• Educate yourself on current standards of etiquette. The "Resources" section lists a variety of books on etiquette for youth. These are just a few of many fine resources available in libraries and bookstores.


• Assist the youth in doing the activities.


• Help the young person to think through why something happened the way it did. Make sure you review and discuss the "Finishing School" questions at the end of each activity. The experiential learning process is not complete until participants have reflected on the experience and have applied what they learned to their everyday life.


• Provide moral support and positive feedback. Help the youth to discover their strengths and weaknesses.

The Experiential Learning Model

The experiential learning model has five steps: experience, share, process, generalize, and apply. In this guide, the activity is the experience or "do" part of the cycle. The remaining parts are fulfilled by the review questions in each activity.

Youth Instructions:
More Fun With Manners

In a way, good manners have a ripple effect. When you throw a rock in a pond, larger and larger ripples radiate from the center. When you behave courteously and respectfully, you inspire people to act kindly toward others. In another way, good manners are like a boomerang. That means what you put forth into the world will come back to you someday. If you treat others as you would like to be treated, you will be happier and so will they. One of the surest ways of being liked is to act nicely. In this guide, you'll learn even more social skills to help you get along better with others. Here are some things you will learn:

• How to be a good sport
• How to take telephone messages and use the phone to get information
• How to set a table and dine politely
• How to fold napkins
• How to meet people and make pleasant conversation
• How to share space with others in public places
• How to display and fold an American flag
• How to write different types of letters