This Keeps Happening - Let's Actually Fix It
TARGET:
9-11 years
INTENSITY:
30 min / 1x per week
LEARNING GOAL
Developing Emotional Awareness When Interacting with Others
PEDAGOGICAL INTENTION
Finding Solutions Based on Everyone's Emotions
Target SKILLS
Socio-emotional Intelligence
Co-Intelligence Human-Human
Complex Reasoning
MATERIALS
Root cause analysis worksheet (5 Whys)
Recurring problem intervention design
DETAILED PROCEDURE
Gather the whole group together in a circle for this activity. Explain calmly to the children: "When the same conflict keeps happening, patching it each time doesn't work. You have to find the root cause."
Step 1
Teach the 5 Whys method: for any recurring problem, ask 'why?' 5 times until you find the root.
Step 2
Apply to a real recurring class or group problem: the same argument over who leads / the same person being excluded / the same misunderstanding repeating.
Step 3
Say gently to the children: "Surface solutions fix things until the next time. Root cause solutions change the pattern."
Step 4
Have groups design a structural intervention - not just a conversation, but a change to how things are organized.
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
PROGRESS INDICATORS
The child correctly applies the 5 Whys to a recurring group problem.
The child identifies a structural (not just behavioral) root cause.
The child designs and implements a structural intervention.