Conversations with junior schoolchildren. Ethical Conversations with Primary School Students

The formation of moral qualities today takes place in difficult conditions and depends on many factors. Communication requires a deep general cultural basis - moral culture, which is a condition for a meaningful and fruitful life and mental health of the individual. What a person’s culture should be cannot be said in a few words. This is a whole program for educating society. It all starts in childhood, when a mother smiles at her child. Next is the school, where the future of society depends on the teacher.

Despite the fact that the rules of decency are not always uniform, sometimes conditional and relative, their observance is necessary, as this prevents misunderstandings between people and makes communication more pleasant. Among the rules of politeness there are mandatory ones, observed in the interests of society, and optional ones, which everyone can observe at their own discretion, in accordance with their tact and taste.

Rules of behavior must be observed meaningfully, depending on the situation, place and time.

The Purpose of Ethical Conversations— to help schoolchildren in mastering general moral norms and norms of behavior, according to which they should build their behavior in a specific situation, evaluate their own and their comrades’ experience, communicate without conflict and be able to accept an opinion different from their own. Moral norms are a kind of regulator of behavior. Ethical conversations, of course, do not exclude the discussion of certain issues in connection with the various actions of children and their attitude towards each other and towards adults.

Both the teacher and the children prepare for an ethical conversation. The teacher thinks through questions for the conversation, invites the children to read something or remember from what they have read, recall a case they know about relationships between people, and evaluate various behavioral situations. Naturally, if the atmosphere of the conversation is relaxed, and the children will freely express their opinions, even though they may turn out to be contradictory. Let the erroneous opinion be discussed; you should not just condemn the child for the mistake, you need to bring him and other children to the correct conclusion. But under no circumstances should the teacher present children with a ready-made conclusion. It is very important that children learn to think independently, compare various facts that characterize relationships between people and events, see their inconsistency and give the correct assessment, linking it with ethical standards. If children are not able to draw a conclusion on their own, the teacher can resort to illustrations and examples that will help formulate a moral rule. A moral norm, developed through experience, passed through the emotional sphere and comprehended in conversation, and not simply presented ready-made, becomes a regulator of children’s relationships in their practical activities.

During conversations about personal responsibility, goodwill, honesty, and justice, it is important to formulate with children specific rules governing their relationships with each other and with adults.

These rules can be placed in a class:

Know how to keep your word and promise.

Don’t make promises without thinking whether you can fulfill what you promise to another person, group, or team.

If you promised and then realized that you cannot fulfill your promise, immediately say so honestly.

If you have not learned to keep your word, fulfill promises and duties entrusted to you, start small, but be sure to finish the job.

Don't shift your blame onto someone else.

Don't be indifferent to people.

Don’t be afraid to offer your help to others, help first of all people in trouble, the weak, the sick, the elderly.

Take a closer look at some of the “nots.”

"Not" (A. Markusha)

1. Don’t rush to be the first to sit down at the table.

2. Don't talk while eating.

3. Remember to close your mouth when chewing.

4. Don't slurp.

5. Don’t be the first to run out the door.

6. Don't interrupt the speaker.

8. Don't wave your arms.

9. Don't point your finger at anyone.

10. Don't imitate the speaker.

11. Do not sit down before your elder without his permission.

12. Don’t extend your hand first, wait for the elder to greet you.

13. Don’t forget to take off your hat when entering the house.

14. Don't repeat "I" too often.

15. Don’t pretend on a trolleybus or tram that you don’t notice an elderly person standing.

16. Don’t interfere in someone else’s conversation without saying “excuse me.”

17. Don't forget to apologize if you accidentally pushed someone.

18. Do not sneeze into space, sneeze into a handkerchief or cover your mouth with your palms when sneezing.

19. Don't keep your hands in your pockets.

20. Don’t comb your hair anywhere, there is a corridor, a foyer, a toilet room for that.

21. Don't do things that might bother other people.

22. Do not utter words whose exact meaning you do not know.

23. Do not consider yourself the center of the Universe; this will always help you choose the right tone in communicating with others.

“For well-mannered guys, everything is going well!” (Problem conversation-dialogue in grades 3-4)

Goals and objectives:

Fostering ethical standards of behavior, feelings of kindness and compassion, love and mercy;

Motivation of junior schoolchildren for moral actions and deeds.

The teacher should prepare the verses used in this scenario in advance.

Description of the class hour

Teacher: Guys, have you ever heard the expression “well-mannered person”? (Students' answers) Let's think about it - what kind of person can be called well-mannered?

It is very difficult to give an unambiguous definition of good manners. Each nation has its own folk traditions and customs, religious beliefs and unique way of life. For example, the famous Russian writer A.P. Chekhov expresses the following thoughts:

“Educated people, in my opinion, must satisfy the following conditions:

They respect human personality, and therefore are always lenient, soft, polite, compliant... They do not rebel over a hammer or a missing rubber band; when they live with someone, they don’t make a favor out of it, and when they leave, they don’t say: I can’t live with you! They forgive noise, cold, overcooked meat, witticisms, and the presence of strangers in their home...

They are not only compassionate towards beggars and cats. They are sick in their souls and from what cannot be seen with the naked eye...

They respect other people's property, and therefore pay debts.

They are sincere and fear lies like fire. They don't lie even about trifles. A lie is offensive to the listener and vulgarizes the speaker in his eyes. They do not show off, they behave on the street the same way as at home, they do not throw dust in the eyes of the smaller brethren... They are not talkative and do not barge in with frankness when they are not asked... Out of respect for other people's ears, they are often silent.

They do not destroy themselves in order to evoke sympathy and help in others. They do not play on the strings of other people's souls, so that in response they sigh and coddle them. They don’t say: they don’t understand me!..

They are not vain. They are not interested in such false diamonds as meeting celebrities, the delight of someone they meet at Salon, fame for porter...

If they have talent, they respect it. They sacrifice peace, women, wine, vanity for him...

They cultivate aesthetics in themselves. They cannot sleep in their clothes, breathe crappy air, walk on a spit-stained floor..."1

Sometimes a well-mannered person is compared to a cultured one. There is some truth here, but the two concepts are somewhat different.

A cultured person is an educated and well-mannered person who knows how to behave in society and follows the rules of etiquette. Consequently, an educated or cultured person strives to enrich himself with knowledge, the basic knowledge about culture and art, traditions and customs of his people and the culture of other countries. This is a person who constantly strives to learn the secrets of etiquette, tries always and everywhere to be honest and fair, neat and tidy, polite and courteous, kind and sympathetic, tolerant of the customs of other nationalities and the physical disabilities of the people around him.

Guys, what kind of person can be called well-mannered? (Students' reflections)

Sasha lives in the world.

Sasha has porridge in his mouth -

Not rice porridge

Not buckwheat porridge

Not semolina

Not oatmeal

With sweet milk.

In the morning in Sasha's mouth

Our simple words

In Russian.

But what can be understood

To say it's clear to everyone

As people say -

Our Sasha is so crooked,

What he himself cannot understand:

Says a word -

And I’m not happy about it myself!

He will say:

"Goodbye!"

And you hear:

"To the building!"

He will ask:

“Where are the galoshes?”

And you can hear:

"Is this a horse?"

When he reads out loud,

You'll barely understand:

And he swallows letters,

And whole words.

He's in such a hurry to get out of the raid

Read, ask, say,

It's like someone is drowning

And he runs to save...

He can, but he doesn't want to

Follow the speech.

We need a translator

Translate it.

Guys, never be like the hero of S. Mikhalkov’s poem, otherwise you may become a negative example for a humorous poem by some humorist poet.

Situation “Should a well-mannered person be kind?”

Teacher: Let's talk only about some of the qualities of a cultured or educated person. Does he have to be kind? (Guys' reasoning)

How do you understand the following folk proverbs and sayings?

It is bad for him who does no good to anyone.

What you cannot do by force, you will achieve with kindness.

A hundred hands for a good man.

Kindness never loses its dignity.

The good die, but their deeds live. (Students' reflections)

Teacher: Now let's listen to poems about goodness.

1st student:

Let's worship kindness!

Let's live with kindness in mind...

All in blue and starry beauty...

2nd student:

The land is good. She will give us bread,

Living water and trees in bloom.

Under this ever-restless sky

Let's fight for kindness!

3rd student:

No matter how life flies -

Don’t regret your days, do a good deed

For the sake of people's happiness.

(A. Chepurov)

Situation “Well-mannered means honest?”

Teacher: Let's continue to list what qualities a well-mannered person should have. Do you think honesty and selflessness, justice and the ability to speak competently, modesty and tact can be attributed to good manners? (Guys' reasoning)

Indeed, a well-mannered or cultured person will never, mind you, in any company allow himself to gossip about others, use foul language or lie.

<...>We all want to harm each other.

In others there is good depravity, we hate it,

But we don’t see dissipation in ourselves.

You vilify this one, you vilify that one,

Only you don’t see your idleness.

Scold the idlers worthy of this tribute,

However, you don’t use your swords for everyone!

Don’t make curses out of ruble money,

An elephant from a mosquito, from a ship's boat.

A respectable man turns away fierce delirium,

Who in society is a rogue who tells a rogue.

One told, the other said the same thing,

The mill grinds everything, but what does it grind? Lie.

Even if the building of your stories is not yours,

But can you have this as an excuse?

You beckon yourself with honesty in dishonor,

When will you stab me with someone else's knife?

It disgusts me when I hear false news,

Even more disgusting is the misunderstanding about honor.

And the rumors about her are even stranger to me because

There are about five thousand different things about the honesty of systems.

(Excerpt from the poem by A.P. Sumarokov “On slander”)

Teacher: A well-mannered person will always fight for justice, although each of us understands the word “justice” in our own way.

Justice is one of the criteria by which people evaluate events occurring around them, as well as one of the parameters of self-esteem. Scientists identify four types of ordinary ideas about justice:

- fair distribution of rewards (punishments) to participants in any event (decisions of judges or jury members, encouragement or punishment by a teacher of class students or parents of children, etc.);

— the fairness of the procedure that is used to make a decision (whether the jury members helped anyone, whether there was any bribery when making the decision, etc.);

— the fairness of the assessment of how politely the participant in the event was treated and how he was informed about the decision made (some were told in front of everyone, others in private, etc.);

— the fairness of how participants were informed in advance about the procedure and decision-making criteria (some were told in advance, others were not, etc.).

A well-mannered person will always be honest, and therefore strives for justice. Give examples when you had to face injustice and how you tried to restore justice? (Guys' reasoning)

The teacher asks the children to write a short essay in which they list all the qualities of a well-mannered and cultured person.

CONDITIONS FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ETHICAL CONVERSATIONS WITH JUNIOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

The methodology for conducting generalized ethical conversations includes: the preparatory stage, conducting the conversation, organizing and assessing the daily activities and relationships of children on the basis of learned moral norms and rules.
Experience in conducting ethical conversations shows that it is advisable to conduct one conversation per month outside of school hours. Preparation for each conversation takes 7-10 days. The duration of the conversation should not exceed 25-30 minutes in grade I, 40-45 minutes in grades II and III.
The preparatory stage, the longest and most labor-intensive, includes a variety of activities by the teacher and children. There may be various options for preparing for the conversation, we recommend the following: 1) determining the topic, 2) selecting materials and aids, 3) drawing up a plan, 4) preparing students.
When choosing a specific topic for a general conversation, the teacher must keep in mind: events in the social life of the country, the content of educational material, and the level of children’s knowledge about moral standards. Thus, conversations about internationalism can be timed to coincide with the Day of the Soviet Constitution, the Day of Young Anti-Fascists. In the first case, the conversation will focus on the friendship of different nationalities inhabiting the Soviet Union. In the second - international solidarity of workers of all countries. A conversation about the communist attitude to work can be held before the all-Union cleanup day on your birthday. The same conversation can be organized after excursions that introduce children to the work of people in different professions; it can be carried out in connection with the socially useful work of the children themselves.
In order to determine on what topic it is appropriate to conduct a conversation at the moment, the teacher must be attentive to the moral side of the life of the children's group and individual schoolchildren. In lessons, breaks, games, and extracurricular activities, you can observe how children relate to social responsibilities, their own and others’ successes and failures, whether they are honest, whether they have developed a sense of camaraderie and collectivism. Children express their opinions about the life of the group, about what they read, share observations about relationships in the family, in October stars, and evaluate each other’s actions. All this allows the teacher to get an idea of what moral standards the children have learned and whether they act in accordance with them, what errors and inaccuracies are found in their knowledge. Analysis of the facts will help determine the nature of children’s relationships, typical actions and, in this regard, outline the topic of conversation.
Various options for the sequence of generalizing conversations are possible. So, if we keep in mind the development of the life of the children's team, then at the beginning of the year it is advisable to have a conversation about friendship and camaraderie. During the period when the results of a competition or some kind of joint work or sports competition are being summed up, it is appropriate to have a conversation about justice and collectivism. The teacher should determine the sequence of generalizing conversations at the beginning of the year. Fulfilling this requirement will ensure systematic communication of ethical knowledge to children.
The correct selection of illustrative material is of great importance for the effectiveness of the conversation. We include illustrative material as works of art, journalistic and business articles in periodicals, cinema and filmstrips. There is currently quite a lot of such material addressed directly to schoolchildren, including students in grades I-III. But it is sometimes difficult for a teacher to find it, combine it by topic, or supplement some sources with others. Therefore, a small part of the illustrative material is included in the content of the manual.
Simultaneously with the selection of illustrative material, you should consider what pedagogical means are necessary so that the material offered to children will help them acquire knowledge about moral standards and relate them to their own thoughts, experiences, and actions. Solving these problems is possible with the correct formulation of questions that guide the discussion of literary sources. It is necessary to specifically teach children the techniques of analysis, synthesis, comparison, and generalization of moral phenomena.
In the process of preparing for the conversation, children receive various kinds of tasks. The content of the task and its volume depend on the topic of the conversation, the phenomenon being studied, and the age and development of the children. For example, during a conversation on the topic “About a conscientious attitude to learning and work responsibilities,” first-graders were given tasks based on stars. The first star was supposed to find out what work responsibilities the Octobers have at home and how they relate to them; the second star is to select stories and poems from children's magazines and "Pionerskaya Pravda" about the work of children, about their help to adults, and learn to tell them. The third was to ask parents about their work, to find out from them what the words “labor discipline” mean. The fourth star selected illustrations about people’s work (from old illustrated magazines, posters), the fifth - proverbs and sayings about attitudes towards work. All children were included in the preparation for the conversation. Of course, not all of them were equally active and independent. But everyone had “their own” facts and emerging judgments about a conscientious attitude to learning and work.
Conducting a conversation requires great skill from the teacher. The main requirement is to ensure that children are active during the conversation itself. A methodology that only provides for the transfer of ready-made knowledge does not meet the basic requirement presented by our society to schools - to educate active and conscientious citizens. The right thing is done by a teacher who, while conducting a conversation, asks questions, gives vivid examples, makes brief convincing comments, guides and clarifies children’s statements, and does not allow incorrect thoughts to take hold. At the same time, we must keep in mind some features of children's judgments. Sometimes younger schoolchildren make generalizations based on one fact alone. For example, “he is bad - he didn’t learn his lessons today.” It is necessary to teach the child to substantiate the generalization he has made, to help him specify it. Thus, “bad” can be divided into “lazy”, “disobedient”, “inattentive”. Some concepts in the teacher’s speech may be unfamiliar to children: “indifferent,” “constant,” “devoted.” They must be introduced into children's speech with full disclosure of their content. Often children find it difficult to indicate essential signs of moral quality, naming secondary ones. When analyzing moral qualities, they cannot be isolated from each other; their relationships and conditionality must be emphasized. Thus, children need to be helped to see that self-esteem easily turns into arrogance if it is not associated with respect for other people; into ambition and vanity - if a sense of duty and modesty is not cultivated. There is also a feedback: politeness can turn into servility, modesty into humility, if a sense of human dignity is not cultivated.
When conducting a conversation based on what you read, it is very important to be able to ask questions. Questions should touch the mind and feelings of children, force them to turn to facts, examples, and events in their surrounding life. If the teacher knows that children have insufficient knowledge about moral standards, they should ask questions aimed at reproducing an event that is given a moral assessment or that contains an example of how to act in accordance with the requirements of the norms.
The sequence of questions should lead children to the derivation of a moral rule that must be followed when communicating with other people and performing their duties. When asking questions in conversations with children on moral topics, you can adhere to the following recommendations:
1. The question should direct children’s attention to the moral side of life, actions, phenomena hidden behind the objective actions of people. Questions should be posed in such a way that they help the child see and highlight a person’s attitude towards something, towards other people, towards himself, his responsibilities, his duty.
2. The question should make the child think about the motives of the action, see the complex relationship between the motive and the result of the action. Questions should be asked, the answers to which require a comparison of different motives for the same actions; identical motives leading to different actions. Such questions force the child to connect together the thoughts, words and actions of people, and will show him the complexity of human behavior.
3. The question should make children see the moral consequences of any action for other people. To do this, the child must turn to the experience he already has, compare what he himself has experienced with the actions of those people whose actions he learns (reads), transfer to himself what other people have experienced (put himself in the place of another).
4. The question should attract the attention of schoolchildren to the internal experiences of people, teach the child to learn about the human condition by external signs, understand this condition and, therefore, empathize.
Questions that would help schoolchildren connect what they read with their own moral experience and their collective experiences are very important. Of course, it is not necessary to raise questions in every conversation aimed at understanding all aspects of morality. In one case, the teacher can draw children's attention to a discussion of the motives of an action, in another - to a moral assessment of actions, in a third - to the moral consequences of some action. But it is important that, in the totality of all conversations, the basic principles of morality become known to children. The repetition of questions from conversation to conversation, analysis of typical situations helps children see the moral side of social life, events in the team, in the actions, feelings and statements of people, contradictions in the development of moral phenomena. They learn to morally evaluate their actions and the actions of their comrades. In conversations, primary schoolchildren gradually learn techniques for analyzing moral phenomena. This allows the teacher to diversify the structure of the conversation and the presentation of factual material in order to increase its emotionality and imagery.
Ethical conversations with children should take place in a relaxed atmosphere. They should not be of a moralizing nature, edifications, reproaches or ridicule. Children express their opinions and impressions freely and at ease. If their statements are naive, inaccurate, incorrect, the teacher does not interrupt the children, asks the children to complement, express their opinions, and if the children’s statements still do not produce a proper generalization, the teacher comes to the rescue as their senior mentor.
Ethical conversations with primary school students should contain elements of entertainment. To do this, it is advisable to include in the content of conversations various situations that not only contain a moral problem, but are also presented in a form that is unusual for students, requiring them to make guesses and an interested, emotionally charged search for an answer.
The student’s successful accumulation of experience in humane, collective relations, and moral behavior is carried out in everyday life, in educational, socially useful work and play activities. It is here that he gets used to being guided by moral rules, norms, and principles: therefore, the correct organization of educational work in a team after an ethical conversation is very important.
First of all, a primary school teacher needs to pay attention to the formation of public opinion in the children's team. Public opinion contributes to the creation of a moral atmosphere of mutual respect, care, responsibility to comrades, and intolerance for violations of public discipline. The opportunity to openly express one’s judgments, thoughts, and doubts contributes to the development of self-esteem and responsibility, which in turn encourages children to exercise self-control. Public opinion stimulates positive and inhibits negative manifestations in the character and behavior of schoolchildren. The teacher must keep in mind that the importance of public opinion for first-graders, second-graders, and third-graders is different. First grade students are only beginning to show a tendency to recognize the requirements and norms of public opinion; the vast majority of children of this age consider the teacher’s opinion to be important to them. In grades II and III, the role of collective opinion increases.
It is very important that the object of public opinion be the positive actions of schoolchildren and public opinion should not be directed only to actions related to poor performance and discipline. It is advisable to organize the collective activities of schoolchildren so that children can discuss the process and results of their efforts, evaluate their successes and the achievements of their comrades, and practically affirm the moral norms of collective life. The development of public opinion occurs through the introduction of new and adjustments to existing moral concepts, teaching children the rules for discussing and evaluating events in collective life, and the actions of individual children. The developed rules for the life of the children's group act as criteria for moral assessment.
The public opinion of a group of junior schoolchildren has a number of manifestation features that are determined by the composition of the team, its level of development, and the age of the children. Categorical, situational, and unstable public opinion can lead to the fact that the object of direct action of public opinion is not always the most important and educationally significant events in public life. The goal of pedagogical leadership should be to choose the object of public opinion, the ways of its influence on the individual, the forms of presenting demands, and not be reduced to simple control or edification.
Each ethical conversation with primary schoolchildren usually uses some main source of knowledge about moral standards, actions and behavior. Discussion of a moral problem begins with an analysis of the facts contained in this source. During the conversation, these facts are “joined” by others already existing in the children’s knowledge, observations and experience. Based on this, ethical conversations can be divided into:
1. Conversations based on the story (or several stories) read.
2. Conversations related to the discussion of the book.
3. Conversations based on problems and materials raised in children's periodicals, mainly in Pionerskaya Pravda, that is, problems common to all schools, relevant to everyone at the moment.
4. Conversations related to watching films and films.
5. Conversations, the main material for which was obtained as a result of targeted observations of the children themselves about the phenomena of social life.
6. Conversations on problematic issues proposed by the children themselves. Such conversations are mainly held in third grade.
7. Conversations based on short essays on moral topics written by children (grades II-III).
You should resort to a conversation based on a read story or group of stories in the following cases:
- when a work of art allows children to comprehend the actions and actions taking place in their own team. Analysis of “other people’s” events helps schoolchildren to think and objectively evaluate the life of the team and their actions;
- when the teacher wants to indirectly show children a model of moral behavior, to equip them with the knowledge of which actions are encouraged and bring satisfaction and joy to a person, which are condemned and cause remorse, difficult experiences (at the same time, what is read is not directly connected with the life of a given group);
- when children do not have enough (both in volume and content) of their own observations, sensory and figurative ideas about the moral phenomena of social life.
When choosing a story or group of stories for discussion, one must keep in mind their artistic value, accessibility for younger students, imagery and emotionality of presentation, the presence of moral experiences, descriptions of events and facts that require reflection, and finding a way out of a problematic situation.
When a teacher selects several stories for a conversation, you can choose them so that children see the manifestation of the same moral qualities in different circumstances. For another conversation, you need to choose stories in which different people behave differently in similar situations. Conversations are interesting when the stories used do not have an end or the teacher deliberately “cuts off” them at the climax so that the children “finish” them. For ethical conversations with first-graders, short stories that reveal the essence of moral qualities and relationships are good. Let us give an example of a conversation in the first grade in connection with reading the story by Yu. Ermolaev “We visited.”
The teacher reads the story expressively. After reading the story, the question is asked: “What do you think about the boys Alika and Kostya?”
The children are silent for several seconds, they were amazed by the situation presented in the story, many hands are raised, everyone wants to express their opinion about what happened. The children's answers are different: they came to visit the sick Tolik. They didn’t think at all about the sick Tolik. They were late for school, so they went to Tolik.
Teacher: Did the children come to visit their friend out of good feelings?
Answers: 1) No, not a good one; 2) They were afraid that they would be scolded for being late to school; 3) They decided to deceive the teacher, saying that they were visiting a sick friend.
Teacher: What offended Tolik?
Answers: 1) At first Tolik was happy, he thought that the guys remembered him and came to visit. And when he found out that the children came to him because they were late for school and were afraid that the teacher would scold them for being late, he felt sad; 2) Tolik also became sad because the guys began to say that they would even be praised for visiting him.
Teacher: How can you call the action of Alik and Kostya?
Answers: 1) Dishonest; 2) Cowardly; 3) They were afraid of the teacher’s remarks.
Teacher: Did the guys feel that they had offended Tolik?
Answers: 1) No, they didn’t think about him at all; 2) They are insensitive.
Teacher: You correctly said “insensitive”. What else can you call them?
Children find it difficult to answer. The teacher tries to help them, introduces them to the synonym of this word - “indifferent.” When a person is indifferent to the grief of another person, how do they talk about him? (The children are silent.) The teacher says herself: “Such a person is called indifferent.” Children quickly pick up this definition and recall V. Oseeva’s story “The Dog Barked Furiously,” where the boys turned out to be indifferent and insensitive to the fate of a defenseless kitten.
Teacher: So, children, you said that Kostya and Alik turned out to be insensitive, dishonest, cowards. (One of the guys adds “indifferent” from the spot. The teacher approved this addition.) Why does the author of the story compare the boys with empty ears of wheat among ripe wheat? (The teacher concretizes her thought, invites the children to imagine a field with ripe wheat, ears filled with grain, and among them several empty ears.)
- Think, children, do people need empty ears of corn?
Answers: 1) Empty ears of corn do not bring any benefit; 2) These boys, like empty ears of corn, do not bring any benefit to people, they are indifferent and insensitive.
Teacher: What conclusion will you draw in connection with the discussion of the story you read?
Answers: 1) There is no need to act as the boys did; 2) We must be sensitive; 3) You must help your friend and not consider that you should be praised for this; 4) You cannot be indifferent to the misfortune of a comrade.
The teacher summarizes children's statements. Then the children are asked the question: “What is important in friendship, what should you always remember?”
Answers:
- You should always help your friend.
- You have to be sensitive.
- You cannot be indifferent to the grief of a comrade.
- Be honest and sincere in friendship.
- You can't brag about good deeds.
- No need to change friends.
- You must be constant in friendship.
During the conversation under the guidance of the teacher, the children were able to draw the correct moral conclusion from the story they read.
Conversations related to the discussion of a story (book) are possible in grades II and III. The teacher carries out the preparatory work together with the librarian. The book chosen for discussion should be read by all children. The teacher prepares questions in advance around which the conversation should begin.
When preparing to discuss a book, children can be given the task of drawing illustrations for the story they read and try to convey the experiences of the characters in the drawing. Children's drawings should be displayed on a stand and shown to parents at the next parent-teacher meeting. The conversation must be structured so that children can argue their thoughts based on the text of the story.
It is very interesting, especially in third grade, to have conversations using problematic articles in Pionerskaya Pravda. The newspaper constantly publishes materials related to the moral side of the activities of pioneer groups and the life of the school. Their distinctive features are problematic and acute, the direct use of children's letters, answers to questions posed by the newspaper or by the children themselves.
In conversations of this type, we also recommend using I. Medvedeva’s book “Think, Say, Do” (M., 1977), which has the subtitle “Conversation about Letters.” The book provides answers to children's questions, talks about kindness, honesty, how to cultivate one's will, and how to learn to keep one's word.
Conversations summarizing children's observations of moral phenomena in social life are possible in all classes. In preparation for them, it is necessary to organize observations of children under the guidance of adults (teachers, parents, counselors), proposing questions to which children must find answers on their own.
Conversations on problematic issues proposed by the children themselves are carried out mainly in the third grade. Children's questions are usually specific and relate to a particular case, but they contain a problem that a younger student cannot figure out on his own. Most often these are problems of camaraderie and friendship (“Can three of us be friends?”, “Should we scold each other for betrayal?”, “Should we take revenge for betrayal?”), honesty, truthfulness (“I’m lying. How can I stop?”) , kindness (“If they did evil to me, should I forgive or take revenge?”), courage (“How to become brave?”, “I’m afraid of the dark, I’m afraid to tell the truth, I just keep quiet”), etc.
Conversations based on short essays written by the children themselves are also conducted mainly in grades II-III. Let's name approximate topics for such essays: “About my friend”; “How I managed to overcome my laziness”; “About our cool team”; “What dad told me about his work.”
The effectiveness of ethical conversations increases if all primary school teachers conduct them. Conducting conversations requires methodological training from the teacher. A methodological seminar was organized at the Kuntsevo Department of Public Education in Moscow, during which teachers received theoretical knowledge on the methods of educational work and especially conducting conversations. During the classes, lectures were given, teachers presented an analysis of the conversations and generalized their experience. In addition, support schools were identified in which open conversations were held followed by their analysis. Seminars for primary school teachers in Moscow were held at the base schools, and problem-based courses at the Institute for Advanced Teacher Training were held. Thus, the methodological developments of the teachers of the Kuntsevo district became the property of other teachers in the city. At the end of each year, conferences were held with speeches from teachers about their work experience and a long-term plan for the next year was outlined.
The seminar program included work in three areas: studying theoretical issues of moral education of primary schoolchildren; development of methods for conducting ethical conversations with children; conducting open ethical conversations with their subsequent collective discussion.
Let us give as an example a specific topic of seminar classes:
Theoretical issues of moral education of schoolchildren
1. Current problems of moral education of schoolchildren at the present stage of development of socialist society and secondary schools.
2. Diagnostics of the process of moral education and the level of education of schoolchildren.
3. Formation of moral consciousness and behavior in their unity.
Methodology for conducting ethical conversations with teenagers.
1. Continuity in the moral education of preschoolers, primary schoolchildren and adolescents.
2. Requirements for selecting the content of ethical conversations.
3. Techniques for activating schoolchildren in the process of ethical conversation.
4. Requirements for the direction and content of the teacher’s questions during an ethical conversation.
5. Possibilities and techniques for using periodicals and fiction in ethical conversations.
Open conversations and their collective discussion
1. Requirements for the design of methodological materials on ethical conversation (conversation plan, summary of the conversation, illustrative material, main questions for discussion).
2. The main issues around which the discussion of the conversation is built (the relevance of the conversation based on educational objectives, the accessibility and “interestingness” of the material, the activity of schoolchildren).
3. Difficulties, shortcomings of conducting this conversation, wishes for improving the methodology for conducting ethical conversations.
This organization of work yielded positive results. Teachers' interest in educational activities has increased. The constant exchange of opinions and discussion of methodological findings contributed to the accumulation of experience in conducting conversations. Systematic work with children, open lessons, conversations, and various educational activities forced us to look for effective methods in the moral education of schoolchildren. Teachers have learned to achieve new positive results not by spending additional time, but by stimulating the activity of the children themselves and directing their efforts toward mastering norms and rules of behavior.
Systematic conversations with children ensure the strength of assimilation of knowledge about moral standards. For example, data from a survey of children eight months after a conversation about partnership shows that moral knowledge not only does not “decrease”, but that new ones “increase” occur. Children point out such manifestations of true comradeship that they had not mentioned before, these are: demandingness towards their friend, the ability to point out his shortcomings, a good comrade empathizes not only with the grief of others, but also with the joys, shows justice, and provides assistance in everything. Children connect the interests of personal friendship with the interests of the team.
Teachers note that thanks to ethical conversations in all classes, public opinion is more intensively formed in the children's team, which condemns violations of moral norms and highly values positive actions.
Ethical conversations with children give positive results if they are consistent with all other influences on the primary school student. Ethical conversations (conversations between teachers and children) should not duplicate the content, form, and methodology of October group and star meetings, class meetings, or amateur performance evenings.
Educational work is not limited to ethical conversations (some teachers tend to do this). Therefore, when planning educational work as a whole, the teacher must imagine the entire scope of work with children, in which conversation on moral topics is not the only and leading form.
One of the main conditions for the effectiveness of ethical conversations is the formation of unity in the consciousness and behavior of schoolchildren. The content of conversations should be closely related to the various activities of children. Ethical knowledge is necessary for a child so that he can navigate social phenomena, be aware of his behavior, and foresee the moral results of his actions. Moral concepts and ideas, although they do not completely determine the appropriate behavior of schoolchildren, are an important prerequisite for it. The moral relations that arise in the process of activity influence the assimilation of moral norms. Moral qualities cannot arise outside of activity. Therefore, it is very important that children have a sufficient amount of independent socially useful work and other types of activities in which their knowledge of moral norms and rules could be realized.
The moral development of a child’s personality is greatly influenced by situations of choice, that is, situations in which the student must make a choice of action, guided by a moral norm known to him. The situation should be quite difficult for the child, requiring him to strain his thoughts and analyze his personal experience.
The effectiveness of ethical conversations also depends on how skillfully the teacher influenced the feelings of children. It is important, in the process of discussing the facts of manifestations of morality, to awaken in children a sense of self-esteem, pride or remorse - this “inner judge”, “controller” of thoughts, deeds and actions. It is important that children are embraced by shared experiences, empathy, and compassion.
The effectiveness of moral education of primary schoolchildren largely depends on the coordinated work of teachers and families. Parents should know what moral standards the teacher presents to their children, what requirements are imposed on children’s behavior, how children’s actions are assessed according to moral criteria, and the content of public opinion in the classroom. The unity of the educational influence of parents and teachers is manifested in a clear understanding of the goals and specific tasks of education, in the ability to implement them using a variety of methods and techniques. To increase the effectiveness of ethical education for younger schoolchildren, it is necessary for parents to analyze their experience of conversations with children on moral topics, to see the results (positive and negative) of the impact of words on the moral development of children and on their actions. This ensures continuity in the upbringing of children.
The effectiveness of ethical education depends on the extent to which it is aimed at the moral development of children. When determining the content of ethical conversations and developing methods for conducting them, the teacher must focus on qualitative changes in the student’s personality, on the prospects for his moral, intellectual, emotional and volitional development.
The goal of ethical education is the translation of external influences into internal conscious motivations, the formation of such internal ethical incentives as conscience, duty, honor, and dignity. The achievement of this goal is possible only with the development of the child’s activity, his initiative, and his inclusion in independent, collective activities.
It is important to continually review the effectiveness of ethics education. One of its indicators is the development of moral ideas and concepts, changes in children’s behavior. The teacher must systematically monitor what changes occur in the consciousness and actions of schoolchildren, how they behave without his constant control, and how stable their behavior is. Studying children allows us to reasonably make the necessary adjustments to the content and methodology of conducting ethical conversations.

Letskikh L.A.

primary school teacher

MAOU Secondary School No. 21, Kungur

Ethical Conversations
with younger students

The methodology for conducting ethical conversations includes: the preparatory stage, conducting the conversation, organizing and assessing the daily activities and relationships of children on the basis of learned moral norms and rules. Conversations are held in classes in an extended day group once a month. The duration of the conversation should not exceed 30–40 minutes.

The correct selection of illustrative material is of great importance for the effectiveness of the conversation. Illustrative material includes: works of art, journalistic and business articles in periodicals, films.

Simultaneously with the selection of illustrative material, you should consider what pedagogical means are necessary so that the material offered to children will help them acquire knowledge about moral standards and relate them to their own thoughts, experiences, and actions. When conducting a conversation, it is very important to be able to ask questions. Questions should touch the mind and feelings of children, force them to turn to facts, examples, and events in their surrounding life.

Ethical conversations with children should take place in a relaxed atmosphere. They should not be of a moralizing nature, edifications, reproaches or ridicule. Children express their opinions and impressions freely and at ease. If their statements are naive, inaccurate, incorrect, the teacher does not interrupt the children, asks the children to complement, express their opinions, and if the children’s statements still do not produce a proper generalization, the teacher comes to the rescue as their senior mentor.

Ethical conversations with primary school students should contain elements of entertainment. To do this, it is advisable to include various situations, tasks, tests, etc. in the content of conversations.

Each ethical conversation with primary schoolchildren usually uses some main source of knowledge about moral standards, actions and behavior. Discussion of a moral problem begins with an analysis of the facts contained in this source. During the conversation, these facts are “joined” by others already existing in the children’s knowledge, observations and experience. Based on this, ethical conversations can be divided into:

1. Conversations based on the story (or several stories) read.

2. Conversations related to the discussion of the book.

3. Conversations related to watching movies.

4. Conversations, the main material for which was obtained as a result of targeted observations of the children themselves about the phenomena of social life.

5. Conversations on problematic issues proposed by the children themselves.

6. Conversations based on short essays on moral topics written by children.

One of the main conditions for the effectiveness of ethical conversations is the formation of unity in the consciousness and behavior of schoolchildren. The content of conversations should be closely related to the various activities of children. Ethical knowledge is necessary for a child so that he can navigate social phenomena, be aware of his behavior, and foresee the moral results of his actions.

The effectiveness of ethical conversations also depends on how skillfully the teacher influenced the feelings of children. It is important, in the process of discussing the facts of manifestations of morality, to awaken in children a sense of self-esteem, pride or remorse - this “inner judge”, “controller” of thoughts, deeds and actions. It is important that children are embraced by shared experiences, empathy, and compassion.

MUNICIPAL BUDGETARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION LYCEUM No. 4

Prepared

Krivosheeva Elena Nikolaevna

primary school teacher

2015 academic year year

Ethical conversation is one of the means of moral education of primary schoolchildren.

Modern society needs a person who can think independently, set before yourself and society new problems and find their solutions, be ready for both individual and collective work, be aware of the consequences of your actions for yourself, for other people and for the world around you.

That is why the demand for the implementation of student-oriented pedagogy in schools now sounds so loudly; the development of each student is brought to the fore.
Now, in a period of transition to information culture, its integrated nature, flexibility, thinking, dialogism (tolerance) and close communication at all levels become significant.

Moral education of schoolchildren – the hardest task of a teacher. To solve this problem, the teacher needs to be able to direct his activities and various teaching methods to the formation of morality in children. As a rule, the education of morality in a child begins in kindergarten and continues in elementary school. It is at this age that it is easier for a child to assimilate any information and analyze it correctly. A good assistant in instilling morality in schoolchildren is ethical conversation.

Ethical conversations are given a special place in the process of educating schoolchildren’s morality. Such conversations should be meaningful, encouraging good deeds and positive actions.

Ethical conversation – this is a form of explaining to schoolchildren the norms and principles of the moral experience of humanity, this is a systematic and consistent discussion of a particular topic between students and the teacher. Ethical conversation acts simultaneously as a form of educating students on a particular issue and as a method of moral education. Such a conversation is very different from a story or instruction. When talking with his students, the teacher listens and takes into account their opinions on any matter, and builds his relationship with them in this conversation as equals.

Why is such a conversation called “ethical”?“Because the subject of such a conversation most often becomes a discussion of moral, moral and ethical problems.

Purpose of ethical conversation:

teach students to understand moral issues;

to form schoolchildren’s own moral position;

develop your experience of moral behavior;

instill the ability to develop your own view of the facts, your judgment on certain moral issues based on the knowledge gained.

Ethical conversations can be:

programmatic (they are based on the system of work of the class teacher, determined by the plan of educational work of the school or class);

group (they are based on a discussion of ethical and moral problems with a certain group of students);

individual (based on discussion of ethical and moral issues with individual students);

thematic (they are based on a discussion of ethical and moral problems related to the situation in the classroom).

Conditions for the effectiveness of ethical conversations with primary schoolchildren

1. The conversation should be problematic in nature and involve a struggle of opinions and views. At the same time, the teacher asks non-standard questions and stimulates students to search for answers.

2. An ethical conversation should not develop according to a pre-written script with ready-made answers. Children should say exactly what they really think. The teacher can express his point of view if he does not agree with the opinion of his students, but be sure to argue his point of view.

3. The main topic of the conversation should be close to the emotional experience of the students. You cannot demand that they be active in discussing complex issues that are still unclear to them.

4. During the conversation, everyone who wants to speak must speak. You can't ignore someone's opinion. It is necessary to maintain an atmosphere of fairness and a culture of communication.

But before starting an ethical conversation with younger students, the teacher should carefully prepare for it.

Conversations in elementary school are conducted in the following areas:

Our country and the people who live in it.

Learning to communicate and live with people correctly (about collectivism).

About the attitude towards work, working people.

About camaraderie and friendship.

About justice.

About honesty and the ability to keep your word.

About kindness, responsiveness and modesty.

About irreconcilability to indifference and evil.

About conscious discipline and culture of behavior.

Each direction is revealed in specific conversation topics, with content gradually becoming more complex from 1st to 4th grade. The class holds 9 general discussions a year - once a month.

The content of conversations is built linearly - concentrically. This means that in each class a conversation is held in each of the nine areas, but its content in the subsequent class is introduced new facts, draws children's attention to new signs of moral concepts, on cause-and-effect relationships of moral phenomena. This process is full of contradictions, sometimes quite difficult for younger schoolchildren. In the everyday life of children, ideal ideas about moral standards collide with life circumstances, which to some extent complicate the development of correct behavior in younger schoolchildren.

In most cases, solving this problem independently is not possible for a seven-year-old child. Life in a class group is full of similar contradictions related to the fulfillment of moral standards.

These and many other contradictions associated with the implementation of moral standards are an important source in determining the content of ethical conversations for primary schoolchildren. It is important to be able not to shy away from problems that are difficult for children and to find ways to resolve them.

Mastered ethical concepts allow the younger student to derive specific rules of behavior. These rules, formulated by the children themselves during the conversation, prescribe behavior, determine how one should behave, with their help they evaluate their own and other people’s behavior, determine what is good and what is bad in actions. At first, in 1st grade, These rules indicate exactly how to behave in a given situation. For example what you need to do to be a good friend: share what your desk neighbor needs; work in such a way as not to disturb others. Subsequently, generalized forms of instructions appear - be able to notice for yourself where and who needs your help (not necessarily your desk neighbor).

The advance of moral ideas in the development of the personality of a junior schoolchild compared to the process of behavior formation cannot be considered negative. A child needs a stock of knowledge for future use. The contradiction between moral consciousness and behavior cannot be completely removed in childhood. Differentiated and individual work with children is determined by what is delayed in their moral development: consciousness or behavior. The new contradiction acts as the driving force for the moral development of the student.

Preparing for an ethical conversation should consist of four stages:

1. Determining the topic of the conversation (depending on the age and level of development of the students).

2. Selection of factual material.

3. Drawing up a plan (thinking through the questions that will be asked to students during the conversation).

4. Preparing students for the conversation (announcing the topic of the conversation, indicating literature on the topic, possible group or individual assignments).

Based on experience, it is recommended to allocate time for conducting an ethical conversation in accordance with the age of the students: in grade 1 - 25-30 minutes, in grades 2-4 - 40 minutes.

Stages of conducting ethical conversations in elementary school.

1. Telling students facts about the behavior of people in a given situation, taken from works of fiction, from the life of class students with changes in names and locations.

2. Joint analysis with students of the given passages of fiction and facts from life.

3. Students’ generalization of facts, analysis of conflict situations.

4. Formation of moral and ethical rules with students.

5. Application by students of learned concepts when assessing their own behavior and the behavior of other people.

In order to ethical conversation has left a deep mark on the formation of a student’s moral values, the teacher must be well aware of the criteria for the formation of a student’s moral education. They are:

The presence of moral knowledge among schoolchildren on a particular issue.

The transition of a schoolchild’s moral knowledge into the system of his value systems.

Expression of values through personal qualities.

The student’s implementation of value systems in specific actions.

Compliance of the level of education with social norms.

Based on the criteria for the formation of a moral personality, the class teacher must build the ethical and moral education of the students in the class.

An ethical conversation must meet the following requirements:

The ethical issue must be clear to students.

An ethical problem should be relevant and interesting to children.

The ethical topic should be in demand by the development of the classroom team.

Discussion of an ethical problem should contribute to positive changes in the classroom.

The continuous accumulation of knowledge about moral standards for a primary school student is of particular importance because his life experience is small. Sometimes, in order for a younger student to do the right thing, he lacks moral knowledge. In response to reproaches from adults about an incorrect action, a child often makes excuses for his ignorance of how to act in the situation that has arisen. Adults do not always accept such excuses from the child and do not believe them. But life puts a person in such difficult situations that sometimes it is not easy for an adult to immediately make the right choice. It's even harder for a child.

Thus, Moral knowledge acquires importance in the process of conscious choice of action, action in accordance with existing and established norms and moral requirements.

Student's attitude towards learninglabor

Rules for students arriving and leaving school

Student communication in the form of an argument

Student Appearance

Rules of business etiquette and student work in the classroom

Etiquette for student behavior during recess

Classes in hobby groups

Learn to learn

Ability to think

Students' daily routine

Business relationships, communication between schoolchildren and classmates

Movement etiquette when communicating