Exploring “Happiness”: A Unit for Young Minds

 

“Money can't make us happy, it can only make us happy in the short term”, “Being kind and helpful makes me happy”, and “Happiness makes us healthy and gives long life” - are just a few of the insightful responses I got from my grade 3 students. These demonstrate perfectly how such a big topic can be thoughtfully explored by young minds.

A class on happiness shouldn't make children unhappy or bored. They should feel joyful while learning about “happiness”. Keeping this in mind, we embarked on the Global Perspectives unit on ‘Happiness’. The key questions to explore were: 

a) What is happiness?

b) What makes people happy?

c) Can money make you happy?

d) How can we make other people happy?

What is Happiness? What makes people happy?: Simply giving straight answers to these questions wouldn't provide a rich learning experience for kids. Therefore, the students were tasked with researching these questions in their homes. They asked their family members, "What is happiness?" and "What makes you happy?" The goal of this small activity was to introduce them to research and explore different perspectives on happiness. Open-ended questions challenge young minds and encourage enthusiastic participation.

The research questions were targeted toward people the children trust and confide in, such as parents and grandparents, because trust is an important factor when dealing with such a subjective topic. The children received a variety of answers from their families. Back in class, they shared their findings, leading to an engaging discussion where they could reflect on what their loved ones told them and how ‘happiness’ can vary from person to person. Ultimately, as a result of the research, the children were able to create their own definitions of ‘happiness’, understanding that it's a unique experience for everyone.

Going further with one of the common answers to their research, "when we go out in nature we feel happy," we ventured outside the classroom to spend time with nature and see if this held true for us. The students' reflections mirrored their research findings, providing a wonderful opportunity to relax and experience happiness in nature.

Can Money make us happy?: We incorporated a comparative case study activity on the lesson. Children were asked to share their thoughts on questions like:

• "If you received a car or a bike, which one would make you happier?"

• "Would you be happier living in a broken house or a beautiful villa?"

This activity yielded many fresh perspectives from the children on the connection between money and happiness. 

When children are typically asked why they come to school, the majority answer "for learning." The next question, "Why do you want to learn?" might be met with the response, "To get a job and make money." Finally, "Who told you this?" might be answered with, "My parents." This was the exact conversation I had with my students and maybe many of you might have had similar experiences. 

When the world around children seems to echo the same message, they're more likely to mimic those ideas throughout their lives. Introducing a broader perspective at the right time can change their direction, and fostering this development at an early stage equips children with diverse layers of knowledge.

Class Activity: Happiness is a state of emotional well-being, and children experience it throughout their lives. My role was simply to guide them in reflecting on their own emotional state. Here, technology came in handy. I asked the children to bring in pictures of past moments that brought them happiness. 

Looking at their pictures, I asked them questions that prompted reflection: 

	"What made you happy as seen in this picture?"
	"Would you have been less happy if the balloons and decorations weren't there?"
	"Did you feel happier during your foreign trip?"
	"Was being with your family more joyful?"
	"How does being around nature make you feel?"

These reflective questions, aimed at prompting them to consider their emotional state, achieved my objective. 

How can we make other people happy?: Building on our previous discussions about how kindness and helpfulness are linked to happiness, we transitioned to storytelling mode. Since children enjoy stories, we used this format to explore how our actions can make others happy. Technology was again utilized to narrate and visualize the story. Following the story, the children shared their ideas on various ways they could bring happiness to others. 

We also had a fun activity where children mimicked funny actions to make everyone laugh and feel happy.

While teaching this entire unit on ‘happiness’, it was challenging for me to set aside my own concept of happiness, because happiness is a subjective experience. If I had imposed my definition, they might not have been able to connect it to their own lives. The most effective approach was to allow each child's understanding to shape their personal concept of happiness.