We are all born with characteristics that influence our behavior, mood, disposition and adaptability to our environment; AKA “temperament”. The focus of this lesson titled, Infant Temperament, is to help students understand what it is, how it is determined and how it applies to parenting and babies in very engaging ways.

Set

• Introduce the lesson with Chat Stations. Place students into small groups and give each a RESPONSE form to complete as the prompts are presented.
• After students have completed their response, go over their answers and add on along the way. Things to add include the definition of TEMPERAMENT: which refers to the way we approach and react to the world. Explain that it is our own personal style which influences how we react to the world around us. It presents itself in babies at BIRTH and is determined on 9 traits. The traits include: Activity level • Regularity • Adaptability • Distractibility •Sensitivity • Persistence • Intensity • Approachability • Mood
• Discuss why understanding infant temperaments is important. Basically, it helps parents be better parents by understanding their child and appreciating their uniqueness.
  Ask students if temperaments can change over time. Many say temperaments stay the same, but behaviors change. It is modified by their experiences and interactions with other people. Their environment and their health also can influence a child’s temperament. One analogy is that every child is a lump of clay that parents sculpt, rather than blank canvases to be filled with paint.
• Have students find out their own temperament with a survey and graph the results using colored pencils.
• Interpret and discuss their results. Explain that thet emperaments are based on hose 9 traits, and when clustered together, form 3 basic temperaments: easy, slow to warm, and difficult.

Materials

• iPads or Laptops
• Projector & Screen
• Colored Pencils or Markers
• Sticky Notes (affiliate link)
• Playdoh (affiliate link)
• Blank Paper
• Paint & Brushes (optional)

Activities

• Now that students know there are 3 basic temperaments, it’s time to see what they think.
• Divide the board into 3 sections, labeled: Easy –yellow, Difficult–pink, Slow to Warm-Up–blue. Give each student 3 sticky notes; one yellow, one pink and one blue. Ask students to brainstorm characteristics they believe a baby would portray for each temperament type. Encourage them to come up with at least 3 characteristics for each type. Prompt them if needed with questions like: What behaviors might an “Easy” baby show? How might a “Difficult” baby act? What traits would a “Slow-to-Warm-Up” baby display?
• Have students come up to the board and place their sticky notes under the appropriate temperament heading. Review the characteristics they listed under each heading as a class. Discuss any similarities or differences in the brainstormed ideas.
• Pass out the temperament notes template and have students fill in with the actual characteristics associated with each temperament.
• Students can then use their notes to apply the information in the Temperament Scenarios…Which Type Am I? activity. As always, if you need the key, please email or message me.
• Review the analogy that every child is a lump of clay that parents sculpt, rather than blank canvases to be filled with markers, crayons or paint. To illustrate this concept, give students a lump of Play-doh or clay and a blank canvas which can be a sheet of copy paper and markers, crayons or paint. Have them follow the directions in the Clay vs Blank Canvas Analogy and complete the prompts.
• After students create, they do a think-pair-share with their neighbor along with an individual reflection before discussing and sharing as a class.
• After teaching this lesson, a good follow-up may be to teach about the various parenting styles.

Attachments

• Chat Station Prompts
• Chat Station Response Form
• Survey & Graph
• Temperament Notes Template
• Temperament Notes
• Temperament Scenarios
• Clay vs Blank Canvas Analogy